What's the Difference? School Literacy Programs and Halifax Learning's Clinic-Based Approach

If you're a parent of a child in Primary through Grade 2 in Nova Scotia, you may have heard about the P-2 literacy program that's being rolled out in schools. It's an important shift toward more structured literacy instruction, so we're beyond excited to see evidence-based practices being taught in classrooms across the province. We're already seeing the positive impact of school-based structured literacy; students are coming to us with stronger phonological processing skills than we saw just a few years ago.

But we get asked all the time: "So what's different about what you do at Halifax Learning’s reading clinics?"

It's a fair question! You can think of it this way: your family doctor provides excellent care, but sometimes you need to see a specialist. Both are valuable and necessary; they just serve different purposes.

When a student comes to Halifax Learning, they're getting something that's hard to replicate in a classroom: targeted, explicit instruction with a small student-to-teacher ratio.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

If a student needs to spend three class sessions really mastering the difference between 'e' and 'i', we do that. No pressure to move on because the rest of the class is ready.

If students get it and are ready to sprint forward, we let them.

Sometimes a Grade 3 student comes to us reading at a Grade 1 level. We don't teach them Grade 3 content and hope for the best. For all students, we go back and systematically build those foundational skills they missed.

We teach a full program with an approach that isn't “just phonics,” it's a complete system. Students get explicit instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. They're reading connected text from day one, not just practicing skills in isolation.

School intervention programs and clinic-based interventions are complementary. What we offer at Halifax Learning is an intensified version of that instruction for students who need more practice or more targeted support. Some students need that extra support right from the start. Others might do fine in P-2 but struggle when the demands increase in Grade 3 or 4. And some students just learn differently and benefit from the individualized pacing and attention that a clinical setting provides.

For students who need a bit more, that's where we come in. Our clinic-based model allows us to provide the comprehensive, systematic literacy instruction that can be challenging to deliver in schools.

If your child is thriving with the P-2 program at school, wonderful! Keep supporting them at home, and celebrate their progress. But if you're seeing your child struggle, know that there are options. Every child deserves to become a confident, capable reader. Whichever way we get them there, that's what matters most!