Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with ...

1 Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with dyslexia and literacy DifficultiesAn independent report from Sir Jim Rose to the Secretary of State for Children , Schools and Families June 2009 Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with dyslexia and literacy DifficultiesYou can download this publication or order copies online at using ref: DCSF-00659-2009 Copies of this publication can be obtained from: DCSF Publications PO Box 5050 Sherwood Park Annesley Nottingham NG15 0DJ Tel: 0845 60 222 60 Fax: 0845 60 333 60 Textphone: 0845 60 555 60 Please quote the ref: 00659-2009 DOM-ENISBN: 978-1-84775-471-4D16(8169)/0609/53 Crown copyright 2009 Extracts from this document may be reproduced for non-commercial research, education or training purposes on the condition that the source is acknowledged.

2 For any other use please contact Report 116/7/09 11:10:26 PHOTO REDACTED DUE TO THIRD PARTY RIGHTS OR OTHER LEGAL ISSUES Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with dyslexia and literacy DifficultiesAn independent report from Sir Jim Rose to the Secretary of State for Children , Schools and Families June 2009A note on terminologyThroughout this report, references to Children should be read as including Young People of school and Teaching Children and Young People with dyslexia and literacy DifficultiesLetter to the Secretary of State from Sir Jim RoseDear Secretary of StateThis is the review of dyslexia which you invited me to undertake in May 2008. The remit for the review, on which a call for evidence was launched on 14 July 20081, is set out below.

3 The call for evidence resulted in 863 responses2, which when added to our reviews of research literature, wide consultation and school visits, provided a considerable database for this report. The Children s Plan3 made it clear that the Government wants every child to succeed, and it hardly needs to be said that the ability to read well is key to success in education and an essential life skill . Moreover, reading and writing are closely related, and both are dependent on the development of Children s speaking and listening capabilities. As the review explains, responses to overcoming dyslexia and other developmental difficulties of language learning and cognition must be robust and set within high quality provision for securing literacy for all Children , especially in primary schools.

4 It is important to develop high quality interventions for Children with literacy and dyslexic difficulties and to implement them thoroughly. This will require well trained, knowledgeable teachers and support staff. It is therefore recommended that the Department for Children , Schools and Families (DCSF) should 1 Weblink to DCSF Press Notice announcing call for evidence 659 responses were from parents or carers of Children with dyslexia . A further 75 were from Children and adults with dyslexia , and 129 were from teachers, researchers or organisations tackling dyslexia and/or literacy DCSF (2007).2 Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with dyslexia and literacy Difficultiescommission short courses for teachers on selecting and Teaching literacy intervention programmes.

5 Although well-founded interventions enable most Children to make progress, those with the most severe difficulties invariably require more specialist support. It is therefore also recommended that the DCSF should fund a number of teachers to undertake specialist training in Teaching Children with dyslexia so that access to specialist expertise can be improved across local authorities and schools will form partnerships to share disorders have been extensively researched such that dyslexia , the existence of which was once questioned, is now widely recognised as a specific difficulty in learning to read. Research also shows that dyslexia may affect more than the ability to read and write.

6 There is a growing body of research on so-called co-occurring factors. While these factors are discussed, the report is mainly concerned with Identifying and responding directly to counter the effects of dyslexia on literacy . This is clearly the main concern of anxious parents about the adequacy of school provision to help their Children overcome dyslexia , as the following comment from a parent shows: I gave up on her school. I was literally banging my head on a brick wall. Everyone knew she couldn t read to save her life and that s what was causing all her other problems, especially at home, it was a nightmare. The British dyslexia Association (BDA) reports that its helpline receives calls from many parents with similar concerns.

7 Whether real or perceived, it is often a sense of lack of urgency in the system for taking action to provide for the child that causes parental anxiety. Obviously, this anxiety is heightened if bureaucratic processes appear to grind slow in providing effective interventions to help Children overcome dyslexic difficulties . However, it is important to note that the review has found much good provision which is meeting Children s needs and is highly 3 Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with dyslexia and literacy Difficultiescommended by parents. How best to even up the quality of provision and eradicate unacceptable variations in the time taken to implement it are therefore recurring themes of this review.

8 While there are no quick fixes , research and best practice converge on the principles that define effective provision for Children with dyslexia and the kinds of support schools need to implement and sustain such provision. I hope the review will therefore help policy makers and providers to strengthen practice, and assure parents that provision for Children with dyslexia will be as good as we can make it. The report owes much to the depth and range of knowledge of its Expert Advisory Group, and to the many groups and individuals who have contributed fulsomely through the call for evidence, consultations and school visits. I am most grateful to all those concerned and for the excellent support of my sincerely, Sir Jim Rose CBE4 Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with dyslexia and literacy DifficultiesExpert Advisory GroupMembers of the Expert Advisory Group.

9 Professor Greg Brooks, now retired, formerly at the School of Education, University of Sheffield Professor Robert Burden, School of Education, University of ExeterDr Geraldine Price, School of Education, University of Southampton Dr John Rack, Head of Assessment and Evaluation, dyslexia Action Dr Rea Reason, now retired, formerly at the School of Education, University of Manchester Mark Sherin, Lyndhurst dyslexia Centre, Southwark Dr Chris Singleton, Department of Psychology, University of Hull Professor Margaret Snowling, Department of Psychology, University of YorkProfessor Morag Stuart, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Institute of Education, University of London5 Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with dyslexia and literacy DifficultiesProfessional support was provided by.

10 Dr Yvonne Griffiths and Dr Leith Krakouer, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Institute of Education, University of LondonGlynnis Smith, affiliated to the Centre for Reading and Language, University of YorkHolly Garwood, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Institute of Education, University of LondonProfessors Julie Dockrell, Morag Stuart and Jackie Masterson, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Institute of Education, University of London 6 Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with dyslexia and literacy DifficultiesContents Remit from the Secretary of State 8 PART 1 Main findings and Recommendations 9 PART 2 The Evidence Base 29 Chapter 1: What is dyslexia ?