Ed Balls announces pilots to help children with dyslexia

PRNewswire-GNN London 5 December

London, 5 December /PRNewswire-GNN/ --

DEPARTMENT FOR CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES News Release (2007/0232)
issued by The Government News Network on 5 December 2007
Ed Balls today announced a new scheme to help children who have dyslexia,
identified through the 'Every Child a Reader' programme.

As part of a package of measures to improve support for children with dyslexia,
with an additional £1m a year for the next three years, the pilot scheme
will provide intensive support for children in 10 local authority areas.

Half the children will receive additional one-to-one 'Reading Recovery'
support and the other half will receive one-to-one tuition from specialist
dyslexia teachers. Their improvement will be closely monitored for progress. If
specialist provision demonstrates significant impact, ministers will look at
how assessment and specialist dyslexia support could be rolled out nationwide
as best practice.

In addition to this, further action to encourage best practice in improving
outcomes for children and young people with dyslexia announced today, are:

* providing Dyslexia Action with funding of £250,000 over three years so
they can run 'Partnership for Literacy' pilots (also entailing specialist
dyslexia tuition) in a further 10 schools; and

* providing the British Dyslexia Association with funding of £150,000 over
the next two years to develop their helpline which provides advice about
dyslexia, including to teachers and parents.

Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, said:

"In the past a grave lack of understanding about dyslexia left some highly
intelligent young people branded as 'backwards' simply because they had some
difficulties in reading or articulating themselves through writing.

"Those days are largely gone, but there are still some old stigmas around
and still not enough widespread understanding of dyslexia and support for
the individuals who experience it. This condition should not hinder young
people's education and life chances. Sadly, it all too often does.

"We need to be better at identifying pupils with dyslexia and then supporting
them. Dyslexia is a particular need that needs particular attention. This
package of measures I'm announcing today will help give parents and teachers
more information, help identify pupils with dyslexia and assess the impact
on their progress of support from specialist dyslexia teachers by running
pilots of one-to-one tuition across a range of schools.

"However, I want all schools to look closely at the support they offer for
dyslexia, check that they are giving the most appropriate support available
and try to identify dyslexia where it may occur."

Kate Griggs of No to Failure and Xtraordinary People, said:

"We welcome the Government's recognition that dyslexia is a serious issue
for the education system, and one which requires real action.  These pilots
are a helpful start, and we look forward to working with the DCSF to make
sure our schools have dyslexia specialist teachers who can help dyslexic
children succeed and achieve their potential."

Ken Follett, award winning writer and President of Dyslexia Action, said:

"This kind of help can transform the lives of children who struggle to learn
to read because of dyslexia - as I know from my work with Dyslexia Action,
from 10 years as a governor of Roebuck School in Stevenage and from the
experiences of my own family."

Judi Stewart, Chief Executive of the British Dyslexia Association, said:

"The British Dyslexia Association (BDA) welcomes The Secretary of State's
interest and understanding of the needs of children who are dyslexic. The
BDA Helpline is often inundated with calls and we are very pleased to have
the opportunity to build our service. The right support and information can
make the difference between a child who feels frustrated and excluded and
one who feels confident and able to manage their dyslexia."

Sally Coates, Headteacher of Sacred Heart Secondary School, said:

"We are delighted that the Secretary of State, Ed Balls, is visiting Sacred
Heart RC School, as we are very proud of the achievement of all our pupils,
particularly those with special educational needs.  The 'Say No To Failure'
project at our school gives pupils with dyslexia real strategies to overcome
their learning difficulties."

Children and young people with dyslexia can become frustrated and disillusioned
- often wrongly assuming they lack the aptitude to succeed. Yet there is
evidence showing that young people with dyslexia can achieve the same as or
more than their peers if they are supported properly and the condition is
identified early enough.

Ken Follet and Ed Balls will visit the Sacred Heart Secondary School in
Southwark where they will meet children with dyslexia who are receiving
specialist dyslexia tuition (through the 'No to Failure' project) and some
teachers who are currently being trained to become dyslexia specialists.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. We are providing the British Dyslexia Association with funding of £150,000
over the next two years to develop their helpline. This will enable them
to expand their information and advice service to parents and teachers,
who want to know more about best practice in identifying and supporting
children who may have dyslexia.

2. We are providing Dyslexia Action with funding of £250,000 over 3 years,
so they can run Partnership for Literacy pilots in a further 10 schools.
These pilots include evaluating the impact of specialist tuition on the
progression of children with dyslexia - contributing to evidence of best
practice.

3. We are developing a pilot project which will evaluate the impact of
specialist dyslexia tuition on the attainment of children who have been
identified through the Every Child a Reader programme as needing further
support.  We will make a more detailed announcement about this early next year.

4. Dyslexia Action is already running Partnership for Literacy (PfL) pilots
in 17 primary schools (8 since January 2006 and a further 9 since September
this year).  Partnership for Literacy is an early intervention programme
to identify and support children with dyslexia in primary schools.  It uses
evidence-based models of best practice in the classroom, whilst at a whole
school level aiming at increasing awareness, understanding and skills of
school staff, governors and parents.

5. As well as providing specialist support to children identified in Years
1 to 5 as being at risk of literacy failure, and tracking their subsequent
progress, the project provides apprentice-style training for teachers and
teaching assistants, enabling them to sustain the approach after withdrawal
of Dyslexia Action specialist tutors.

6. Every Child a Reader (ECAR) is a three year pilot (now in its final year)
helping 5,000 six year-olds with significant literacy difficulties to learn
to read - by placing highly skilled 'Reading Recovery' teachers into schools
to provide intensive support to children most in need.

7. On 26 September, the Secretary of State announced we will invest £144
million over the next three years into rolling out nationally the Every
Child a Reader (ECAR) and Every Child Counts (ECC) programmes. By 2011,
30,000 seven-year-olds who need help with maths and 30,000 six-year-olds
who have difficulty reading will get intensive one-to-one tuition through
ECC and ECAR each year.

8. All local authorities, schools and early years settings must have regard to
the SEN Code of Practice which provides advice on carrying out statutory duties
to identify, assess and make provision for pupils' special educational needs.
Children with dyslexia should have their needs identified and support put
in place.

9. Local authorities' planned spending on SEN stood at almost £4.9 billion in
2007-08, up from almost £2.8 billion in 2000-01.  Indicative SEN funding in
mainstream schools rose by 52% from almost £1.3 billion in 2003-04 to over
£2.0 billion in 2007-08 and school budgets for special schools rose by 31%
from almost £1.1 billion to over £1.4 billion over the same period.

10. The No to Failure project is jointly organised by the British Dyslexia
Association (BDA), Xtraordinary People (XP), Dyslexia Action, the Professional
Association for Teachers of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties
(PATOSS) and DCSF.  The project is trailblazing (and evaluating the impact of)
specialist tuition with children with dyslexia in some schools in 3 local
authority areas and publicising the importance of schools engaging in best
practice when working with children with dyslexia. We are providing funding
of up to £900,000 over 3 financial years.

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