The Learnery

The Learnery is our microschool specialising in family education and alternative education for youths. Built with Apprenticeship, Beauty, Craft, Design, our microschool will help Singapore meet human resource challenges of the 21st century and beyond.

The Big Picture

2/3 of Singapore adults experienced at least 1 adverse childhood experience¹. 17000 youths are not in school, work or training². Our national education system is outdated³. The bottleneck is the high-stakes PSLE for 11+ year-olds, a policy that has caused long term mental harm to children⁴. On a less sombre side, adult workers (from lower SES backgrounds when they were children) reported greater social mobility. All age ranges, from 21 to above 55, prioritise growth/learning as their task significance.⁵ If young and old human adults find personal development a highlight of learning, it is because it has always been so.

The truth: Children have no problem learning when assigned tasks are meaningful. They bail out when childhood is purposeless and tasks are unaligned to who they are, and unrealistic to what they can do. The gap between what is experienced by child learners (even for high achievers) vs adult learners in Singapore is big and concerning. Why are children so stressed in schools and exposed to so much danger so young? Why should they find life more bearable only when they are adults? We have to close the gap.

“In 2020 UNESCO called for the transformation of schools and universities into lifelong learning institutions, the placing of vulnerable groups at the core of a lifelong learning policy agenda and establishing lifelong learning as a common good (UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning 2020)…. True lifelong learning includes preparation for paid employment, but also encompasses learning before a working life begins, and after it concludes. While preparation for thriving at work is often at the heart of formal post-secondary education, preparation for thriving in life requires personal development and mental and physical health education. The latter may become increasingly important in a post-pandemic world with less paid work. Ongoing education for interest, enrichment and social engagement is an attractive solution, and a challenge, in a world where the chances of being a centenarian are increased (Gratton and Scott, 2016). Such a world is likely, for those so privileged, to include increased demand for education as and how it is desired: continuing education that is flexible and personalized, online, on-demand and peer to peer (Resei, Friedl et al., 2019).”⁶

The job scope is clear. As policymakers, parents, caregivers, and educators who are involved in nurturing children, we must know:

• what accounts as meaningful learning to children
• how responsive adult stakeholders respond to children’s learning needs
• how an education system is designed for psychological safety so that a learner is unharmed

In short, we need to build an education system that is meaningful, responsive, and safe for all children to flourish. This is our work in The Learnery.

Research Area 1

Children’s Rights

Why is this important? Children’s rights are notoriously under-discussed in the area of education in Singapore. As a signatory of the UNCRC since 1995, Singapore has yet to fully subscribe to the tenets of the UNCRC in education policies. The long-term effects of bullying in schools by adults and children, psychological harm from neglecting children’s participation in the things that concern them the most, have yet to be studied. Furthermore, the lack of a child protection policy in mainstream schools and education settings continue to be a red flag issue.

Our overarching belief is that the lives and voices of children matter all the time. There is no trendy time to give them their say at the table. Including children’s rights does not mean letting children do whatever they want (think of women’s rights and men’s rights). It means giving them full participation as members of society that they are nurtured into.

What have we done? Within Little U, we asked a student to design our Child Safeguarding Policy. We set up a role for a Child Welfare Officer (CWO) to be part of the Operations Team. This allows the CWO to have authority to enforce child safeguarding guidelines across the community. Beyond Little U, we organised the inaugural Alternative Education Forum 2025 : Children’s Rights to champion the rights of children in education reform.

What do we hope to achieve? We hope to see a Child Protection Policy in every education setting in Singapore where children are involved. We welcome leaders and groups to study our work in child safeguarding, specifically in an educational setting. You may adopt or adapt our child safeguarding policy, free of charge, to your organisation. As part of academic integrity, please credit Little U in your policy.

Research Area 2

Healing from Learning Trauma

Why is this important? Learning trauma is the result of the negative emotional and psychological impact that harmful learning environments (at home and school) and practices can have on students. Chronically disempowered children lose their autonomy and agency to make their own decisions. Instead, they end up fearful. They are afraid to make mistakes. In adulthood, they withdraw from difficult, emotional challenges required to mature as healthy adults. In the end, learning trauma can contribute to a reduced quality of life and dysfunctional family dynamics.

Our overarching belief is that the psychological safety of children is non-negotiable. Trauma can impair cognitive functions like focus, memory, and information processing, making it harder for children to learn. There is no benefit in abusing children (physically, emotionally, verbally, or neglectfully) to make them behave for short-term gains. It is criminal and goes against the Children and Young Persons Act 1993 (Article 6).

What have we done? We designed the entire Little U learning experience around trauma-informed care. People who become members have to agree to our trauma-informed guidelines before they join. The Little U operations team, Specialised Track educators and General Track parent-leaders undergo 2 hours of training a month to learn about Trauma-Informed Education (TIE) and Competency-Based Education (CBE). Students have recovered from learning trauma within a year or more. In 2026, the Alternative Education Forum 2026 : Education Reform will develop trauma-informed awareness in education policies and practices with stakeholders in education.

What do we hope to achieve? We hope to see TIE embedded across all education approaches – from homeschooling to mainstream schooling – so that any child, regardless of background, will be able to learn safely throughout their precious, growing-up years. We welcome leaders and groups to study our work in trauma-informed care, specifically in an educational setting. You may adapt or adopt our trauma-informed guidelines, free of charge, to your organisation. As part of academic integrity, please credit Little U in your policy.

Research Area 3

Family/National Wellness

Why is this important? A family that learns together, stays together. What we mean is, a family genuinely interested in the well-being of one another will work as a team to care for and protect each other. This is because such a family is emotionally invested and present, felt in the lives of all the members. Nobody is left behind. A family is the smallest unit of society. Grown to a national size, millions of families that learn to become emotionally present in their lives of friends, neighbours, communities, and work, will become a nation that is flourishing in positive moral values. This effect reduces blame, shame, isolation, addiction, vices, and crime in society. There is less need to enact punitive policies.

What have we done? Besides TIE, we designed the Little U learning experience around Competency-Based Education (CBE). This is a strengths-based, skills-based, mastery-based learning system that promotes every child and family’s uniqueness. When following a set of prescribed subjects, children of certain families will feel inadequate to learn. Furthermore, their families feel helpless to assist. In a CBE learning system, we look first to the family’s origin story, their profile and natural interests. Then we develop the child’s scope of skills to learn from the ground up. There is no one size fits all, so there is no need for standardised exams. We use only authentic assessments. From the assessments, we put them together in a portfolio transcript (the MTC Learning Record) for graduates of Little U to send off for work and higher education admissions. For younger children, we pilot micro-credentials developed with each family that can be upsized to the MTC Learning Record when they are ready. Families may also adapt the micro-credentials to their preferred record keeping format. In the Alternative Education Forum 2027: Family/National Systems we will be advocating for the wellness of families of origins and families of care. The family is often a child’s first education system. Families deserve their place in the national story of education.

What do we hope to achieve? Dignity and respect for neurodiverse learners. Whether you are a child or an adult, your natural strengths should be acknowledged and developed as far as possible. We always start with children because they are the most vulnerable group of people in the world. The kind of people who treat vulnerable children with dignity and respect when nobody is looking are the leaders we want for our nation.

Group 1

Homeschooling families who seek a long-term community for growth and social outreach.

We journey with you. We celebrate as your child masters foundational life skills. We capture his/her learning in Little U projects and elsewhere as micro-credentials (see here and here). For your high schooler, we have a pathway to work and higher education. It is built around formally prepared, credit-based portfolio projects pegged to rigorous learning outcomes, standards recognised by institutions and employers.

In terms of fees, we have designed a family-based subscription at the General Track (GT) so that big families are not penalised, but feel rewarded. Our Specialised Track (ST) for high school is a one-subscription-for-all-modules per enrolled student. It is pegged to a rate that a youth working part-time on weekends can afford.

We guarantee you will find nothing in close in Singapore that can compare with our pricing and ethics of care in pedagogy, curriculum and assessment design for customised learning. In return, we seek your long term partnership to care for the other beneficiaries on our list.

Group 2

Schooling families of neurodivergent children whose caregivers are willing to take responsibility for their children’s education.

We will build up your child’s education with you. We are willing to journey with you for the years ahead. Using our collective expertise from homeschooling approaches, we will enable you to develop your home and family learning culture so that your child receives the best interventions for his or her education. You may join our calendar of activities to start off, and then develop some projects of your own to build your parent-leadership capacity.

Group 3

Children who suffer from school refusal and learning trauma.

We will work closely with your parents, therapist(s), school leaders, social workers, and agencies to get you safe and healed so that you can pick yourself up without harm. It may take one year or a few years. We won’t abandon you when things are rocky. We put the power in your hands – you are welcome to leave us anytime you wish. It won’t be the other way round.

Group 4

Children who are unable to access mainstream schools.

Whether you are stateless, a foreigner, or not given an education since early childhood, we will work with your caregivers and social services to ensure you obtain a high-quality education regardless of your learning abilities, station in life, or ethnicity. Learning happens everywhere. We will use our collective creativity as a community to help you see your strengths and build a meaningful life with us in Singapore.

Families

General Track (GT)

At the General Track, where we work closely with families, the care for a vulnerable profile is 10 to 1.

This means that a child-at-risk will have 10 homeschooling parent-educators and their families watching closely over the child’s learning needs, around 340 hours/year. We will start by attaching the child to an experienced parent-leader who leads a co-op in the community. Only when a child feels safe will we expose him/her to more activities. As trauma-informed educators, we do not override a child’s consent. Nor will we side with the child’s adult caregivers’ demands if the demands violate the child’s psychological welfare (because this worsens the trauma).

For a family-at-risk, 10 homeschooling families will work as a team to nurture the family to healing and safety in learning, around 260 hours/year. We will attach the family to two experienced parent-leaders who lead two different activities. This way, the family has more options to develop confidence and friendship.

For a vulnerable family with better regulation, the care ratio is 5:1. This family’s profile will be able to choose their activities to join easily. The activities should be limited to familiar faces within Little U only, as too many interactions with new people will emotionally drain the family. Moreover, Little U members are submitted to the governance of our policies. There will be more predictability and consistency in the interactions.

The GT accepts families with children from ages 3 and up. There is strong community support and an exciting calendar of activities. Learn many things together through co-ops, classes, and Little U outreach events. We will help you develop your capacity to create projects in the community. Many families that we have helped have gone on to build their communities beyond Little U.

The full enrolment for the GT is 100 families. For 2026, we have space for up to 30 families.

Youths

Specialised Track (ST)

What We Do

At the Specialised Track, where we work closely with youths, a youth-at-risk⁷ will be under the care of a team of teachers, in small classes not larger than 6 to 8. He/she will be learning alongside homeschooling youths who are respectful about boundaries and serious in their studies.

The ST accept students from the age of 13 and up. Each term opens with a selection of modules prepared by highly skilled educators that will ground you in academic foundations in language and logic, creative confidence, and work readiness. Select up to 3 modules (for popular modules, priority is given to graduating students). Apart from the present modules, you may build Personal Projects with your family and mentors outside of Little U, in line with your interests.

The ST is designed to equip you to thrive in your generation’s economy. Four 21st-century competencies and 16 criteria have been carefully selected and crafted to develop a holistic portfolio transcript⁸ for your admissions to higher education and/or work. Many students that we have helped have found their voice and independent paths beyond Little U, even if they have not completed their course of study with us.

The full enrolment for the GT is 50 students. For 2026, we have space for up to 25 students.

What Our Modules Looks Like

How much are the ST fees?

$500/month/per student

Please note:

• We collect a term’s fee at a time ($3000/term) that is renewable every 6 months. You may choose to leave the course anytime during the term if it does not fit, but there will be no refunds.
• Our fees are kept low because of our non-profit agenda. We believe great education should be accessible to all. The $/m is pegged to a student’s ability to earn the amount working part-time on weekends. We are also mindful that your family may need to spend on other assistive services, e.g., educational therapist care for trauma-related learning activities, etc. As we develop towards a charity, we will seek funding to cover the full cost of our operations. (Do compare our fees with international schools, A/O level subject tutors, and special needs tutors for high schoolers.)
• You will need to budget accordingly – there is no timeline for when you must complete the coursework. Some students will take less than 3 years. Some students will take more than 5 years. Our demographics learn best in a flexible system. We don’t enforce fixed hours of in-person attendance per week. We understand it will be difficult for some children and caregivers – chronic conditions may affect your ability to show up. We prefer to work at your learning pace.
• You are not paying for a result slip of grades or numbers (that’s a diploma mill). You are paying for quality high-schooling experience to develop foundational mastery in important thinking and real life skills. What we offer is a formal coursework where students earn up to 16 credit-based modules. These modules are stacked towards a macro-credential accreditation – a full transcript (MTC Learning Record) akin to a high school diploma. It can be sent to any higher education institution – polytechnics, universities, or work around the world. It has been accepted at top universities like Princeton (USA), Yale (USA), Harvard (USA), Goldsmith (UK), RMIT (AU) etc.
• You are not paying for a guaranteed spot in a higher institution (that’s bribery). Getting an open door to any institution via the MTC Learning Record is not an issue. Getting accepted, however, is based on the achievements of your portfolio, the admissions criteria of the degree, and other factors. For the Little U MTC Learning Record, we recommend earning 10-13 credits for poly level admissions and 14-16 credits for undergraduate admissions. Each credit takes a minimum of 4 months to 1 year to achieve an acceptable entry-to-industry or entry-to-academic standard.

1. https://www.imh.com.sg/Mental-Health-Resources/Conditions-and-Challenges/Pages/Adverse-Childhood-Experiences.aspx ↩︎
2. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/around-17000-youth-in-singapore-are-not-in-school-work-or-training ↩︎
3. https://everychild.sg/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/White-Paper-Education-Reform.pdf ↩︎
4. https://everychild.sg/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Academic-Stress-among-Primary-Schoolers-in-Singapore_-Investigating-the-mental-health-effects-of-a-childhood-defined-by-PSLE.pdf ↩︎
5. https://lkyspp.nus.edu.sg/docs/default-source/ips/ips-exchange-series-26.pdf ↩︎
6. https://www.ibo.org/globalassets/new-structure/research/pdfs/micro-credentials-processes-final-report.pdf ↩︎
7. For safety reasons, we need disclosure of all conditions, medication, family history, and any concerning incidents in written documentation. The documentation must be attached to the Admissions Form. Missing information may be recounted during Onboarding. The student and family may have to accept last-minute changes to our consultation, including access or denial to certain modules and their learning environments. E.g., if screen addiction is an issue that is only known last minute, we would counsel that modules that use AI would not be a good fit, no matter how interested the student may be. The student may have to resort to printing materials out in hard copy to prevent excessive screen use at home, or go on frequent trips to the library to borrow hard copy books. In this situation, caregivers would fork out more time to assist the child. ↩︎
8. We partner Mastery Transcript Consortium® (MTC). Students may use their MTC Learning Record to apply to companies and educational institutions around the world. ↩︎