The ability to read from an early age is the platform that enables life-long education. Children without this critical skill are often socially and economically handicapped.
RightToRead uses technology and multi-sensory learning techniques to improve English reading and comprehension skills for Junior school children.
RightToRead was launched at Ahkom School in 2015 with 100 pupils. We are currently running at 7 schools with over 1200 children. RightToRead can be delivered to a school for as little as £1 per child per year.
RightToRead is scalable and easily implemented:
- ReadToMe software is ‘trained’ on the existing class English book
- Teachers are trained in a few hours to use the software in class
- 2-3 English classes each week are taught using ReadToMe – this causes no disruption to curriculums, timetables, etc.
- Since all subjects are in English, improving children’s English skills helps them in all lessons
The children too love RightToRead, as noted by the head of Ahkom school in 2017
“Two young girls newly promoted from Junior Secondary 3 to Senior Secondary 1 spent a good deal of their morning break, last week , in the punishment corner for skiving class in a determined bid to attend the JSS 3 RTR class. Talk about the dangers of nostalgia. We need to find ways to give these children more opportunities to learn.”
Schools in Sierra Leone often have crowded classrooms with up to 60 children per class, no teaching aids apart from a blackboard, under-trained teachers, lack of textbooks so the whole class shares just a few copies. Add in the problems of poverty – students sometimes miss school to go to work so they can earn some money for their families – and events like Ebola and Covid when all schools shut down for several months. In some areas less than half the children who start Primary school will complete it, and less than one third of Secondary-school age children will enrol in Secondary school.
We are partnering with English Helper to deliver RightToRead to schools in Sierra Leone.
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