Daring to be different pays off while passion for honesty results in success for our future generations.


“I was teaching at a centre in 2009. I enjoyed reporting the students’ progress to the owners but was disappointed to see that they didn’t seem to care and would cram 10 students in my classes, which were held in a small room. I felt like they just wanted the income, but not the responsibility of teaching well. That’s when I thought that I would open an English-language centre where every staff member would care about children’s learning progress, where parents and teachers are partners, united for the children’s success. So, in 2010, Sunflowers Education opened in Kwun Tong. In the same year I became a Jolly Phonics trainer and we focused on providing literacy lessons rather than just teaching the English language,” says Beverly Sace, Managing Director and founder.

“The integrity of our programs, teachers and service is paramount to our success.” – Beverly Sace, Managing Director

Distinct Difference

“We are doing very well in the niche area of English literacy teaching. The teaching of reading and writing to children aged 3 and up is our area of expertise. I have a masters in teaching English to young learners from York and I specialised in the literacy acquisition of children below 12. This means that the way we teach at Sunflowers is backed by the latest research coming out from education and psychology institutes. Reading is a life skill and it is very important that it is taught well. Children shouldn’t have to guess or memorise words. We teach the English language systematically and we produce accurate readers and readers who grow to love reading and the English language.”

“While we primarily provide literacy lessons, the real value comes from 1) our professionalism and 2) commitment to working with parents,” Sace says.

Holistic Approach

“I write the curricula myself based on what research shows about language and literacy acquisition. Teachers are trained in the theory and application of literacy teaching. We also send teachers to local and international teacher development conferences. Most students we have are in kindergarten, and so are very young – therefore we ensure that we also treat them holistically, as little persons with their own individual personalities,” she explains.

“Even though most of our students come for group lessons, our feedback is individual and the teachers discuss children’s progress with me periodically, as Director of Studies and Curriculum. Teachers are asked to report children who are struggling so we can give those children extra support as well. There should be no child left behind!”

Building on/with Integrity

“We are not here to just be a business. We are here to positively affect children’s academic futures and lives through teaching the important skills of reading and writing. Every staff member demonstrates their commitment to excellent teaching and supporting those children who need extra help. We hire education and psychology graduates and we train them to become excellent and caring teachers. The integrity of our programs, teachers and service is paramount to our success.”

She adds: “At Sunflowers, we support children two-fold – in literacy acquisition and language development. We turn to proven programs from overseas and we bring them into our classrooms. We look at the research and science behind each program. For literacy acquisition and development, we follow the British National Curriculum while for language acquisition, we follow a special Cambridge syllabus.”

“We have a sizable library filled with award-winning picture books, chapter books and decodable books. Parents are invited to stay and read with the children to foster a love of reading. It is during these times that staff spend time with parents and get to know them more. Ideas and experiences are shared and relationships are nurtured. We like to think that we foster a sense of community where we are right now.”

For additional information, please visit www.sunflowerseducation.com


Hong Kong’s Business Leaders share market and interest intelligence in the pages of HKMVC 2018