Diego Zaffaroni is an international educator and consultant. He is qualified to teach in the UK and Italy; he worked for five years as a Bilingual Education School Coordinator, a project supported jointly by the British Council and the Italian Ministry of Education. Diego has experienced leadership roles at an innovative Cambridge school in Milan and an IB World School in Kurdistan, Iraq and was actively involved in the development of projects in International Education and English Language Teaching in the Middle East and Europe. He was Dean of Academics and PYP Coordinator at a newly established IB school in Mumbai which is part of a well-known group of schools across India. His training and consultancy experience has developed over ten years across three continents. He is studying to earn an MA Education from Durham University. Diego has seen better and better results with Jolly Phonics over the years he and his fellow teachers have used it; Jolly Phonics has been a key element in making sure that no child is left behind. Diego’s strong interest in working with teachers and school leaders let him grow as a teacher trainer and consultant, focusing on literacy and multilingual education, creativity, and the development of teachers and leaders’ key strengths. Top Strengths*: Developer – Restorative – Learner – Individualisation – Empathy – Achiever. Countries where he offers training and consultancy services: In-person and mixed mode online/in-person Egypt, Italy, Albania, Switzerland, Kurdistan (Iraq), India. Keen to collaborate actively with school leaders and educators in other countries. Online, synchronous and asynchronous The world. *As indicated from Gallup Clifton Strengths Assessment

Kurdistan / Duhok

I have successfully completed my B.A. degree in English Language. Over the past ten years, I have enjoyed working with young learners as a homeroom teacher in an IB school in Duhok. I am passionate about education, and how education can really change lives and society.  I started using Jolly Phonics in 2016 and noticed excellent results in students' reading and writing skills as well as their pronunciation and comprehension of texts. I can’t describe in words how happy and lucky I am to teach my English classes with Jolly Phonics. It is a fantastic, fun and engaging way to teach. Before Jolly Phonics I felt something was missing, but now the students have the necessary tools to read and write in English. It is truly one of the best gifts that I have been given as an educator. I would like to share my experience with others so that they can benefit from and to ensure that no child is left behind.

Duhok

Nasrin has been teaching for 9 years, demonstrating excellence as a classroom practitioner and serving as a positive role model to establish herself as an important member of staff within her school. She has worked closely with a range of professionals across the school, using the Jolly Phonics programme with different age groups and seeing its outstanding results from her students. She strongly believes education is empowering and strives to ensure that her students develop a love of learning and gain the skills necessary to become independent readers and writers long term. She believes Jolly Phonics to be the most effective and efficient way to teach reading and writing skills to children, continuing to use it over the last 4 years in English schools in Iraq. She recommends it for any English teachers around the world as the best way to teach children by making learning lots of fun: incorporating games, activities and songs, her students enjoy and grasp lessons better. "I just love the way the parents and students respond to this method of teaching as it results in great feedback." Nasrin is very proud to be a part of this organisation and continues to spread phonics from 100s to 1000s of students.