BDA leads new DfE funded project

Charities join forces to deliver £750,000 DfE project to equip the school workforce with the skills to deliver quality teaching and support for pupils with dyslexia and other Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs).

A group of charities, led by the British Dyslexia Association, is delighted to announce that, following the Department for Education’s recent round of funding for SEND support, together they have been awarded a contract to the value of £750,000 to provide services to support children and young people with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties (SpLDs). These services will include free teacher training events offered across England to help teachers understand, identify and provide appropriate teaching and support to young people with dyslexia and other SpLDs. All those involved are very excited to have the opportunity to have an impact on improving the future outcomes for these young people.

This group of charities comprises the British Dyslexia Association (BDA), Dyslexia Action, Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre, Patoss, and The Dyspraxia Foundation, who will deliver the project. The project will be evaluated by a team of dyslexia and education experts from Manchester Metropolitan University, who will provide a full impact report at the end of the contract.

The contract runs from 17^th May 2016 until the end of March 2017 and will see the partners delivering a series of free ‘Train the Trainer’ events to teachers and support staff from up to 3,000 primary and secondary schools, and 1,500 post 16 institutions. Each school/provider is invited to send 2 staff to attend a Train the Trainer day, where they will receive a cascading training pack to deliver to their colleagues. In addition, the funding allows for the development of a free online resource portal to provide quality assured information and expert guidance about dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties for young people, parents and carers, and professionals. This will be hosted on the British Dyslexia Association website: www.bdadyslexia.org.uk.

During the coming months, the partners will be advertising the free training events as well as opportunities for people to get involved in providing feedback and advice.

Interested individuals and organisations are encouraged to contact:

Dyslexia and SpLD Support Project

British Dyslexia Association

www.bdadyslexia.org.uk