Expert Real Life Stories: Zoe Duff, Teacher and founder of The Phive

I am motivated for, and by, my women.

Standing with me here, in my happiest of places in the world (Llfranc, Spain), are my absolute reasons for being continually passionate about what I do, and behind the camera is the absolute love of my life.

I’m Zoe and I live in the Oxfordshire countryside with my three daughters, many chickens and ducks, two precious pups and my best friend/husband. The photo shows me standing with my women (you may count an extra here – there is also Esme, my ‘not daughter but still love as much’ daughter, she’s a big part of our world). These women inspire me to keep going for life with bags of passion, they remind me that I am capable of anything, and they drive me to show them that they can be anything they choose. Four beautiful souls with huge hearts for others and one incredible man who has the greatest respect for the power of women.

With 20 years’ teaching experience in my pocket, I now run my own company, ‘The Phive’. The Phive create high quality learning resources using my technical knowledge of how children are best inspired, and my daughter Liv’s huge amounts of talent as our product designer (Liv is the one with the yellow skirt in the photo).

I have had a career-long passion for creating learning experiences that are memorable and motivating and a huge geeky interest in Phonics! Learning should never be a chore; it is a huge privilege to learn, and children should be given the chance to feel inspired and driven to get the most out of every opportunity. A happy, engaged, and motivated child will learn so much more, and in greater depth with growing confidence, than a child who is faced with dry learning opportunities.

Creating Enchanting Learning Phonics and StorytellingCards has given me the chance to combine many important aspects of literacy together in one box. The incredible illustrations stop everyone in their tracks and spark the imagination. The information on the reverse of the card is varied and gives support to children learning phonics from age 3, right up to independent writing, up to age 10.

I’m here as an expert in Early Reading, Phonics and Primary Literacy. I am incredibly passionate about what I do and love the opportunity Bloss has given me to help anyone who ever feels like they need some guidance with their children’s learning. Supporting children at home with schoolwork or understanding what your child needs to be a happy and productive learner can be a worry. Every child is wonderfully individual and understanding the best way for them to learn is key.

My daughters are wonderfully different, but they all have one thing in common. They love and respect each other’s differences, embrace them and learn from each other. This is what I wanted for them and the hundreds of children that I have had the pleasure to teach over the past 20 years.

I love my women and my man who helped me make them so wonderful.