Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure an early diagnosis of dyslexia in school.

The department is taking actions to improve early identification and intervention for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), such as dyslexia, through the reforms outlined in the Schools White Paper and SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper. These build on measures already in place to identify pupils who are facing challenges, including with literacy and reading, and to help teachers understand how best to support them. There are a number of standardised assessments that schools carry out which measure progress and help teachers identify where pupils may require additional support, such as the Phonics Screening Check and end of key stage 1 and key stage 2 statutory assessments.

The department’s SEND Code of Practice is clear that meeting the needs of a child with dyslexia is not dependent on a diagnostic label or test. Instead, the department expect teachers to monitor the progress of all pupils and put support in place where needed. To support teachers in doing this the department has launched the English Hubs programme, introduced a new National Professional Qualification for Leading Literacy, and updated the list of high-quality phonics programmes for schools.