Martock CE VA Primary School
Dyslexia
Information for parents
What is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate
and fluent word reading and spelling.
Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal
memory and verbal processing speed.
Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities.
It is best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and there are no clear
cut-off points.
Co-occurring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language, motor co-ordination,
mental calculation, concentration and personal organisation, but these are not by
themselves, markers of dyslexia.
A good indication of the severity and persistence of dyslexic difficulties can be gained
by examining how the individual responds or has responded to well-founded
intervention.
How do you recognise Dyslexia?
Early school years
 Difficulties recalling the label for common objects, colours, names etc
 Difficulties remembering nursery rhymes
 Slow to pick up phonic skills
 Enjoys being read to, but shows no interest in letters or words
 Often appears to be “not listening” or “not paying attention”
 Later than expected learning to speak clearly
 Persistent word-searching
Primary School Years
 Difficulties continue with reading and spelling.
 Continues to write letters and figures the wrong way round b/d, on/no
 Has difficulty remembering sequences such as: times tables, alphabet, days of
the week etc.
 Leaves letters out of words or puts them in the wrong order
 Still needs to use fingers or marks on paper to make simple calculations.
 Poor concentration and attention.
 May have problems understanding what he/she has read.
 Takes longer than average to do written work.
 Problems processing language at speed.
Secondary School Years
 As for primary schools, plus:
 Continues to reads inaccurately and perhaps slowly
 Continues to have difficulties in spelling.
 Needs to have instructions repeated.
 Gets 'tied up' using long words, e.g. 'preliminary', 'philosophical'.
 Has difficulty with planning and writing essays.
 Has difficulty processing complex language or long series of instructions at
speed.
These may result in:
 Poor self-esteem
 Good days and bad days
 Apparent poor motivation
 Inappropriate behaviour, which can indicate frustration and anxiety
What help will my child receive at Martock Primary school?
Martock Primary School is working towards gaining Dyslexia Friendly School Status.
This means that all teachers and support staff have been trained to understand
Dyslexia, to recognise the key indicators of Dyslexia and to teach all children in a
Dyslexia Friendly way.
Multisensory teaching
Multisensory teaching involves seeing, hearing and feeling simultaneously. Children
with Dyslexia need to be taught in a multisensory way in order to learn. For example,
when teaching new letter-sound links, children will see the letter, feel it (wooden
letters or writing), and say the sound.
Assessment and support
Assessment is not a single event but rather as a continuing process which includes
a child’s response to structured intervention.
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In the Foundation stage and into Year 1 the children’s progress is tracked and
monitored using the Foundation Stage profile, National Curriculum Levels and
phonic assessments.
If concerns arise the class teachers and TAs complete a Dyslexia
Checklist/Dyslexia wheel over time.
Class teachers discuss concerns with parents and collate further information
Children are supported through small phonics groups, sometimes with additional
1:1 phonics tutoring. Progress and response to these interventions is monitored.
Further assessment may be completed to assess language skills working memory,
phonological awareness etc.
If concerns continue into Year 2 further information is gathered and a
diagnostic assessment is completed by the SENCo
The child will be placed at School Action and a more individualised literacy
programme written and delivered.
If the child’s difficulties are considered severe and persistent, the child may
be placed at School Action + and longer term support planned and implemented.
How to help your child at home?
Paired, or shared, reading
It aims to build confidence and NOT to focus on mistakes. It's best to do about 10
minutes a day. There are two stages:
Stage 1
 Child chooses a book
 Read aloud together, with adult pointing to the words; child reads fractionally
behind the adult or simultaneously if he can.
 If a child makes a mistake, adult says the correct word and moves on.
 Do this on 4/5 occasions for about 10 minutes each time.
Stage 2 - independent reading
 Use the same book (or a new one for a more experienced reader)
 Arrange a sign (such as a tap on the table)
 Adult and child begin reading together.
 When child wants to read alone, he gives the sign and the adult stops.
 If child makes a mistake, adult joins in, giving the correct word, and continues
reading with child until child gives the sign.
 It's very important not to make a fuss about mistakes. Paired reading is about
building confidence and fluency rather than anything else. Make sure you are
not using a book which is too difficult.
Listening to stories
 Continue reading to your child so that they are able to access books which are
at their interest level. This supports vocabulary development and maintains an
interest in reading.
 Talking books are available from libraries for children with Dyslexia, as well as
from Young Calibre www.youngcalibre.org.uk and Listening Books www.listeningbooks.org.uk
Phonics
 The scheme Read, Write, Inc. is used at Martock
 Sheets containing the phonic sounds (phonemes) the children are working on are
sent home regularly
 Use magnetic letters on the fridge to make and break words containing the
phonemes which are being worked on
 Say the word one phoneme at a time and ask your child to say the word e.g. t-rai-n
 Play board games (e.g.snakes and ladders) read and/or spell and word, roll the
dice and move around the board.
Reading High Frequency Words
 Work on, at most, six words at any one time.
 On the first few occasions read the words to your child before asking him/her
to read them.
 Talk about the look of the word, its shape and length and the exact sequence of
letters. Link words to meaning/pictures.
 The words could be written on cards and your child asked to read them on sight
(pictures as prompts on the reverse).
 Games such as ‘pairs’ and snap are excellent ways of encouraging children to
read these words at speed.
 Continue to revise words until they are known automatically.
Spelling High Frequency Words
 Use rainbow writing – write over the word in different coloured pens, pencils,
crayons, etc. Your child should say each letter name out loud as he/she writes
it, and the whole word each time he/she completes the word.
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Write in different media, e.g. sand, sugar
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Use simple mnemonics, e.g. for ‘said’ – save animals in danger
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Find words in words, e.g. ‘there/here, when/hen
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Say the word as it is spelt, e.g. ‘fri-end’ , wed-nes-day
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Visualise (make a mental picture) of the word
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Link the word with a sentence and a picture
Make cards and practise daily – place in an envelope when learnt and come back
to each week
General tips for homework:
 Establish a predictable routine
 Allow ‘down time’
 Allow your child to have some control over the time homework is done
 Find a quiet place and make sure pens and paper are readily available
 Make sure your child understands what he has to do. Talk through the task.
 When helping your child, keep your explanation as simple and practical as
possible
 Be realistic
 Set a time frame for each subject. If set homework is not completed in time
allowed, send a note to school explaining how much time has been spent on task
 Help your child to prioritise homework. Encourage him/her to tackle the
hardest homework first
 Break it down into manageable chunks
 Negotiate with the class teacher:
o Can you act as scribe?
o Can the homework be word processed?
o Can the homework be presented in an alternative format, e.g. timeline,
diagram?
The following websites might be useful in providing additional information on dyslexia,
assessment and teaching:
British Dyslexia Association
www.bdadyslexia.org.uk
Dyslexia Action
www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk
Somerset Dyslexia Association
www.somersetdyslexia.co.uk
Listening books
www.listening-books.org.uk
Nessy
www.nessy.com/uk/
Audio books
www.youngcalibre.org.uk