About Us

Andrell Education
With over 40 years experience between them, Andrell would like to introduce consultants and head of Andrell Education Australasia; Samantha Taylor and Wendy Allder. Sammy and Wendy are determined to share their excitement, passion and success of Big Write and VCOP.

Having both adapted, then used the Big Write and VCOP program successfully in their classrooms, they can offer other teachers the most accurate and effective advice, feedback and support.

Sammy and Wendy have attended conferences and training in the UK with both Ros and her colleagues on all the Andrell programs.

​Initially, they spent the best part of a year working closely with Ros to adapt the Criterion Scale to be used directly in line with the Australian National Curriculum and have set up the first Australian pilot school, Pearcedale Primary School, in Melbourne’s outer South East. A database of VCOP schools is now being created all over Australasia.

​Samantha Taylor

​Sammy presents both nationally and internationally for Andrell Education whilst raising her own VCOP Gang, known on youtube as the VCOP Kids. She has been in education for over 15 years, with over 10 years as a Primary Educator.

In 2010 Sammy spent the year teaching in London, dedicated to teaching in as many different schools and settings as possible. It was in London that she was introduced to Big Write and VCOP.

Upon her return to Australia, she became even more dedicated to raising standards when presented with a cohort of student significantly low. Within the 100 students, 58% did not reach the minimum expectation for writing upon entering grade 3. As writing was a concern for their cohort of students, Sammy suggested Big Write and VCOP to her team. The results were almost immediate, and even better, it was the most fun she’d ever had teaching writing.

Sammy is now dedicated to training up as many educators as possible on the Big Write and VCOP approach in an effort to raise Australia’s literacy standards.

Wendy Allder

​​Born in country Victoria, Wendy dreamed of becoming a teacher. In 1976 she completed training at both Frankston Teachers College and Latrobe University.

She began her teaching career at Pearcedale P.S. in 1977, and apart from 9 years when she had her three children, she has taught continuously ever since. She has taught all year levels, as well as a brief spell in the Library, and time as a shared Art specialist in 4 rural schools. For 2 years Wendy combined consulting for Andrell Education and teaching part time.

​With the demand for Big Write and VCOP rapidly increasing, she has retired to become a full time consultant, both nationally and internationally. She continues to share her passion for the program that achieves such improved outcomes for so many. Wendy intends to remain active in spending hands on time in the classroom, developing activities and tracking the progress of children in their writing journey.

​Annie Mackenzie
Annie grew up at Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula. She attended Frankston Teachers College and has taught in Primary Schools for 30 plus years.

​ As well as teaching all Grade levels and having positions in Art, ICT and Integration, Annie has spent the last 13 years as a Leading Teacher overseeing curriculum and assessment across a school of 600 plus students. She has always had a passion for curriculum and assessment and has worked with the whole staff to develop ‘Essential Curriculum’ in Writing, Reading and Number, as well as develop ‘Whole School Assessment Schedules’.

Annie has taught VCOP in the classroom and also in ‘Writing Intervention’ sessions in Year 4. Having been involved in many curriculum programs and curriculum development, she is a great advocate for the VCOP and Big Write methodology, as well as the summative and formative assessment documents that the program provides for both students and teachers.
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Chris Slater
Chris grew up in Geelong, trained in Ballarat, taught in metro Melbourne, and then moved to the Mornington Peninsula where he has been ever since.

His experience covers a variety of settings from: Leadership, Curriculum Development, Classroom Teaching, Art/Craft Specialist, and now to writing and performing ceremonies for couples when they marry. “Having ex-students still contact you to catch up and share their life journey is the icing on the cake for me. A bit like VCOP being the icing on the cake with writing.”
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Making a difference in children’s lives. It’s not just about teaching children skills. It’s about making them feel connected to their learning, feeling valued as an individual, and being supported in this process. This was the difference Chris always wanted to make with his teaching. For years Chris struggled to find a better, more effective approach to writing. It wasn’t until the Big Write & VCOP program came along that he discovered a very simple, fundamental methodology that truly reignites teachers. It inspires students and gives writers a framework and direction for communicating through written and spoken words.

Robyn Crowe

As well as recently joining the team at Andrell Education, Robyn also teaches in early childhood environments, primary schools, and until recently, taught education at a tertiary level. 

Over the last 20 years Robyn has presented locally, nationally, and internationally at many educational conferences and workshops. She ‘lives and breathes’ early years education, and this has led her to develop an exciting collection of original resources aimed at early childhood and early years educators.

Robyn is now combining all of her experience to support the development and presentation of the new early years element of Big Write & VCOP… ‘Big Talk for Pre-Writers’. She is very excited to be an integral part of the team developing and presenting this exciting new method of preparing children to write.

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​Steve Crowe
Steve is a Leading Teacher and Teaching and Learning Coach at Pearcedale Primary School. He is an advocate for using technology as a means to sustain a healthy work life balance, decrease teacher workload and enhance student engagement.

Steve worked as an integral part of that first team to officially implement the Big Write and VCOP program in Australia. His career in education has been spent working as a classroom, specialist and casual relief teacher, presenter and consultant. Currently he shares a Grade 2 classroom where his students develop their writing skills through VCOP & Big Write.

As a means to pursue his dream of writing children’s books, in 2013 Steve completed his Master’s Degree in Writing & Literature. His mission now is to inspire young children to see how “cool” writing can be.

​​He is excited to have the opportunity to share the program with other teachers around the country so that they will be able to inspire the students in their own classrooms.