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Hello Learners - Structured Literacy Program

A specialist literacy program for children from pre-prep to Grade 6.

Hello Learners is a small group after-school program for children who need extra support with reading, writing and spelling, run by speech pathologists right here in North Melbourne.

Book a literacy screening Or get in touch

A short screening to find your child's level and the right group.

Three children smiling and learning together at a table with flashcards
Child spelling words with letter cards during a phonics session

We help children who find reading, writing and spelling hard.

Hello Learners works with children from pre-prep to Grade 6 who are finding reading, writing, or spelling harder than they should.

Reading is a language skill. The underlying difficulties most often sit in how the brain processes language, not in effort, motivation, or general intelligence. This is why our program brings together speech pathologists and teachers who share the same evidence-based framework and speak the same language.

Weekly sessions focus on building core reading, writing and spelling skills, step by step.

The program

A program where kids make real progress and feel good doing it.

Hello Learners

Our specialist after-school literacy program is for children from pre-prep to Grade 6 who need extra support with reading, writing and spelling. Sessions run in small groups of 3-5 children, led by qualified speech pathologists.

Group Size

3-5 children

Timing

After school

Structure

Term-based

Focus

Reading, writing & Spelling

Location

North Melbourne

psychology

"Reading is a language skill. The root cause is nearly always in how the brain processes language — not in how hard your child is working."

Speech pathology is the profession that specialises in exactly this.

Children and teacher working together with letter cards around a table

What makes this program different

Four things that shape how we work — and why families see results.

Speech pathologist working one-on-one with a child using phonics cards
01

Speech-pathology-led

Speech pathologists bring a clinical understanding of how language is processed — not just how reading looks on the page. This changes how we identify what's getting in the way and how we address it.

Children learning together in a small group with flashcards
02

Small groups, real connection

Groups of 3–5 means every student is seen every session. Children also discover they're not alone in finding reading hard — something that matters more than most parents expect.

Young boy smiling and playing with colourful building blocks
03

You're kept in the loop, every session

After every session you receive a short email with what we covered and exactly how to practise at home to reinforce what your child is learning and to support you to support them.

Phonics cards and word-building materials laid out on a therapy table
04

Structured Literacy: Explicit, systematic phonics — always

Every lesson teaches the code of written English in a structured, cumulative sequence using the Science of Reading. No guessing strategies.

From first enquiry to first session — here's what to expect.

Enrol This Term
01

Enquire & Screening

Send us a message. We'll chat and book a short screening assessment.

02

Find the Right Group

We match your child with others at a similar skill level.

03

Start the Term

Weekly sessions focus on building core reading, writing and spelling skills, step by step.

04

Visible Progress

Regular updates from us, and real growth you can see — in their reading and their confidence.

Meet the clinicians

Experts in literacy

Darcie Somers, Speech Pathologist and Founder

Darcie Somers

Certified Practising Speech Pathologist

Specialist in literacy and its connection to children's communication and confidence. Trained in Sounds-Write, Orton-Gillingham, and Multisensory Structured Literacy. Associate of the Australian Dyslexia Association.

Speech Pathologist Orton-Gillingham Sounds-Write
Sandy Blair, Primary and Secondary Teacher

Sandy Blair

Bachelor of Teaching (Primary), Bachelor of Education (Secondary)

Qualified primary and secondary teacher with 40 years of experience in the Geelong community. Passionate about building children's literacy confidence, with substantial experience supporting learners with dyslexia.

Sounds-Write Orton-Gillingham Spalding
Remy Blair-Thomson, Certified Practising Speech Pathologist

Remy Blair-Thomson

Certified Practising Speech Pathologist, M.Sp.Path

Warm and compassionate Speech Pathologist with a passion for literacy and early language development. Guided by neurodiversity affirming values, Remy loves collaborating with families on their literacy journey.

Speech Pathologist Literacy & early language Neurodiversity affirming
FAQs

Things parents always ask us

The program follows the standard Victorian school terms. Each term is approximately 10 weeks of sessions.
Hello Learners is $89 per session, invoiced by the term (each term is around 10 weeks). That covers your child's weekly small-group session, all their materials, and a short email after every session showing you what we covered and how to practise at home. We book by the term; if paying up front is tricky, we can also arrange a monthly payment plan.
Hello Learners is for children from three years old (pre-prep) through to Grade 6. Before your child starts, we do a short screening assessment to see exactly where they're at, then place them in a small group with other children working at a similar level — so the teaching is always pitched right for them.
Getting started is simpler than you'd think — no referral, no diagnosis and no long waiting list. Send us a message and we'll have a chat, then book a short screening assessment so one of our speech pathologists can see exactly where your child is at. From there we match them with a small group at the right level, and they begin weekly sessions when the term starts.
No — Hello Learners can't be claimed through NDIS. NDIS funding is designed for therapy, such as individual speech pathology sessions where a therapist works one-on-one with your child toward the specific goals set out in their NDIS plan. Hello Learners is different: it's a structured group literacy program that teaches children to read using a proven, evidence-based approach. Because it's educational rather than therapeutic, it falls outside what NDIS funds. Hello Learners is offered as a private program, billed at $89 per session and invoiced by the term. If your child has NDIS funding with literacy goals written into their plan, we can still help — those goals can be supported through individual speech pathology, one-on-one therapy tailored to your child that may be funded through their NDIS plan. If you'd like to talk through whether Hello Learners or one-on-one therapy is the right fit for your child, we're always happy to help.

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Next step

A first conversation.

If you would like to discuss whether Hello Learners is a suitable program for your child, please book a fifteen-minute conversation by phone with one of our speech pathologists. There is no fee for this conversation, and no obligation to enrol.

Term 3 spots are limited.

Book a literacy screening

Or write to us at admin@hellokidstherapyhub.com.au.