Projects

The British Dyslexia Association (BDA) have been involved in a number of initiatives to support the dyslexic community and inform best practice whilst also supporting research into the area.

These projects include:

Dyslexia@Work an Erasmus Project

The British Dyslexia Association is proud to be working alongside the European Dyslexia Association and Associazione Italiana Dislessia of Italy, Dyslexia Association of Ireland, Fédération Française Des DYS of France, Malta Dyslexia Association and Università Dell’Insubria of Italy on this project to increase work prospects for dyslexic people.

Read full details of the project as well as regular updates on the Dyslexia@Work project page.

Strategy Development 2021

We are working to develop a strategy that is built by dyslexic people, for dyslexia people. Find out more about our strategy development and how you can get involved.

Children will Shine (ongoing)

These after-school workshops offer specialist dyslexia intervention at an affordable price. To find out more visit the Children will Shine webpage.

Webinar Training: Boosting the Achievement of Children in Care (completed 2018)

Working with the Department for Education (DfE), the BDA created a set of training webinars and supporting materials for social work and virtual school professionals, and carers who wish to increase their knowledge and understanding of specific learning differences and how to provide support for the children and young people in their care.

The project resources are available on the Teaching for neurodiversity webpage.

Webinar Training: Train the Trainer Teaching for Neurodiversity (completed 2017)

With funding from the Department for Education the BDA created a suite of webinars as part of the Train the Trainer: Teaching for Neurodiversity training package.

The project resources are available on the Teaching for neurodiversity webpage.

Train the Trainer: Teaching for Neurodiversity (completed 2017)

This project was funded by the Department for Education (DfE) and ran until 31st March 2017. It was led by the British Dyslexia Association in partnership with the Dyspraxia Foundation, Dyslexia Action, Helen Arkell, Manchester Metropolitan University, and Patoss.

The aim of the project was to provide training and quality assured information about dyslexia and other SpLD for teachers and support staff, and for dyslexic individuals and their families.

The project resources are available on the Teaching for neurodiversity webpage.

Project report

Teaching for Neurodiversity Final Evaluation Report, Manchester Metropolitan University.

Early Intervention Project (EIP) (completed 2016)

The one-year Early Intervention Project (2015-16) was funded by the DfE and run by the British Dyslexia Association in partnership with Dyslexia Action and Springboard for Children.

In part, the project was conceived as a continuation and further development of the earlier Sound Check project. It also served as a pilot for the Literacy Leap certification framework which encourages, recognises and celebrates best practice, enabling schools to deliver high quality provision and effective interventions for children with literacy difficulties.

Project report

Early Intervention Project: Final Report

Sound Check (completed 2015)

The Sound Check project ran from 2013 to 2015. On this project the BDA, Dyslexia Action (DA) and Springboard for Children (SfC) worked with children in years 2 and 3 who, following the Year 1 Phonics Check, were identified as having difficulties with learning literacy. Throughout the project the over-riding aim was to improve these children’s understanding of phonics, their literacy learning, and, thus, their life chances.

Results exceeded expectations. When the first two cohorts of children re-took the Phonics Check in June 2014, 95% of pupils had improved their scores with a mean increase of 12.8; 66% achieved the threshold level. An improvement across the board was also found with the second cohort.

Project report

Sound Check end of project report (2015)

Youth Offending Teams (completed 2013)

During this project the BDA worked closely with Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre and Dyslexia Action, under the direction of The Dyslexia SpLD Trust. The aim was to spread dyslexia awareness to as many different Youth Offending Teams as possible. We trained staff, teaching them to use checklists and screening tools to identify dyslexia in young people and to use dyslexia-friendly best practice.

We continue our work with Youth Offending Teams and Youth Offender Institutions through our Quality Mark programme.

Dyslang (Dyslexia and Additional Academic Language Learning) (completed 2013)

Through this project we created a course for teachers and parents to support the multilingual dyslexic individual in learning an additional curriculum language. That is, for example, in the UK a child may have Welsh as their first language, use English in the classroom, but also have to learn French.

Visit the Dyslang website.

Dyslexia and Multilingualism (completed 2012)

This Big Lottery funded research project was carried out from 2010 to 2012 by the BDA in partnership with Bath Spa University. The aim of the project was to identify bilingual children at risk of SpLD/dyslexia and to trial and examine the impact of a 30 minute daily intervention programme delivered over a period of 15 weeks. 465 children were involved in the project, between them speaking 43 different languages. The children were divided into three groups: intervention, paired reading, and control.

Analysis of pre and post intervention test scores show that intervention and paired reading groups made consistently greater progress than a control group in all areas and that impact was greatest on word reading, decoding, fluency and vocabulary skills. A particular and unexpected effect of paired reading on writing related skills was also noted.

Project report

Dyslexia and Multilingualism Project Report (2012)

EQUIPPED (completed 2009)

The BDA launched the Northern Ireland EQUIPPED (Enabling Quality Information Promoting Positive Education Dyslexia) project in 2006. The three-year project was funded by the Big Lottery Fund Northern Ireland and offered a training programme for local support groups and community and voluntary groups.

The aim was to raise awareness of the complex nature of the learning differences presented by dyslexia and the importance of early identification if those affected are to access much-needed support.