Read believes in the importance of literacy for the empowerment of the people. The organisation has a number of development programmes designed to provide individuals and institutions with the skills and tools to effectively asses, plan and execute the responsibilities of educational leadership in an education environment.
Read selects and uses a variety of interactive, participative and experiential methodologies in different combinations and in different contexts.
Their programmes use an internationally accepted resource-based approach which has, over the years, been refined for use in South Africa, working with South African educators. "Read is committed to working in support of the country's educational system and policies." To that end, Read works closely with the South African Ministry of Education, providing resources and educator training to a variety of educational institutions. This approach is particularly suited to outcomes-based methodology and to the needs of additional-language learners and teachers.
An emphasis on what's locally appropriate is also evident in the project's staffing strategy. Organisers explain that project staff is employed from the area in which the project is to be implemented. They are trained, mentored and monitored by Read. "The element of local capacity building is further enhanced by the selection of leader teachers who undergo additional training so that they can guide and mentor their colleagues and sustain the programme once Read withdraws."
The programme is founded on five pillars:
- training educators
- training principals and school governing bodies in key aspects of school management
- providing appropriate classroom resources
- carrying out school-based mentoring and monitoring all aspects of the project
- offering motivational programmes and events.
Project implementation follows a systematic, in-service training and delivery plan: consultation with the national and provincial education departments, selection of clusters of schools, consultation with the project school communities, training programmes for school staff, provision of resources in tandem with training, school management and governance training, regular school monitoring visits, continuous assessment, independent evaluation, and motivational and recognition-style events and parental involvement.
