Lyneham Primary School

Lyneham Primary School

Belong - Believe - Achieve

Dyslexia Friendly School

During 2022, Lyneham Primary School were proud to be accepted to take part in the Dyslexia Friendly School Project. We were one of only 18 schools across Wiltshire that were selected to take part. During the project, we worked hard to raise awareness, celebrate all of the things that we already do well in school to support our dyslexic learners and also introduced some new initiatives too.

In July 2022 all that hard work paid off as we were proud to have been recognised by the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) as a Dyslexia Friendly School! Lynn Lovell from the BDA commented during her visit that our practice is very strong and should be shared more widely with other Wiltshire schools. The following feedback was provided in Lynn’s final report:

“It has been my pleasure and privilege to visit Lyneham Primary School and I, once again, extend my thanks to all those who shared their views and allowed me to observe practice. All members of the team involved in the ongoing commitment to Dyslexia Friendly practice should be congratulated on their hard work in developing and maintaining a high standard of dyslexia provision within the school. The commitment that has been given to this initiative has been clearly demonstrated within the evidence supplied and I am pleased to confirm the Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark is awarded.”

The Quality Mark philosophy is that changing practice to accommodate dyslexic individuals results in good practice for everyone. This award is only issued to schools or organisations that can demonstrate that they provide high quality education and/or practice for dyslexic individuals. Above all, holding the BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark is a positive statement that lets everyone know that our school is a good place for dyslexic individuals.
 
The full report can be found in the links below.
 
This page has a collection of useful resources and information which we hope you will find interesting and helpful. If you require further help or information, please get in touch with our school SENCo, Bonnie Maslin at: senco@lynehamprimary.wilts.sch.uk

What is Dyslexia? Here

All About Dyslexia Friendly Schools Here

NEW! Quality Mark School Standards Record of Evidence Here

How we support pupils with Dyslexia and literacy difficulties

Helpful Links

 

See Dyslexia Differently
Video Link 
Empowered Parents Pack BDA
Here  
Mnemonics for spellings posters
Here
More Mnemonics for spellings posters
Here
Spellamadoodle Activities
ways to learn weekly spellings
Here
Speed Read and Speed Spell
Here
This guide has some suggestions for books you might like to try.
Here
A really helpful website with materials suitable for pupils, parents and teachers.
Here

This is a child friendly guide to Dyslexia:

Here

How are children and young people with Dyslexia supported in Wiltshire schools?

Here

Wiltshire Dyslexia Association

Here

 

Exam Access Arrangements - Information for School Staff & Parents

(Information taken from the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) website)

Dyslexia can have a substantial and long term adverse effect on normal day to day activities, and is therefore a recognised disability under the Equality Act 2010. The Act states that schools and higher education institutions have a duty to make 'reasonable adjustments' for disabled students (including students with any learning difficulties, including dyslexia).

As well as reasonable adjustments in the classroom, schools must put in place Exam Access Arrangements, which are reasonable adjustments for candidates who have the required knowledge and skills, but who can’t demonstrate this knowledge or skills due to their disability. These arrangements must not affect the integrity of the examination or give the learner an unfair advantage.

Access Arrangements can include:

  • Extra time
  • A reader
  • A scribe
  • The use of an exam reading pen, a word processor or assistive software (screen reader/voice recognition)
  • Exam papers printed on coloured paper
  • Supervised rest breaks
  • A separate room to take the test in

See the JCQ Access Arrangements webpage for more information.

National curriculum tests

Phonics test (Year 1)

Few children with dyslexia will have been diagnosed at this stage and this test may help to identify those at risk. Schools can adapt the test materials for pupils who cannot access the check, for example, changing the font or font size. Using coloured overlays, having rest breaks or rephrasing instructions are allowed if this is the pupil’s normal way of working.

For children who are working well below the level of the screening check (for example, if they have shown no understanding of letter-sound correspondences), there will be a disapplication process so they do not have to take part. Parents should be informed if a child is disapplied.

Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6)

National Curriculum Tests (known informally as SATs) are administered at the end of Key Stage 2 at 11 years. Permission to use some Access Arrangements, for example, extra time, must be granted by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA). Schools can decide on using other Access Arrangements such as a reader, prompt or rest breaks without applying to the STA.

The latest information can be found on the Gov.uk webpage National curriculum assessments: Key stage 2 tests.

 

Video: Dyslexia is my superpower

Click below to view a video by the global charity ‘Made by Dyslexia’.  The campaign is led by successful dyslexics, with the aim of helping the world to understand, value and support dyslexia.