Resources for Schools

Below you will find information for schools on supporting children and young people with specific learning difficulties, including links to other web sites.

The Trust has produced a 32 page brochure entitled 'Trust Offer to Schools and Pathfinders' available to view or download below. The document includes information on all the Trust's freely available resources - a professional development framework, an on-line searchable database of effective interventions, a suite of case studies and models of good practice and a support network to empower parents and carers.

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Trust Offer to Schools and Pathfinders

Definition of Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling.

• Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed.
• Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities.
• It is best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and there are no clear cut-off points.
• Co-occuring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language, motor co-ordination, mental calculation, concentration and personal organisation, but these are not, by themselves, markers of dyslexia.
• A good indication of the severity and persistence of dyslexia difficulties can be gained by examining how the individual responds or has responded to
  well-founded intervention.

Source: The Rose Report 2009, Pg 29 - Identifying and Teaching Children and Young People with Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties.

Interventions for Literacy

The Trust has launched an online tool 'Interventions for Literacy', which can help identify the most effective, evidence based support schemes to suit a child's needs, including within the school environment. The website www.interventionsforliteracy.org.uk also details the resources required. You can learn more and search for a scheme here as well as view our suite of case study films.

The Phonics Screening Check - Advice for schools supporting the learner with dyslexia-SpLD

This booklet has been produced as supplementary advice to the guidance provided by Department for Education entitled; 'Departmental advice for Reception and Yr1 teachers'.

The Phonics Screening Check - supporting the learner with dyslexia-SpLD

Screening and Assessment

Some of your children may not respond to good phonics based teaching as part of a balanced curriculum and may need further investigations for specific needs such as dyslexia-SpLD.  For more information click here:

• Dyslexia Action
• British Dyslexia Association
• Helen Arkell

Where can I get specialist training?

To benchmark your current skills and find out what further qualifications may be suitable, please click here

Other training course providers include:

• OCR
• British Dyslexia Association
• Dyslexia Action 
• Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre

Publications and Resources for schools;

• Patoss
• Dyslexia Action
• BDA
• Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre
• Literacy and Dyslexia-SpLD Professional Development Framework

Dyslexia Action also provide a teacher's forum and Patoss run local groups for teachers. 

Leading Improvement using the Primary Framework:  Quality First Teaching

Guidance on good literacy and mathematics teaching, which should involve a carefully planned blend of approaches that direct children's learning and challenge them to think.  Part of Day 1 of the headteachers' and senior leaders'  continuing professional development (CPD)  materials.

Quality First Teaching

Inclusion Development Programme

The resource has been specifically designed to serve two purposes:

• to support headteachers, SENCOs and leadership teams in planning to raise
  the attainment of pupils with dyslexia and other literacy needs and
  pupils with speech, language and communications needs (SLCN) as part of the annual cycle of school improvement.
• to support teachers and support staff in their planning for inclusion and in the further
  development of teaching strategies to effectively meet the needs of
  pupils with dyslexia or SLCN.

The IDP details have been preserved by the National Archive and can be downloaded by following
this link and the instructions below;

Link to IDP Programme

Instructions to complete download:

• Click on this link which will take you to the SW Regional SEN-LDD Network website.
• Down the left hand side with the menu options - click the 8th one down - IDP Materials
• From the list available choose the top one - Dyslexia
• Click on the link Download Document (328604.233kb)
• It will ask you if you wish to open or save the document. Click save then choose a file on your computer you wish to save it.
• This will take about 15 minutes.
• Once the document has saved go into your file and you will see a zipped folder called Dyslexia
• Double click on this folder and double click on the next folder and you will see 6 sub folders listed.
• Click on the launch dyslexia folder
• A message about compressed (zipped) folders will appear - click on the option to extract all.
• Choose a folder to save them in then click extract.

Please be aware - there are 571 files which it will download and this will take around 15 minutes to complete.

IDP