The Programme’s main focus is the structured, sequential, cumulative and explicit teaching of early reading. The components covered in a typical lesson are oracy, alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness skills, sight words knowledge (e.g. said), blending to read and segmenting to spell 3-letter words. In addition, early writing, reading and listening comprehension, will be taught in the classroom. The learning and teaching are customised to a child’s  learning needs. Parents will be informed of the learning goals and what would be covered in the classroom through an Individualised Intervention Plan (IIP).

The lessons are once a week,  2 hours per lesson. We follow the MOE school calendar. In a year there will be 4 terms, and in each term, there are 10 weeks. There will be no classes during the March, June, September and December School Holidays. There will also be no classes if your child’s lesson day falls during a public holiday. We are unable to replace lessons if your child is absent or when classes fall on public holidays.

Depending on the class profile, the students in each class ranges between 4 to 5 students.

The programme currently does not offer one-to-one remediation. However, you may refer to our Specialist Tutoring branch to enquire more about one-to-one remediation.

Response to intervention and progress varies from child to child and is according to a child’s learning needs and pace. Some children take longer whereas some may show progress in a shorter time. The key is the little successes since any progress in intervention however small is a great achievement. Preschool Educational Therapists do update parents/guardians about a student’s progress and classroom learning. They also give recommendations on how to follow up with learning at home. Parents and guardians are advised to follow up at home where possible.

The DAS Preschool Educational Therapist will communicate with parents/guardians on a child’s individual literacy goals, on progress, and are always ready to give recommendations on how to follow up with learning at home. Parents and guardians are advised to be open to communicating with our therapists. In addition, parents also have a wealth of knowledge to share about their child, this can be very helpful in the classroom.

Our main objective is to work with children who really need help with early literacy and are struggling. We will work according to the child’s level, and pace to narrow the learning gaps. The programme will work towards helping preschoolers acquire a foundation in alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness and high-frequency words, leading up to skills in early reading, early comprehension and early writing. These abilities gear children towards the skills required to better access and manage formal learning in Primary School.

We have worked with numerous students who have not benefited from enrichment centres. We’ve seen that children who need our help and come to us need specialised support because they learn differently. SES Preschool Programme applies the Orton Gillingham (OG) which is a teaching approach designed specifically to help children to remember and apply concepts taught in early literacy.

There is much added advantage in acquiring knowledge in the early years, from birth to 6 years of age. PELP helps preschoolers acquire a good foundation in alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness, leading up to learning high-frequency words. These abilities gear children towards the skills required to better access formal learning in Primary School.

You are right, not everybody needs explicit structured phonics instructions in order to become a fluent reader. But, there are children who learn differently and require explicit, structured phonics instructions in order to read and spell. Children from previous generations mostly had similar exposure back then and there were fewer external phonics enrichment centres. Times have changed and a majority of children nowadays start from infant care or playgroup. We must also be mindful that there are students who catch-up very fast and their pace of learning is just so amazing that in primary school they are able to pick up learning of early literacy instantaneously. However, not all children are the same, and if you would like to level the playing field for your child in Primary school it is best for them to enter primary school with age-appropriate developed early literacy skills. This is so that they are better able to thrive in beginning reading instruction, and are in par with other children in the same class. When children are successful in school it will build a strong positive self esteem within themselves and towards learning in general.

Preschoolers are too young for a formal diagnosis of Dyslexia. Therefore, it is not required. At the pre-school level hand holding a child and building a strong foundation is key. If you would like to know if your child needs early literacy intervention you may choose to send your child for a preschool early literacy screening with DAS for free. Find out more here.

The programme is especially for children who have learning gaps in early literacy learning and really need the additional support. The progamme is able to customise learning and teaching to meet the learning needs of all children with or without dyslexia.

Children below 6 six years of age are too young for a school-age psychological assessment. For children 6 years of age to be assessed for dyslexia they must have received 6 months of structured phonics support and are 6 years of age (passed their official birthday). This criterion for 6 years old is known internally as the 6-6 rule. For those who are not ready for an assessment with us, it is recommended to attend the DAS Preschool Programme before applying for a formal assessment. Preschoolers attending the DAS Preschool programme will be provided with the option to go for a School Age Psychological Assessment with the DAS once they have met the 6-6 rule and can continue on the programme while they wait in the queue to be assessed. Children diagnosed with dyslexia have the option to continue literacy intervention with the DAS Main Literacy Programme (MLP) in Primary One.