Overview The UK Delphi Dyslexia Study (2025) brought together an international panel of researchers, psychologists, specialist teachers, assessors and people with dyslexia to develop a consensus definition of dyslexia and guidance for assessment and support. Using a structured Delphi process across several consultation rounds, experts reviewed and agreed statements about dyslexia, helping establish a shared understanding to inform research, policy and professional practice. This project is being run by the University of Birmingham to evaluate the impact of the Delphi Dyslexia Study outside of academia. We aim to understand how the study has changed practice, influenced policy and the reach of the changes in those areas both nationally and further afield. We aim to speak to practitioners, policy makers, industry experts and third sector organisations to explore their perceptions and knowledge of the Delphi Definition. We hope to engage them in remote individual interviews and, where possible, through in-person group workshops.
Data Collection Data collection will take place in two stages. The first stage involved a one-to-one interview with Dr Helen Ross which will last between 30 and 40 minutes. These are likely to take place between late March and April 2026. The interview will be carried out over Zoom. It will be recorded and transcribed using Microsoft Stream. The transcript will be checked and edited/corrected as needed by Dr Ross and a copy of it will be shared with you. At this stage you can ask for information to be redacted or removed from the transcript before it is more widely shared. The interviews will then be checked and common themes will be drawn out to inform discussions at the second stage. The second stage will involve in-person workshops at the University of Birmingham. These are likely to take place in May 2026. The session will last roughly 2 hours. It will be recorded and transcribed using Microsoft Stream. Visual minutes will also be created from the sessions to support external outputs and publications. Discussion will be informed by themes arising from interview, as well as gaining insight into the impact of the Delphi Dyslexia Study.
Topics for Discussion in this project are as follows: • Your professional role and how you or your organisation first became aware of the Delphi Dyslexia Definition. • The extent to which your organisation has engaged with or used the definition in practice. • Ways in which the Delphi work may have influenced thinking, policy, guidance or professional practice. • Any tangible changes (positive or negative!), developments or materials that have emerged following engagement with the work. • The scale and reach of any influence, including which groups, organisations or learners have been affected. • Your perspective on the significance of this influence and the role the Delphi work played alongside other factors. Participation in the in-person workshops carries an honorarium of £100 and travel expenses will be reimbursed. Data Handling and Use Your testimony may be included as evidence for an Impact Case Study based on my work, as part of the University of Birmingham's Research Excellence Framework (REF) submission. As such, it will be seen by our internal University REF review panels, our impact support team, and the external REF panel. The full testimonial will not be made publicly available but may be provided to Research England at the time of REF for auditing purposes. However, we may include short quotations from your statement in our ICS report, which may be made more widely available beyond these panels. Please let us know if any of the information you provide is confidential, as there are processes where we can redact this information or submit confidentially so this is never made public. Testimonials and any supporting information provided by yourselves will be stored securely on the University of Birmingham’s systems with visibility restricted to those who need to view the documents to be able to carry out internal processes. All this information and additional information on how your data will be used can be read here: Data Collection Statement for Impact Case Studies - University of Birmingham. If you have any further questions or issues with your data being used in this way, please contact me at j.m.carroll@bham.ac.uk.
Participation If you wish to participate in the study, please confirm in writing to Dr Ross and she will reach out to organise a mutually convenient time for an interview. Scheduling of the workshops will be organised according to participants’ schedules to ensure that the most people are able to attend.
Contact information. If you have any queries, you can contact Dr Helen Ross via email: h.ross@bham.ac.uk If you have any concerns and wish to contact the project lead, you can reach Prof. Helen Breadmore on h.breadmore@bham.ac.uk Postal address: School of Education The University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham B15 2TT