By Riel Andaluz | Sr. Manager for Corporate Partnerships
The Catch-up Clubs (CuC) is a play-based remedial reading program for Grades 4-6 learners who are non-readers or significantly behind in reading. The approach combines Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL), play, social-emotional learning (SEL), and inclusive education strategies to close the learning gap in reading—a foundational skill for future learning. Utilizing such an approach is essential as these children find difficulty in catching up with the competencies they are expected to achieve in their grade levels. Through the CuCs, they are given the opportunity and the avenue to catch up with the learning gap or learning loss, starting with improving their reading level that is essential in tackling the different lessons and competencies in school.
The program goes beyond learning by linking children and their families to essential social services such as recognizing that various factors act as barriers to education. CuCs strives to address these obstacles head-on. The Child Protection component of the CuCs makes this model holistic. Through this component, CuCs link children to social services through tapping the existing Reporting and Referral Mechanism at the community level. Additionally, the CuCs also has a parenting component which organizes parents whose children are enrolled in the CuCs. Check-in sessions are conducted for parents to promote parental/caregiver support in the learning of children, as well as promoting a nurturing learning environment at home where children are given the safe space to learn.
REACH AND RESULTS
The endline results achieved by the participants in the CuCs showed that approximately 76% of learnersadvancing to a higher reading level compared to their initial reading assessment just after one cycle, equivalent to 52.5 average hours of CuC sessions. Learners who did not make significant progress during one cycle of the CuCs were likely hindered by possible causes such as their disability status, learning barriers, spoken languages, and absenteeism. The result also showed that learners who were enrolled in the CuCs improved significantly faster as compared to those not enrolled.
SEL outcomes showed positive gains across all domains.
Children reported measurable improvements in empathy, perseverance, emotional regulation, and confidence; with the largest gain seen in empathy (+12.8 percentage points). Girls recorded stronger gains in empathy and stress management, while boys showed progress in social interaction. Facilitators credited these improvements to embedded SEL strategies like group games, storytelling, and creating emotionally safe learning spaces.
Literacy and SEL outcomes varied by age, sex, and context.
Girls were more likely to reach higher literacy levels than boys, and older learners made stronger SEL gains, particularly in emotional regulation. Children from IP, Muslim, and low-income households faced additional barriers, including language mismatch and inconsistent support at home. Despite this, some learners still progressed when sessions were consistent and culturally inclusive.
Cycle 2 of the Catch Up Clubs (CuC) concluded in October 2025. This cycle has enrolled 120 children across 10 schools in Maasim, Sarangani Province.
To date, CuC has already reached 3,000 learners across 105 schools in the divisions of Sarangani and General Santos City.
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