Bridging the gap between potential and success

The Neighbourhood Literacy Project is a registered charity dedicated to developing the capability of people with dyslexia, dyscalculia and other learning differences.

About us

Here at the Neighbourhood Literacy Project, our goal is to build communities where every child has the opportunity to thrive academically, and unlock a world of possibilities through the power of literacy.

We look to nurture children  through access to a range of services, and build the skills of teachers and tutors, so they have the tools and knowledge to support their learners.

To this end, we strive to:

Build relationships - Broker connections between funders, schools, families and specialist learning support providers, to ensure those who most need help can receive it. 

Provide access to learning support services - This may include:

Targeted tuition

  • Specialist one-to-one tuition services in structured literacy or maths

  • One-to-one and small group NCEA support

  • Programmes which develop basic literacy skills in adults

Professional learning and development (PLD) - Training for educators and other community groups in how best to support struggling learners.

Assessments and other professional services

  • Speech Language Therapy

  • Occupational Therapy

  • Behavioural and cognitive assessments

Identify students in need - Work with schools and other organisations to identify children who are most at risk of educational failure, and who would not otherwise be able to access specialist support.

Increase access to relevant learning interventions or modification equipment - Support provisions as recommended by schools, medical professionals, or through behavioural and cognitive assessments.

Provide quality assurance - Undertake quality assurance and monitoring of funding recipients to ensure they have the capability to use appropriate, evidence-based methodologies in order to receive funds, and provide reporting to demonstrate outcomes. 

Our Charities Registration Number is CC62569.

If you wish to learn more about what we do, please drop us a line, we’d love to hear from you!

Our goal is to build communities where every child has the opportunity to thrive academically, and unlock a world of possibilities through the power of literacy.

Our Work

Increasing access to targeted intervention for students with learning challenges

Using funds from the Youth Grants Trust, Melissa was able to conduct a pilot programme with two students at Linden School in Wellington in 2023. The purpose of the pilot was to investigate the different ways tuition could be delivered under the Neighbourhood Literacy Project. In particular, we wished to know whether it was possible to reduce the burden on parents to complete homework, which provides vital repetition for children with learning differences in order for new skills to “stick”. To this end, tuition is delivered using a new model: one full session each week, followed by two shorter, follow-up sessions. This has proven extremely successful and additional funding was secured through the Youth Grants Trust to continue this work in 2024.

Building relationships between community groups and PLD providers

In her work setting up the Neighbourhood Literacy Project, Melissa connected with Te Rūnanga o toa Rangatira, the mandated iwi authority for Ngāti Toa Rangatira. Since 2015 Ngāti Toa have been running Puna Mātauranga o toa Rangatira, an iwi education support service that guides Ngāti Toa primary and secondary students through programmes that enable better education outcomes. One of the key goals of the group is to become experts in what is needed to teach literacy effectively, so in 2024 Melissa has been training their staff to deliver structured literacy intervention services directly to tamariki within the community, using Āwhina Education’s methodologies. Each student is assessed to identify specific gaps in their learning, with individualised teaching plans provided; over time, staff will be upskilled to provide these assessments independently. At the end of 2024, there were 10 students receiving tutoring under this scheme. The NLP has also connected Puna Mātauranga to Educational Psychologist Amelia Volkerling, to engage in talks on the Science of Reading with whānau.

Help us build communities where every child has the opportunity to thrive academically through the gift of reading!

Who we are

  • Helen Webber

    Chairperson

    Helen's experience in the education sector spans primary to tertiary teaching, with a strong focus on learning and literacy support. She brings with her 13 years of leadership experience as teacher-in-charge at He Huarahi Tamariki, the teen parent school in Linden, where personalised programmes saw students flourish. As a mother of three adult sons and gran to three, she is passionate about removing barriers and empowering learners of all ages.

  • Melissa Carrere

    CEO/Founder & Treasurer

    Originally a high school English teacher, Melissa is now a specialist in one-to-one structured literacy and maths intervention. She began work in this field in 2019, and brings with her five years of experience running tuition company Āwhina Education. Here she has seen first hand the incredible impact intervention can have, which has driven her to donate time, expertise and resources to getting the Neighbourhood Literacy Project off the ground.  As a mother of two, she is reminded daily of the life-changing experience a great education can be, and has dedicated her career to trying to deliver this to as many New Zealanders as she can.

  • Corinne Cordes

    Secretary

    Corinne is a public sector professional with more than 20 years experience. She brings strategy, planning and fund raising skills to her work with the Neighbourhood Literacy Project. As a mother of two school-aged children, one of whom received literacy intervention as part of their learning journey, she is passionate about ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn how to read and write well.