Postgraduate Programme Starts March 2015 book now! Would you like to study for a Level 7 qualification but just can't fit it into your lifestyle?  Our courses are all online and modular so each module is between 15 and 20 hours of study per week. The Certificate is normally completed over three terms and the same for the Diploma, depending on which modules and pathway you choose. The aim of these online programmes is to train teachers and support tutors to become informed, skilled practitioners who understand the theory and practice of teaching and/or assessment of dyslexic learners of all ages (we have three start dates per year in September, January and May). If you would like to undertake full diagnostic assessments, our Postgraduate Diploma Programme is highly recommended and will make you eligible for Assessment Practising Certificate application.    Start dates in March, May and September but apply 8 weeks prior to start date to ensure your place! Training PG Courses

Continuing Professional Development Programme                            

Short Courses starting 25 March 2015  20-30 hours of study over 6 weeks. (courses also available for May and July 2015)

Dyslexia Action's Continuing Professional Development Level 4 and 5 online courses have been designed specifically for: Classroom Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Tutors working with those under the age of 18

The CPD Programme consists of independent Unit courses, most of which may be taken individually (start dates throughout the year).

You can build up these units over time to gain Awards and then a Certificate (two Awards).
Our online courses offer flexible learning to fit around your lifestyle.   Register at least 2 weeks prior to start date to ensure your place!

Dyslexia Action have been awarded with formal CPD acreditation by The CPD Standards Office, Professional Development Consortium.

Supporting Adults Programme

Start dates 25 March 2015 (courses also available for July 2015)     

This programme is suitable for those working with Adults (16+) in any education setting or adult training environment including Adult, Further or Higher Education, Offender units and the workplace. The Dyslexia Action Level 4 Supporting Adults Programme consists of independent Unit courses, most of which may be taken individually (start dates throughout the year). You can build up these units over time to gain an Award.

Our units are either 2 Dyslexia Action credits (20 hours of learning time required over a 6 week period) or 3 Dyslexia Action credits (30 hours of learning time required over a 6 week period). To meet the needs of individal learners.  Register at least 2 weeks prior to start date to ensure your place!

Dyslexia Action International Programme      

Available for March, May and July 2015

International Courses are designed specifically for practitioners who are based outside of the UK. 

The Level 4 and Level 5 International Programme courses are designed to strengthen the expertise and confidence of international teachers, teaching assistants and support professionals in order to ensure the progress and achievement of learners with Dyslexia/SpLD from Elementary/ Primary age through to Adult.
In order to participate in the course you should be living outside of the UK and be working with English speaking learners.  Our online courses provide flexibility for learning which enables studying to be fitted around your commitments.  This programme replaces the former Dyslexia Action Hornsby: Alpha to Omega course.  Register at least 2 weeks prior to start date to ensure your place!

Specialist Teacher/Assessor SASC Approved Courses include:

Diagnostic Report Writing -  Are you an experienced specialist assessor?  Do you need to prepare in renewing or gaining your Assessment Practising Certificate?  If you are not completely confident in your diagnostic reports or statistics and scoring, we would recommend our online course that comprises 12 hours of study over a four week period, has tutor supported forums, assesses your understanding, and is completed by a Continuing Professional Development Certificate.  

Our one day attendance course helps experienced assessors ensure their skills are polished in preparation for APC application and SASC requirement.  You recieve an attendance certificate at the end of the day.

Exam Access Arrangements - Online course starts 3 March 2015. Designed for qualified assessment professionals who need further information or updating in this area of disability in order that they can complete Form  8’s and write equivalent reports in support of Examination Access Arrangement requests. There have been major changes to JCQ regulations in the last three years, this course will be useful for you to update your practice.

Practitioner Refresher Courses - We are offering three new courses for those who need CPD at Level 7. The units are designed for practitioners who need to scrutinise the background factors that influence performance in a range of academic and work-based settings. See our web pages for courses starting 25 March 2015

New to our online courses?  Register at least 2 weeks prior to start date to ensure your place on our free induction to help you prepare for online study!

DSA draft guidance - re-opened for responses to 20 February 2015 - Needs a new section in News.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) have re-opened the the opportunity to comment on the draft guidance. 

Stakeholders should send any comments to disabledstudentsallowances@bis.gsi.gov.uk.

You can access the draft guidance by using the following link:

http://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/products/disabled-students'-allowances/dsas-updates-for-practitioners.aspx

News

Secondary School Teachers paid hours do not reflect actual work

Careers of the Future reports, based on extensive research and the latest data from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), presents a list of jobs which will offer great career prospects to young people looking to take their first steps into work.

It contains a full list of 100 jobs all highlighted as Careers of the Future, and casts a spotlight on 12 roles across a range of sectors, giving an outline of the job, what the work entails, key statistics which may be helpful in making career decisions, and details on various entry routes in to the job. Each role also includes a range of useful links to allow the reader to explore more about that particular career, but the infographic may discourage young people once they read the small print that Department of Education survey indicates unpaid duties increase average working week to 56 hours rather than the average 39 hours.  At least they are not as badly off as Farmers who work an average of 52 hours with a starting salary of just 13k!

Recently the Guardian ran a story about how workload is forcing new teachers out of the profession.  Read more here.

Early years funding announced for most disadvantaged

New government funding to help the most disadvantaged children receive high-quality early education has been implemented in 7 local authorities from this week.

Over £1 million will be distributed between local authorities in Blackpool, Bristol, Cambridgeshire, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Hackney and Stoke-on-Trent to implement the early years pupil premium (EYPP) in their areas.

The money will be distributed to early years providers delivering the funded entitlement for 3- and 4-year-olds, who will receive up to £300 extra per year for each disadvantaged child who meets the eligibility criteria.  Research shows that children from disadvantaged backgrounds start school at age five over a year behind in vocabulary compared to their peers from higher-income backgrounds.

To read the story in full please click here

Conferences

4 and 17 March 2015 Premier League Reading Stars Cymru  Wales, UK

4 March 2015    National Association of Disabled Staff Networks (NADSN) Conference  Chester, UK

11 March 2015    Driving Equality through Social Mobility Policy Briefing    London, UK

15 April 2015   More Mist, Haze and Shutters: Dyscalculia in FE/HE  Loughborough, UK

29 April 2015   The Academies Show   ExCel, London, UK

5 May 2015    SENCO Update conference    London, UK

6 May 2015    National Association of Disability Practitioners (NADP) Conference  Leeds, UK

19 May 2015    Looked After Children in Education    Birmingham, UK

Magna Carta 800 years of history 

Magna Carta takes centre stage at the British Library in 2015 with a new programme of online resources, workshops and conferences celebrating this iconic document. 

The British Library learning team is offering exhibition workshops, teacher CPD events and digital resources to enrich and support teaching and learning about this iconic charter.

Study on the impact of ebooks on children’s reading

Join the study: Participating schools receive an exclusive 25% discount on RM ebooks for the duration of the study. Find more information and to apply to take part here. (closing date 2 April 2015).

Research News

Texting App for dyslexia friendly keyboard

Two Babson College students have developed an app based on the concept of custom keyboards. But instead of making texts look sexier, this one focuses on a serious need in the market: Accommodating reading disorders. DyslexiaKey, which debuted in the iTunes store this week, aims to help those affected by the learning difficulty to avoid some of the common frustrations that come with texting.

The basic idea behind DyslexiaKey was that using just a keyboard, the designers could create a different type of template that could then be applied to a range of purposes. For example, an ABC keyboard could prove far easier to use for kids and individuals with certain learning disabilities than the traditional QWERTY keyboard.

For more on this story click here

Mindless chatter better than bedtime reading

Bedtime reading has traditionally been thought to boost a child's development - but in fact chatting while doing housework may be of greater benefit.

This is according to researchers who conducted a study on the impact of bedtime reading on 7,845 nine-month-old infants.

They found that absent-minded conversation was four times better at improving a child's communication skills than reading to them or showing them pictures.

Researchers at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found that as well as communication skills, chatting to children was three times better at improving problem solving skills.

Different labels for difficulties with reading have been found to be associated with varying beliefs in how effective teachers believe they can be. 

That is the conclusion of research presented in January 2015, by Dr Simon Gibbs from Newcastle University to the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society's Division of Education and Child Psychology.

In his research (carried out with Professor Julian Elliott from Durham University) Dr Gibbs asked a sample of primary school teachers to complete two questionnaires about children who were having difficulty with learning to read. One questionnaire sought to discover how much the teachers believed they could do to help the children. The other questionnaire sought to discover the extent to which the teachers believed that the children's difficulties were 'essential'- that is, how far they marked out the difficulties as having a distinct biological basis.

Two different versions of the questionnaires were used. In the first version both questionnaires talked about 'dyslexia' and the second they talked about 'reading difficulties'.

When Dr Gibbs analysed the results he found that the two different labels were associated with differences in the teachers' beliefs about their efficacy in helping the children. They indicated that the label 'dyslexia' evoked responses that suggested it was seen as a fixed disability, and that the teachers believed their ability to help children with 'dyslexia was unlikely to develop over time.

By contrast, the teachers who had been asked about 'reading difficulties' were less likely to see the children's problems as permanent; were also more likely to believe that they would be able to help them, and that their skills developed with experience.

Dr Gibbs says: "These findings challenge the value of labels like 'dyslexia', which may be used as shorthand descriptors for the difficulties some children experience. These labels may be of illusory benefit because they reduce teachers' belief in their ability to help the children. As a result the labels could be ultimately unhelpful to the children's wellbeing and educational progress.

More on this story here