About Us

Meet our Freedom Owl

Wings raised to soar
Growing learners who are confidently and resiliently literate.
Soaring in life
Professional Learning for educators. Specialist Teaching Services for learners. Peace of mind for parents and whānau.
Feathers adorn educators
Building a strong, evidence-based pedagogy of literacy acquisition and development.
Feathers accumulate as tamariki grow
Explicitly, systematically and cumulatively adorning ākonga with the feathers they need to soar.
Perceptive vision
Perceiving barriers and challenges. Working with targeted focus to collaboratively provide creative solutions.
Wisdom
Pursuing, communicating and activating wisdom. Practice based on a consensus of scientific research. Knowing how, when and why to apply knowledge, tools and resources.
Heart at the centre
A heart to serve, encourage and empower. To strengthen and build up. Strong relationships are integral to success.

Meet the team

Janice Langford

Literacy Facilitator AC1070  |  AMADA

Janice set up Freedom Literacy as a way to share the tools and strategies she has found to be highly effective in her work as a literacy educator. Her initial search for these effective strategies was both professionally and personally motivated as a literacy specialist and the mother of a dyslexic son.

Janice leverages her teaching and literacy intervention experience, in both Primary and Secondary sectors, in her professional practice. She has facilitated literacy professional learning and development for several years and is accredited to enable schools to access the Central PLD Fund. Janice empowers educators to grow in knowledge of the literacy evidence base and in wisdom of application.

The frustration and heartbreak of having a child who is not thriving in school because of literacy difficulties is understood by Janice. She knows that whānau want to access specialist teaching to support their children who have missed out on the targeted, effective instruction they need to soar in life.

Janice passionately communicates her own learning to help educators and whānau understand the solutions available to them and the potential pitfalls to avoid.

Sharni Honour

Literacy Facilitator AC2012

Sharni has a Bachelor of Social Sciences and a Graduate Diploma in Teaching from Waikato University. She has been a kind hearted and nurturing junior school teacher for eight years and has recent experience leading literacy within a school. During the early years of her teaching career, she found that many learners were struggling with reading and was driven to find explicit and systematic ways to help them experience success in learning to read. The Science of Reading and Structured Literacy has been an important part of her classroom programme and her professional development ever since. Sharni sees herself as a lifelong learner and is always curious about advances in research around how the brain learns. She hopes to use her classroom experience and ever growing knowledge of the Science of Reading to help inspire teachers to confidently bring Structured Literacy into their classrooms.

Cherie Richardson

Cherie has a Bachelor of Teaching from Waikato University and has been teaching for 20 years. She has taught a wide variety of year levels in the primary sector, with a passion for literacy. Recently, Cherie taught at GGHS in the Learning Support Unit with students with special learning needs. 

Cherie is Gissy born and bred and loves the lifestyle. Cherie and Shane have two children, one of whom has Dyslexia. This has driven Cherie to study with SPELD to help understand the brain and better teach students with specific learning difficulties. She has also had intensive training with Freedom Literacy in a Structured Literacy approach.

Sunel Ruddy

Sunel completed her Bachelor in Education at the University of South Africa, specialising in Language and Mathematics Teaching in the Intermediate and Senior Phase. While studying, Sunel worked part-time at a primary school in South Africa for four years. Here she had the unique opportunity to work with students of various ages every day. After graduating, Sunel worked as a full-time educator teaching a first additional language.

Sunel has always had a love for reading, writing and language. After moving to New Zealand, Sunel was excited to join Freedom Literacy where she now enjoys working with students and helping them discover the joys of reading and writing. 

“Seeing the progress students make, and the joy they experience in learning while being involved in the Freedom Literacy programme has ignited anew the passion I have for teaching reading and writing. I am blessed to be a part of this company that is empowering young minds.”

Meg Gavin

Meg is a qualified (Graduate Diploma in ECE, Auckland University) and registered Early Childhood teacher. She has a BA majoring in Education (Victoria University, Wellington). Meg also spent three and a half years teaching English as a second language in Australia, NZ and Korea after gaining her CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) via Cambridge Assessment English (UK). Meg has had intensive training in a Structured Literacy intervention approach through Freedom Literacy and is a passionate advocate of the Science of Learning.

Meg and her husband have lived in Gisborne for 14 years. They have three children, two of whom are dyslexic, so she understands the challenges that learning can present to some children and looks forward to making a difference.

Gillian Stevenson

Gill has a Master of Education (Massey University) and is a qualified ECE teacher. She has always had a passion for language and literacy. While completing her postgraduate courses in literacy education, she immediately recognised the necessity of a structured teaching approach for those experiencing challenges in literacy learning. She integrated this into her teaching for individual learners and small groups. Gill is excited to be part of the Freedom Literacy team and has received additional training with Freedom Literacy. Gill enjoys encouraging and supporting students to experience success in their learning journey.