About Us

Andrell Education Australia - Home of Big Write and VCOP

Andrell Education Australia partners with schools to transform writing outcomes through the Big Write and VCOP approach. Our training equips teachers with clear, practical strategies to develop confident writers, strengthen oral language, and create consistent, high-impact writing practices across whole schools.

​Samantha Taylor
With over 20 years of experience in education, Andrell Education Australasia is led by Samantha Taylor, a dedicated literacy consultant committed to improving writing outcomes through the Big Write and VCOP approach.
​
Having successfully adapted and implemented Big Write and VCOP in her own classrooms, Samantha provides educators with practical, effective advice, feedback and support grounded in real classroom experience.

Samantha has undertaken extensive training in the UK with Ros Wilson and her colleagues across the Andrell programs. She also worked closely to adapt the Criterion Scale to align with the Australian Curriculum, ensuring it is both rigorous and relevant for local schools.
She is passionate about supporting teachers and school leaders to build strong, consistent VCOP classrooms across Australasia.

For enquiries or professional learning opportunities, Samantha can be contacted at [email protected]
​
Connect with Samantha:

Accredited VCOP Ambassadors

Meet our Master VCOP Trainers, a team of highly trained literacy leaders who have worked in partnership with Andrell Education Australasia. Through rigorous training and classroom application, they now support schools to implement high-impact writing practices with confidence and consistency.

Shalini Devi Ramanathan
Shalini is the Founder and Director of Phonics Power, a leading institute in India delivering programmes in early literacy and English language development. A passionate educator, she has worked as an educational consultant and teacher trainer since 2012.

An accredited trainer with Jolly Learning (UK) and Oxford University Press (India), Shalini has trained over 7,500 teachers across 340+ schools and teacher training institutes. She also works as an academic consultant and curriculum planner, supporting schools to transition from rote learning to a Synthetic Phonics approach.

Her expertise spans phonics, grammar, creative writing, comprehension, reading and spelling intervention, and spoken English. She is also known for designing engaging language programmes for secondary students using storybooks, films, and multimedia texts.

Jigna Dharod
Jigna Dharod is the Chief Trainer and Director of Phonics Kingdom, and an officially certified trainer with Jolly Learning (UK) and IIPE Canada in Experiential Learning. With over 28 years of experience, she has trained both students and educators across early childhood education, phonics, grammar, creative writing, handwriting, and language development.

​Jigna works as a curriculum consultant for a number of leading schools in India and is known for designing engaging, student-centred learning programmes. As a lifelong learner, she has continually expanded her expertise through training in areas such as Phonics International, Fitzroy Phonics, Emotional Intelligence, Brain Gym, UDL, and storytelling.

She is also the founder of Phonics Club, which supports over 1,000 students annually across nine centres, and has trained more than 10,000 teachers globally.

​Through her extensive experience, Jigna recognised the need for a clear and structured approach to writing. The Big Write and VCOP methodology provides this foundation—building student confidence while developing strong language skills. She is passionate about bringing this approach to a wider audience and supporting schools to transform their writing outcomes.
​​Driven to create a simple, effective and engaging writing framework, Shalini and Jigna have partnered together to develop a creative writing approach aligned with Big Write and VCOP. Together, they are leading a shift in writing instruction across Indian schools through high-impact workshops for both students and teachers.

VCOP Ambassadors

Have you heard of VCOP Ambassadors? VCOP Ambassadors is a new initiative to celebrate excellence in education and training using the Big Write and VCOP approach. Do you think you have what it takes to be a VCOP Ambassador?