Learning Support Programme in Singapore Primary Schools

The Learning Support Programme (LSP) in a Singapore primary school is MOE’s support for Primary 1 and 2 students with weak language and literacy skills. It sits alongside Learning Support for Mathematics (Primary 1–4), TRANSIT for identified Primary 1 students with social and behavioural difficulties, and school-based dyslexia remediation for students with dyslexia in Primary 3–4. Those are four of the five interventions and programmes on MOE’s page on special educational needs support at mainstream primary schools, marked “Last Updated: 16 Jan 2026”, and MOE says to contact your child’s school or its Special Educational Needs (SEN) Officer for details.

If your child is finding reading, maths, attention or friendships hard, this guide sets MOE’s list out year by year and offers our own suggested order for asking questions. It is general information from official pages first read on 3 October 2026 and reread on 17 October 2026, not clinical or educational advice, and it cannot say whether a particular child needs, or would be offered, any of these.

Which support exists in each year of primary school?

MOE gives a year range for most of these programmes (not for Circle of Friends) and says nothing about timetables. This map is ours, built only from those ranges.

• Primary 1: LSP (language and literacy), Learning Support for Mathematics (LSM) and TRANSIT (for students the school identifies; see the note on TRANSIT below)
• Primary 2: LSP and LSM
• Primary 3: LSM and school-based dyslexia remediation (for students with dyslexia)
• Primary 4: LSM and school-based dyslexia remediation (for students with dyslexia)
• Primary 5 and 6: no year-limited programme is named on the page, which does not discuss those years separately
• No year range named: SEN Officers and other trained staff, Circle of Friends, national-exam access arrangements and the other provisions below

What do the programmes involve?

MOE’s page gives short descriptions; the EdTalks explainer (published 18 November 2024) adds a little.

• LSP and LSM: LSP is for weak language and literacy skills (EdTalks says English language and literacy). LSM is for students who need additional support in acquiring basic concepts and skills in Mathematics.
• TRANSIT (TRANsition Support for InTegration): students learn self-management skills through a curriculum covering classroom work habits, social and communication skills and emotional regulation. Schools identify students from information from parents and teachers and from systematic observations by trained school personnel. MOE’s page, last updated 16 January 2026, says it “will be introduced progressively to all primary schools by 2026”; the page does not say whether that has finished, so ask whether your child’s school has it.
• School-based Dyslexia Remediation: EdTalks describes the students as those with continued literacy difficulties in Primary 3 and 4 who are diagnosed with dyslexia.
• Circle of Friends: a peer support intervention for students with social and behavioural difficulties, in primary and secondary schools.
• SEN Officers and trained teachers: SEN Officers provide in-class support and individual or small group intervention and skills training, and EdTalks says all primary schools have at least two. Teacher Leaders for Learning Needs (SEN) mentor teachers, and Teachers Trained in Special Needs share strategies with colleagues.

Is there support for attention or social skills?

None of the programmes on MOE’s page is described as being for attention. The page lists attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among the needs mainstream primary schools can support, alongside dyslexia, hearing loss, mild autism spectrum disorder, physical impairment and visual impairment, and describes those schools as suitable for children with “the cognitive abilities and adaptive skills to access the national curriculum and mainstream learning environment”. For social and behavioural difficulties it names TRANSIT and Circle of Friends.

The EdTalks explainer adds that mainstream schools have access to REACH, a multi-disciplinary mental health service, and that school counsellors can refer students with emotional and behavioural difficulties, such as ADHD, anxiety or depression, to REACH teams. It also says schools aim to give support “based on their needs, and not just their diagnosis”.

What else does MOE list?

MOE’s page also lists access to the MOE-subsidised Main Literacy Programme run by the Dyslexia Association of Singapore, for students with dyslexia who meet the subsidy eligibility criteria. Its other provisions are barrier-free access (all schools have some degree of it), assistive technology for Singapore citizens diagnosed with hearing loss (Remote Microphones – Hearing Assistive Technology) or visual impairment (magnifiers), services from social service agencies such as AWWA Ltd and the Singapore Association for the Deaf for students with hearing loss, visual or physical impairments, and transport concession or subsidy schemes for persons with disabilities for public transport travel.

Who can you ask first, and in what order?

The MOE pages read set out no fixed order. This sequence is our reading of them, not MOE’s: start with the people who see the child every day, and move to outside professionals when the school or a particular provision calls for one.

1. Class teacher. The EdTalks explainer says parents can consult their child’s teachers when choosing a school setting, and calls the home-school partnership the most important partnership: parents can offer insights into their child’s strengths, needs and interests, and schools and families share strategies.
2. SEN Officer. MOE’s page says to contact the school or its SEN Officer about these provisions. The EdTalks explainer adds that MOE Educational Psychologists regularly visit schools to advise on support, and that primary schools can refer students with SEN to one for assessment.
3. Professional assessment. MOE’s page says that if you have concerns about your child’s ability to cope in a mainstream school, you may want to get one. Some provisions are tied to it: dyslexia remediation is described for students diagnosed with dyslexia, assistive learning devices for children assessed as needing them, and MOE’s page on understanding your child’s needs (“Last Updated: 14 Jan 2026”) says an assessment is necessary if you intend to apply to a special education school.

If your child is starting Primary 1, the EdTalks explainer says MOE facilitates the transfer of information from hospitals and early intervention centres to schools with parents’ consent, and that schools contact parents early after enrolment. Our guides to when a child starts K1 and Primary 1 and to a December routine before Primary 1 cover the calendar side.

What to ask the SEN Officer

These are our suggested questions, not MOE’s wording. Copy them into a message to the school:

• Which of LSP, LSM, TRANSIT, dyslexia remediation and Circle of Friends does the school run for my child’s year?
• How does the school decide who joins, and what information does it use?
• When do sessions take place, in what size of group, and how will progress be shared with us?
• Does the school refer students to an MOE Educational Psychologist, and when?
• Which provisions would depend on a professional assessment, and which would not?

When and where can a child get a professional assessment?

MOE’s assessment page says a qualified professional can give a holistic profile of a child’s strengths and difficulties (physical development, communication, learning, social-emotional functioning), a clear diagnosis, and recommended support, including educational placement. It typically involves standardised assessments and interviews with parents, the child and others such as teachers; MOE says to bring medical records and school reports.

• Hospitals, for children below 7: the Department of Child Development at KKH or the Child Development Unit at NUH. MOE says you will be eligible for a subsidy if a polyclinic or a Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) clinic refers your child to KKH or NUH.
• Qualified private professionals: a registered Educational or Clinical Psychologist listed in the Singapore Register of Psychologists. MOE says to check that the professional takes private appointments and has the relevant qualifications and experience; psychologists with .gov.sg or .org.sg email addresses typically do not.

The page names a hospital route for children below 7 only. On timing, MOE recommends having the assessment done at least 6 months before the deadline if you are applying to a special education school, to leave time for documents and for input from early intervention, childcare or preschool professionals. That advice concerns special education school applications; the pages read give no timeframe for LSP, LSM or other school-based programmes.

What are exam access arrangements, and who applies?

MOE lists access arrangements, such as larger fonts and extra time, under specialised provisions. The Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) page (“Last updated on 11 May 2026”) says SEAB grants them to candidates with special educational needs; examples include extra time (approximately 25% of the examination duration in most cases), enlarged print and a separate room. School candidates must apply through the school. SEAB says all applications must be in by the stipulated deadline in the year of the national examination; for school candidates it lists “PSLE: Mid-February”, and it says school candidates’ applications can be submitted one year ahead of the examination. SEAB says its primary considerations are the candidate’s diagnosed conditions and the school’s observations of how the candidate typically learns and functions in the classroom. It also says applications are reviewed by a panel and considered on their circumstances, so this guide cannot say whether any arrangement would be approved for a particular child.

What do MOE’s pages leave out?

The MOE pages read for this guide do not say:

• how a school decides who joins LSP, LSM or dyslexia remediation
• how often LSP, LSM or dyslexia remediation sessions run, how large the groups are, or whether they happen during lessons
• whether TRANSIT has reached every primary school
• what a private assessment costs

The school is the place to ask. MOE’s parent resources page (“Last Updated: 10 Mar 2026”) lists a “Which school for my child?” guide, and its support hub (“Last Updated: 14 Jan 2026”) links to pages for each type of school and institution. More guides on school and learning are in our learning topic, and our glossary of Singapore school terms defines the Learning Support Programme; our library reading habit guide covers reading at home.

Common questions