We teach.
Since January 2014, ReadAble has been running weekly reading and language arts classes for children ages 2 to 15 in a neighbourhood in the Chin Swee area. We started out teaching in children’s homes, but have grown to occupy classrooms in the Residents’ Committee Centre.
We teach a phonics-based curriculum to our earliest readers and deliver a programme which complements the primary school syllabus for those who have mastered the basics of reading. We use drama, movement and play to draw out a love for reading, build self-confidence, and encourage creativity.
We build.
ReadAble has built a community library of over a thousand books for our kids to freely access books at every reading level throughout the week. We also organise educational excursions to plays and museums, as well as connect kids’ families with community resources, such as school supply donations and workshops by professional educators. Through our BookDrop project, we set up conducive study spaces and mini-libraries in kids’ homes.
We mentor.
Apart from our classes every Saturday, some volunteers run one-on-one classes with children in their homes across the week forming deep relationships with families. We also started a class teaching the predominantly migrant mothers of our students, functional English to navigate life in Singapore.
Every child loved.
We believe that children thrive in love. We are committed to forming lasting relationships with them as teachers and mentors. Each child’s progress is closely monitored and classes are tailored to meet their learning styles. We recognise that our children weather challenges such as parental incarceration or family violence, and we strive to support them.
Every family partnered.
Family support is crucial to a child’s success. We work alongside families to reinforce children's learning at home. We seek to understand our children’s home life and we engage parents with routine updates on their children’s progress.
Every volunteer empowered.
ReadAble is entirely volunteer-led and run, and we are serious about equipping our people. We run regular training sessions on topics from phonics to classroom management and how toxic stress affects child development. We constantly refine our methods based on research and best practices.
Everyone a community.
We seek to build an inclusive community that encourages children's diverse aspirations and engages everyone with empathy. We have a flat volunteer structure led by our Co-founders and Core Team who form friendships with children and their families. Together, we work to eradicate social inequality.
ReadAble Explorers
For 5- to 7-year-olds. Early intervention is essential to closing the learning gap. We work with our Explorers on language acquisition, introducing them to phonics using the School of Concepts materials. Our preschool classes mix a play-based, child-directed approach with some desk-based work to help prepare our students for primary school.
ReadAble Rangers
For 8- to 12-year-olds. Our primary school-aged students use the Fitzroy curriculum to improve their reading fluency and English comprehension. Our dedicated volunteers tutor each child one-on-one at their own pace. Volunteers also work with children to pick a book every week from our community library to build a love for reading.
ReadAble Champions
For upper primary to lower secondary school students. These champs have successfully completed the Fitzroy curriculum! They continue to hone their language abilities and self-confidence through reading novels and engaging in creative activities like drama and poetry. We hope they will use the gift of expression to champion causes that they believe in.
readable Moms
For the caregivers who bring our students to us. Most of our students’ moms are non-Singaporean and speak English as a second language. Some women seek to learn English so they can teach their own children, others are hoping to get jobs. We teach functional English to help these wonderful women better navigate life in Singapore, whatever their personal goals may be.
EVERY CHILD COUNTS
CountAble began in Feb 2019 as a sister programme of ReadAble, which carries our philosophy. CountAble focuses on improving children’s numeracy skills to equip them with the tools to learn Mathematics effectively in school. We believe that building strong foundations in literacy and numeracy is a small but essential first step in helping children from underprivileged families forge a path towards a better future.
CountAble provides strong grounding in numeracy through lively, engaging, and highly effective methods, starting from the pre-school and lower primary levels. Our hope is that having a good foundation in Mathematics from a young age will set children on the path of understanding more complex concepts in the future.
THE COUNTABLE METHOD
CountAble adopts the philosophy of learning through play. Our syllabus is developed by experienced and internationally-recognised educators well-versed in teaching Mathematics at the preschool and primary level.
We follow a C-P-A model of learning. Children are exposed to the concepts in Concrete (C) form first (e.g. physical objects, toys), before moving to the Pictorial (P), and finally the Abstract (A), such as the use of symbols to represent numbers or operations. This enables the children to understand that every symbol represents real objects, and are not imaginary concepts with no basis in reality.
READABLE LTD ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF LATEST BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ReadAble Ltd has served the children and families of Jalan Kukoh through its literacy programme since 2014, and its numeracy programme CountAble since 2019.
We marked our first anniversary of operations as a registered charity in September 2022, which follows more than 8 years as a volunteer organisation. At our latest annual general meeting (AGM) on 20 May 2023, members of ReadAble Ltd appointed the organisation’s current board of directors, comprising:
Cindy Ng, social worker with over 20 years’ experience
Germaine Ong, marketing and communications consultant
Jonathan Muk, lawyer and co-founder of ReadAble
Limonium Sua, business professional and founding team lead of CountAble
Michelle Yeo, lawyer and co-founder of ReadAble
Nabilah Said, editor, journalist and playwright
In this board, ReadAble has included independent directors for the first time, i.e. directors who are uninvolved in the organisation’s day-to-day operations. We look forward to the diversity of perspectives that our board will bring towards organisational goals and challenges, and thank our exited board members of 2022 for their various contributions:
Sharlene Loh (w.e.f. 4 July 2022)
Amanda Chong (w.e.f. 20 November 2022)
Ervin Tan (w.e.f. 20 May 2023)
Bernice Lee (w.e.f. 20 May 2023)
ReadAble Ltd is presently staffed by Bernice Lee, in the role of executive director, who runs the charity’s day-to-day operations. ReadAble is also operationalised by the charity’s core team and other members, who are involved in making key decisions together.
As a volunteer-run charity, ReadAble depends on our board members for their valuable expertise. Besides supporting ReadAble in empowering children and families through education, they ensure accountability and good governance practices for the effective operation of ReadAble.
Currently, ReadAble serves about 100 children between the ages of 3 and 17, and their families. We are grateful to our large team of volunteers for their continued dedication to our community and our efforts towards a more equitable society.
To support our ongoing work, please consider making a donation to us: https://www.readablesg.com/donate
For media enquiries: team.readable@gmail.com
