Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how their SEND reforms will ensure (1) early identification of children with dyslexia, and (2) equality in access to support in every school.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The department recognises that effective early identification and intervention are critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia.

We want all education settings to be confident in identifying needs accurately and providing evidence-based support as early as possible. To support this, we are strengthening the evidence base on effective approaches. In partnership with the department, we have commissioned research, led by UK Research and Innovation, to develop approaches to early identification, assessment and support.

Through the SEND reform consultation, we proposed the introduction of National Inclusion Standards to set out evidence-informed tools, strategies and approaches for identifying and supporting needs, and the introduction of a new training package for all staff to upskill them on identifying and responding to needs. We also proposed a duty on schools to produce an Inclusion Strategy, setting out the support they would provide across Universal, Targeted and Targeted Plus provision. We are currently considering consultation responses to inform decisions on these proposals and any future requirements.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the needs of dyslexic children in classrooms are addressed following the SEND reform: putting children and young people first consultation.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The department’s reforms are designed to enable all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) including those with dyslexia to succeed.

We are providing £1.6 billion of additional funding to mainstream settings through an Inclusive Mainstream Fund to help settings identify commonly occurring needs and take meaningful steps to improve everyday support. Schools and colleges will also be able to direct funding to develop targeted support for those who need them, such as group interventions, without formal assessment or diagnosis.

Clear statutory duties for schools will also be introduced to identify and meet needs as early as possible and ensure the progress of children and young people is monitored to ensure timely and effective interventions.

To ensure teachers, teaching assistants, support staff and leaders across early years, schools and post-16 settings can be trained to support pupils with special educational needs, we are investing £200 million of new funding to upskill staff and promote an inclusive culture.

We have also introduced a range of measures to support high-quality teaching of reading and writing, including for pupils with SEND and dyslexia and those at risk of falling behind. This includes the English Hubs programme and the publication of both the reading and writing frameworks.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review considered how the curriculum and assessment system can better support the progress and attainment of all pupils, including those with SEND. In its response, the government committed to developing evidence-led resources to support curriculum adaptation, embedding high-quality adaptive teaching and formative assessment throughout teacher training, and working with Ofqual and exam boards to ensure accessibility is fully considered in the development of qualifications, including GCSEs.

We are carefully reviewing and considering all responses submitted to the SEND Reform consultation and continue to engage widely on our proposals. We will publish a response to the consultation in due course and bring forward legislation at the earliest opportunity.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the attainment gap at GCSE for dyslexic pupils.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The department’s reforms are designed to enable all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) including those with dyslexia to succeed.

We are providing £1.6 billion of additional funding to mainstream settings through an Inclusive Mainstream Fund to help settings identify commonly occurring needs and take meaningful steps to improve everyday support. Schools and colleges will also be able to direct funding to develop targeted support for those who need them, such as group interventions, without formal assessment or diagnosis.

Clear statutory duties for schools will also be introduced to identify and meet needs as early as possible and ensure the progress of children and young people is monitored to ensure timely and effective interventions.

To ensure teachers, teaching assistants, support staff and leaders across early years, schools and post-16 settings can be trained to support pupils with special educational needs, we are investing £200 million of new funding to upskill staff and promote an inclusive culture.

We have also introduced a range of measures to support high-quality teaching of reading and writing, including for pupils with SEND and dyslexia and those at risk of falling behind. This includes the English Hubs programme and the publication of both the reading and writing frameworks.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review considered how the curriculum and assessment system can better support the progress and attainment of all pupils, including those with SEND. In its response, the government committed to developing evidence-led resources to support curriculum adaptation, embedding high-quality adaptive teaching and formative assessment throughout teacher training, and working with Ofqual and exam boards to ensure accessibility is fully considered in the development of qualifications, including GCSEs.

We are carefully reviewing and considering all responses submitted to the SEND Reform consultation and continue to engage widely on our proposals. We will publish a response to the consultation in due course and bring forward legislation at the earliest opportunity.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how the proposals in the SEND reform: putting children and young people first consultation will ensure that dyslexic children can achieve and thrive in mainstream schools.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The department’s reforms are designed to enable all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) including those with dyslexia to succeed.

We are providing £1.6 billion of additional funding to mainstream settings through an Inclusive Mainstream Fund to help settings identify commonly occurring needs and take meaningful steps to improve everyday support. Schools and colleges will also be able to direct funding to develop targeted support for those who need them, such as group interventions, without formal assessment or diagnosis.

Clear statutory duties for schools will also be introduced to identify and meet needs as early as possible and ensure the progress of children and young people is monitored to ensure timely and effective interventions.

To ensure teachers, teaching assistants, support staff and leaders across early years, schools and post-16 settings can be trained to support pupils with special educational needs, we are investing £200 million of new funding to upskill staff and promote an inclusive culture.

We have also introduced a range of measures to support high-quality teaching of reading and writing, including for pupils with SEND and dyslexia and those at risk of falling behind. This includes the English Hubs programme and the publication of both the reading and writing frameworks.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review considered how the curriculum and assessment system can better support the progress and attainment of all pupils, including those with SEND. In its response, the government committed to developing evidence-led resources to support curriculum adaptation, embedding high-quality adaptive teaching and formative assessment throughout teacher training, and working with Ofqual and exam boards to ensure accessibility is fully considered in the development of qualifications, including GCSEs.

We are carefully reviewing and considering all responses submitted to the SEND Reform consultation and continue to engage widely on our proposals. We will publish a response to the consultation in due course and bring forward legislation at the earliest opportunity.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that teachers are supported and resourced to support children with dyslexia, and to support their increased focus on inclusion for learners with SEND.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

On 16th January, we announced a new training package, backed by £200 million of new funding, to ensure that all teachers, educators, teaching assistants, support staff and leaders across early years, schools and post-16 settings can be trained to support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia.

We value the hard work of teachers and educators up and down the country and we have specifically designed our new continuing professional development courses to be flexible to work around their schedules.

In February, we announced £500 million per financial year over the next three years through the Inclusive Mainstream Fund to support schools, colleges and early years settings with upfront funding to help them move towards becoming more inclusive by design.

We will also introduce National Inclusion Standards, which will set out what ordinarily available provision should be in every setting across the 0 to 25 system, as well as the evidence-based tools, strategies and approaches for educators to draw on to identify and support children and young people with SEND, including those with dyslexia.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how the "Experts at Hand" service will support classroom teachers to use evidence-based strategies to identify and support pupils with dyslexia.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The department is investing around £1.8 billion over three years to develop a new Experts at Hand offer, giving mainstream settings access to specialist support from key health and education professionals, including speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, educational psychologists (and assistants) and specialist teachers.

Experts at Hand will support mainstream settings to better identify and meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia, through dedicated professional expertise delivered alongside setting staff. It will support earlier identification of need, strengthen workforce confidence and capability, and provide timely, evidence-based support within everyday learning environments. Specialists will work with teachers through observation, light-touch assessment and advise on effective strategies, helping to embed evidence-informed practice and inclusive support.

Beyond this we are supporting all teachers with continuing professional development through the launch of a new landmark training package on inclusion, with an investment of over £200 million over three years.