Free training in Dyslexia on offer to teachers

Three children in every classroom are believed to suffer from dyslexia and associated learning problems, and yet very few schools have teachers with the specialist training to identify and help them.

But now the Government is so convinced that help is needed that it is offering free training for 4,000 teachers, at a total cost of £10m. Now heads are being urged to put staff forward for the training before the money runs out.

“We see this as a golden opportunity, but we hope not a once in a lifetime opportunity,” says Dr John Rack, Director of the Dyslexia and SPLD Trust which is chairing the campaign. “We expect that we may not get another chance to get this kind of support to put in place in schools the knowledge we know will make a difference:  the challenge is to get teachers enrolled on the courses in time available.”

The money has come in the wake of a ground-breaking report into dyslexia, led by the highly respected Sir Jim Rose. Published last year, it gathered evidence about dyslexia, and recommended that much more is needed to be done by schools to identify and support pupils, that specialists should be involved and that all teachers should be trained in awareness and classroom strategies.

“I was quite amazed and delighted that Ed Balls decided to find £10m,” says Sir Jim. “It acknowledges the fact that dyslexia is an important issue and we need to tackle it.”

“I was really pleased they decided to have a review:  it was clearly causing all sorts of stress on the system, with a very important group of children being overlooked. This gives us a chance to help”.

He was clearly moved by the struggles of the parents he met to get the learning problems of their children identified and properly helped. He found a reluctance in some schools and local authorities to “label” children as dyslexic, which often meant the right help was hard to come by. There was also a persistent feeling that dyslexia had not been proved to exist – although he found plenty of research not only proving that it did, but that it could run in families. 

Although he believes the situation has improved because of structured reading methods now being used in schools, Sir Jim is very keen to see teachers get the specialist training and spread good practice.

“I think if I were back in harness as a head that I would be going for this personally because of the merits it would bring to the school and because it would give me someone pretty senior to cope with the work which is now expected,” he says.

The training on offer leads to either an Approved Teacher Status (ATS) or Associate Member of the British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA) qualification and will usually take under a year to complete. It is usually possible to study through distance or blended learning although the teacher may need to spend some weekdays out of school.

“We have always said training is what’s missing,” says Dr Rack.” Where children get access to knowledgeable specialist teacher it makes a difference. 

“I do think the outcome of the Rose report is a fantastic opportunity to bring together sectors of educationwhich have maybe not always seen eye to eye.  

“We have now got Jim Rose and Ed Balls saying this is a mainstream issue…now all teachers should be playing a real role in supporting dyslexia and SPLD.

“What we would say now is schools and local authorities shouldn’t fear using the term dyslexia: it’s actually very common, a lot of people have it to one degree or another. It should be possible for their needs to be met with a whole range of approaches, with teaching adapted or differentiated. It doesn’t mean need all this extra specialist support for vast majority.  

“There’s nothing magical or mystical about teaching children with dyslexia… it’s actually quite close to good quality first literacy support and improvement in the way literacy taught. To support dyslexia and SPLD it needs to be adapted to the particular block around communication, it needs to be tackled creatively and in tune with children’s particular needs. It requires a bit of individualisation. 

“I hesitate to say it’s not rocket science when you could argue that it is rocket science. It’s a skilled task teaching children to read successfully, it involves lots of energy and strategies but it’s not something you have to bring into lots of very esoteric resources or mystical approaches. It’s the kind of thing a good teacher will do anyway.” 

Dr Rack says the training will focus on assessment, understanding why dyslexics experience problems in learning, and current understanding of dyslexia and models of learning. Being able to explain learning difficulties to the person suffering from them can help, he says.

The courses also cover the structure of language with a very strong practical focus. There is also work on the specific learning difficulties which often occur alongside dyslexia.

Nick Hammill, head of Lyndhurst Primary in Camberwell, South London, was a Senco before taking up his current post. He was much praised for his outstanding work with dyslexic pupils, and has created a hub of excellence in his current school which now trains teachers from all over the borough.

For him, the important things are to ensure that dyslexic pupils are not just supported, but helped to learn and cope for themselves.

Mark Sherin, specialist teacher and teacher trainer, and manager of the Lyndhurst Dyslexia Centre, is also delighted with the scheme and encourages heads to take advantage of the training.

“We say to the children, these are your strengths and we will build that up in the areas you find harder – they may be really strong at football or art or very personable. Specialist teaching deconstructs the things they need to be doing to be successful, and we get them to think about the strategies they use with things they are good at, and then how they can use those.

“Specialist teaching and help changes how they see themselves as people. Henry Ford said: if you think you can’t, you’re probably right. We change the head space of our children so they think they. We get them to use the word “yet” a lot, as in ‘I can’t spell it – yet’”.

Free training for teachers in state schools is available until March 2011. For further details see the Dyslexia-SPLD Trust Website.