News
More should be done for children with dyslexia than today’s pledge
06/12/07
Today’s announcement of a £3million pilot scheme to help children with dyslexia is a good first step, but will not provide a permanent solution.
That’s according to a leading expert in the condition, who has helped hundreds of children with dyslexia to achieve much more than they thought possible.
The Government will ask some schools in 10 areas to provide extra help through catch-up reading lessons or one-to-one help from dyslexia specialists.
Dr Daryl Brown, Headteacher at Maple Hayes School in Lichfield, Staffordshire which specialises in teaching children with dyslexia, agreed that early intervention was very important.
But he said the scheme would not provide a quick fix to the condition and could even lead to children being further isolated in mainstream education.
“This is a good step in the right direction to help children with dyslexia, but it is not a permanent solution,” he said.
“In the long term, one-to-one tuition means children miss out on the education their peers are getting and the worry is it could cause them to become more isolated and withdrawn from the classroom.
“This isn’t the ‘inclusion’ in mainstream schools the Government is so keen on.”
Schools Secretary Ed Balls said the scheme will be rolled out across England if it is successful.
Maple Hayes School is often inundated with calls from concerned parents, whose children are falling behind in mainstream schools but who are being told there is not a problem.
Dr Brown added: “We are often a catch-all school and a last resort for education authorities who persist in keeping children in mainstream education.
“But if the Government had given this money to us I’m sure we could have done a lot more for the 300 children it is proposing to help with it.”
For more information please contact Clive Reeves on 01543 501111 or email clive@wardlovett.com