Ollie at School
- a little bit of charm for your classroom
I am available for school visits, both virtual and in person, where I can lead creative writing classes and in-depth age-appropriate explorations of my books. Although available throughout the year, I can organise specific and special lessons and activities for schools and libraries on particular dates relevant to the stories.
I worked for years as the Head of Content Development for Asia’s largest educational publisher – developing and implementing language and literature programmes from KS1 through to KS5. I have also produced materials alongside Pearson, The British Council, the Malaysian Ministry of Education and Nickelodeon.
I have taught in classrooms in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. These diverse experiences have enabled me to create a range of engaging resources to help teachers use my books in the classroom.
This resource pack can be used throughout the year but is an especially good excuse to celebrate All Things Octopus on ‘World Octopus Day’, 8th October. It includes everything from arts&crafts through to geography ideas and writing prompts. Ideas can be adapted to suit either a KS1 or KS2 classroom.

This preliminary resource pack is designed to introduce you to the possibilities the Ollie books present when used in a classroom setting. The Jolly Ollie series is suitable for confident KS1 readers or for sharing with an early years class. At around 1300 words each, they are significantly longer than typical picture books. Each of the stories incorporates interesting vocabulary into an age-appropriate storyline. The books would also suit lower end KS2 learners, especially those who may have slipped back during lockdown and are not yet ready to tackle full chapter books by themselves.
For information about school visits, including prices and possibilities, please download the information pack. I can be contacted on hello@jolly-ollie.com, and there is more information about me on my author website www.jane-thomas.co.uk
I worked for years as the Head of Content Development for Asia’s largest educational publisher – developing and implementing language and literature programmes from KS1 through to KS5. I have also produced materials alongside Pearson, The British Council, the Malaysian Ministry of Education and Nickelodeon.
I have taught in classrooms in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. These diverse experiences have enabled me to create a range of engaging resources to help teachers use my books in the classroom.



