Update to SASC Report Writing Practice June 2019
See a presentation about the new SASC report formats from our 2019 conference here.
Queue 'Featured Content'
Free Access Arrangements course
Real Training is offering a free online course about Exam Access Arrangement updates in September. For more information see here: https://realtraining.co.uk/free-access-arrangements-update-course.
With the changes to JCQ regulations now released, the Dyslexia Action Shop can provide the materials you'll need for undertaking the completion of Access Arrangements Form 8's and these are available for purchase with your 10% Guild member discount. Contact the shop to advise that your account has been set up and activated by calling +44 (0)1784 222339 or emailing shop@dyslexiaaction.org.uk
Dyslexia Action Literacy Programme (DALP) for Practitioners
The Dyslexia Action Literacy Programme (DALP) is now available as a course to qualified and experienced specialist teachers/practitioners.
The course consists of practical activities based on case studies and provides the core DALP handbooks (a learner is not required for any part of this course).
Anyone who has recently studied the Dyslexia Action Professional Programme, Module C (within the last 4 years) or Unit 3/83 of the Dyslexia Action Level 5 Certificate Programme will find there is an overlap in content.
Please click here to check the details and book your place.
National Tutoring Programme (NTP)
Qualified specialist teachers may be interested to learn more about the initiative to set up the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) as part of the Government’s response to the effects of the recent pandemic.
A joint group of providers including The Dyslexia Guild have written to the Secretary of State for Education indicating that they wish to support the NTP by offering access to their joint resources of professionally qualified and experienced specialist teachers and assessors of learners with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD).
The letter also notes that a qualified specialist teacher not only identifies any specific intervention required for a student experiencing specific learning difficulties but also the impact on their curriculum access and therefore their educational progress. It is therefore essential that fund allocation through any named provider agreement confirmed by the government is flexible enough for schools to be able to choose and fund qualified, dyslexia-trained tutors for the subgroup of their students with processing weaknesses, while using more general, less specifically trained, catch-up tutors through this national scheme for other students where appropriate.
The government have therefore been asked to make funding arrangements which include flexibility for schools to use our professional associations, specialist tutor organisations and independent qualified specialist dyslexia tutors where necessary, rather than all funding being allocated only for tutors within the remit of a few named national organisations.
At present there is no sign up for the National Tutoring Programme, we will keep members informed when we have any update.
Letter to the Secretary of State for Education 6 July 2020 click here
TES Article: National Tutoring Programme: All you need to know click here
Research project on Dyslexia in the Workplace
Sarah Wissing, a research student at Birbeck University is looking for individuals with dyslexia to participate in a research project find out more about their experiences in the workplace in order to find out what the barriers might be to disclosure and seeking support. This is done by a short interview (depending on how much the individual has to say) over Zoom. See the attached Information Sheet for more details
National Tutoring Programme (NTP) update and survey
The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) is a new large £350m DfE programme which is being organised through a collaboration of five charities – the Education Endowment Foundation, Sutton Trust, Impetus, Nesta and Teach First.
The NTP will soon be appointing 50 organisations to offer tutoring to schools beginning on the 1st of November. The NTP aims to support teachers and schools in providing a sustained response to the coronavirus pandemic and to provide a longer-term contribution to closing the attainment gap. Participating schools will be able to decide which of their pupils will most benefit from additional support, and which type of support is more suitable.
Schools will choose a Tuition Partner to work with and identify students requiring tutoring.
Over the past few weeks we [The Dyslexia Guild, British Dyslexia Association (BDA), Patoss and Helen Arkell] have been meeting with the new National Tutoring Programme to help us understand their objectives and explore how we might contribute. It is clear that whilst they also want to help support young people who may have fallen behind academically they are also hoping to use this significant initiative to evaluate and build the evidence base about what time of tutoring and individual and small group teaching is most effective.
We have, therefore, come to see this as an opportunity to demonstrate the positive difference our members can make to the attainment of children and young people. It is also a positive response to the crisis and will help ensure the children that need our support most will receive it.
The Dyslexia Guild, BDA, Patoss and Helen Arkell are concurrently asking all their members whether there is interest in us jointly bidding to become one of the approved tutoring organisations.
Please note that it will not be possible to access the NTP funds without being formally linked to an approved organisation - also referred to as a Tuition Partner.
Before we commit to bidding we would like to garner the interest of members in taking part in this initiative as tutors. Please note that the current thinking is that tutors would be engaged on a self-employed basis.
If you are listed on our websites as providing tuition please be aware that you may also be contacted by other tutoring organisations who are bidding for this work.
At this stage we would like you to please express an interest and to say how many tutoring hours in principle you could offer each week. We will not hold you to this response! It is however important for us to know that there is significant interest before we prepare a bid.
Please respond using the link below, as soon as possible, and by Friday 28th August at the latest. Your responses will help us decide whether to continue with our potential joint bid.
Google form to express your interest https://forms.gle/awzf5QBhKEJpYW5P8
If you are not interested in being linked with our initiative you can register your interest directly with the National Tutoring Programme, https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/contact-us for other potential Tuition Partners to contact.
Please note that an organisation is likely to require you to tutor in their particular method.
We welcome this opportunity and we hope that it will make a positive contribution to children and young people.
Yours sincerely
Mark Turner, MD of Real Group and The Dyslexia Guild
Gillian Ashley, Interim CEO of BDA
Lynn Greenwold, CEO of Patoss
Andy Cook, CEO of Helen Arkell
Free Access Arrangements Update course
Real Training, our sister company released its free Access Arrangements Update (AAU) course. Those completing the course now benefit from three SASC-accredited hours. You can learn more about the course here.
If you have any colleagues that you think would benefit from this update, please do send them the link so they can also register for free.
Vacancies for zero hours Specialist Study and Strategy Support Tutors at Loughborough University.
Tutors will have the opportunity to work remotely using Microsoft Teams. The closure date has now been extended to 20th September. More details here: https://vacancies.lboro.ac.uk/tlive_webrecruitment/wrd/run/ETREC107GF.open?VACANCY_ID=695833J51B&WVID=5913100PrZ&LANG=USA
CPD New Course: The Emotionally Connected Classroom
Dyslexia Action NEW Social Emotional and Mental Heath (SEMH) Level 5 CPD Programme short courses are designed to strengthen the expertise and confidence of SENCo’s, teachers, teaching assistants, and support tutors in order to ensure the progress and achievement of children/adults with special educational needs. CPD courses allow professionals to develop and enhance their current skills and understanding. For further details click here
Please note: that our CPD Short Courses: Beyond Dyslexia and Literacy do not count as suitable CPD for ADG FE/HE members until you have at least completed the Certificate in Supporting Adults with Dyslexia and Co-occurring Difficulties (DACRT56).
Dyslexia Action Training - Winner Teach Secondary Awards
We are a Winner! We are now able to announce, with an enormous amount of excitement, that our Dyslexia and Literacy CPD programme is the 3-star WINNER in the CPD category of the Teach Secondary Awards 2020!
Our sister company Real Training was also a finalist for Teach Secondary Awards 2020 for their Certificate in Psychometric Testing, Assessment & Access Arrangements (CPT3A) qualification.
The Teach Company Awards are designed to help teachers seek the very best educational resources, and the finalists and winners are decided by a panel of education experts, based on how the entries score in key areas such as originality and educational impact.
See: dyslexiaaction.org.uk/news/
See the winning programme: dyslexiaaction.org.uk/primary-and-secondary-spld-practitioner-teacher-qualifications/