Support for Dyslexic Pupils

Adam Dance Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered support for dyslexic pupils at school.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Butler. I start by thanking the Backbench Business Committee for granting this debate and hon. Members from across the House for supporting it. I thank all the young dyslexic pupils, their families and the campaigners for their tireless work to raise awareness. They are all such inspirations.

Dyslexia is a neurological difference that affects around one in 10 of us. That is more than 1 million children in classrooms across the UK. It presents in a range of ways and with different degrees of severity. For me, words float on the page—Members may be able to tell that they are doing so at the moment. I struggled with reading, writing and spelling, and I have the reading age of a 12-year-old, so I ask Members to bear with me through this speech.

Dyslexia is not a flaw or something to be ashamed of; that is the most important thing we can take away from the debate. It breaks my heart when I hear young dyslexics say, “I wish I never had it”, “I feel ashamed”, “I felt stupid” or “I will never achieve anything”. Intelligence and poor behaviour are not linked to dyslexia. Being dyslexic just means that one learns and expresses oneself differently. That comes with challenges, but it also often comes with strengths in problem solving, resilience, creativity or practical work. That is my message to all dyslexic young people: they can do anything in life, and it is the job of schools and the Government to help them achieve that.

Unfortunately, support for dyslexic pupils at school is still not where it should be. I have said this before, but in Somerset, chronic underfunding means that support has got worse since when I was at school, despite the hard work of educators. I left school in 2008, and I had more support in school then than there is now. We have gone backwards as a country, and it is not good enough.

[Afzal Khan (Manchester Rusholme) (Lab)]

The hon. Member is making an excellent speech on a very important subject. Early diagnosis is key for dyslexic students to access the necessary support and assistive technology, yet as the hon. Member pointed out, 80% of dyslexic children leave school without a formal diagnosis. Does he agree that a universal screening programme could help to ensure that all children, regardless of their background, have their needs recognised and talents nurtured by our education system?

[Adam Dance]

I totally agree, and I will come to that later. The hon. Member has probably seen my ten-minute rule Bill about getting support, and I ask him to sign it.

The biggest problem is identifying dyslexia. Although three children in an average class likely have dyslexia, four in five dyslexic pupils leave school without having their needs properly identified. There is no NHS pathway to diagnosis for dyslexia as it is not a medical condition. That means diagnosis and support is based on a postcode lottery and family income. The average cost of diagnosis is £600, which is unaffordable for too many of my constituents and creates real inequality. Some 90% of dyslexic children in higher-income households are diagnosed compared with 43% in lower-income households. That is not good enough.

If we cannot identify needs, how can we support young dyslexics through education? For those whose needs are identified, it often comes far too late. Even then, the support they need may be unavailable. Our councils are in desperate need of financial support to keep up provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. Our brilliant teachers just do not have the appropriate training or proper resources to support all their pupils’ needs. Teachers should not have to learn about dyslexia and work out classroom adjustments in their spare time. They should be supported from day one.

Even simple things just are not available. In this day and age, getting access to assistive technologies such as word processors should not be a challenge, yet the British Dyslexia Association has found that only 18% of dyslexic people reported having access to assistive technology at school. Without support, the classroom becomes inaccessible for dyslexic people. The curriculum is too narrow and not developed with dyslexia properly in mind. Exams such as GSCEs test written ability and recall in timed environments, rather than testing knowledge. That ends up punishing dyslexic people who do not have enough alternative qualification pathways.

[Mr Angus MacDonald (Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire) (LD)]

It is an incredibly important subject. I left school before I was 17, and that was the end of my education. I have had a fantastic business career, I have written lots of novels and I am now an MP. That is despite no help at all from the educational system, and society as a whole putting across the message that people such as me at school are not on the same level as more intellectual people. The subject is close to my heart. Does my hon. Friend agree that society should better recognise people such as him and me, to help people get on with their careers?

[Adam Dance]

I agree with my hon. Friend. The impact is devastating on young dyslexic people’s education and their mental health. We know that 26% of 11-year-olds leave primary school below the expected reading standard. At GCSE, only one in five pupils with dyslexia achieve a grade 5 or above in English and maths, compared with over half of pupils without special educational needs.

The British Dyslexia Association’s most recent research found that 70% of young dyslexic people report feeling bad about themselves because of their dyslexia, and that 78% report having experienced people assuming that they are not as clever as others due to their dyslexia. That is not true—we have heard that today in the interventions.

I know that if I had not had the support I had at school, I might have ended up in prison or even taken my own life, like too many others who never get the help they need. Sadly, young people with dyslexia are three times as likely to be suspended from school and twice as likely to be repeatedly absent from school.

[Jayne Kirkham (Truro and Falmouth) (Lab/Co-op)]

My son is dyslexic, and the statistic that shocked me is that 80% of people with dyslexia leave school without it being diagnosed, and that is the concern—that people will go through life not even realising why they struggle with certain things. Does the hon. Member agree that that needs to change?

[Adam Dance]

I definitely agree and I thank the hon. Member for her comment.

Young people with dyslexia are also three times as likely to not be in employment, education or training by the age of 16 to 17. Research suggests that about half of people in prison may have dyslexia, compared with one in 10 in the general public. I have heard from people who have come out of prison and found out that they were dyslexic. They realised that had they had the right support, they may not have given up on school and ended up where they were. That tells us all we need to know about the dire consequences of not getting support for dyslexic people.

What can we do? Action is long overdue. We have to make dyslexia and other neurodiversities—such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism and dyscalculia—a priority by having a national dyslexic strategy, and a national body for SEND to oversee it. Any changes must start with early identification and teacher training. That is why I proposed my Bill on universal screening and teacher training. The idea is simple: that the Department for Education uses its expertise and resources to work with us all to create a universal screening programme for neurodiversity in primary school-aged children to identify their needs, and to provide statutory guidance on training on neurodiversity in initial teacher training and continuous professional development. The screener can be classroom based and the assessment done in a cost and time-effective way. That will allow teachers to better recognise the signs early.

With better training, teachers can make those all-important in-class adjustments, such as using more visual, auditory and physical aids, as well as offering tailored support. Teachers also need to be taught how to use assistive technologies throughout teaching and assessment. That targeted early intervention can move some children at risk of being adversely impacted by dyslexia to no or low risk. That is important.

More broadly, we need to rethink assessment design, so that assessments focus on measuring understanding, not memory recall or spelling accuracy—and I make many mistakes with spelling—except where essential. That has to start by looking at other forms of assessment beyond exams, and strengthening vocational education. I hope that V-levels will offer some of that. Access to assistive technology must be standard, and how to use it must be properly taught through key stage 2, to support independent learning.

I cannot end without addressing the elephant in the room—the now delayed SEND White Paper. I think the Minister and her team will have heard the fear and anxiety about the reports of cuts, and the real frustrations at the delay. Will the Minister address reports that dyslexic children may lose one-to-one support and extra teaching staff support? If that is the case, I urge the Government to think again. Cutting costs at the expense of young people’s futures is never worth it.

Ultimately, I think we all want the same thing—an inclusive and fair education system that gives young dyslexic people the chance to shine. With the changes I have set out, we can take a big step towards that future. I hope the Minister will take these ideas on board and work with us as the SEND White Paper is finalised. Without the changes, I fear this will be another missed opportunity and an entire generation of dyslexics will be failed by the Government.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)]

What a privilege it is to serve under you today, Ms Butler. I thank the hon. Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance) for introducing this debate, alongside my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Juliet Campbell).

As others have noted, dyslexia affects around 10% of the UK population, with 4% experiencing severe dyslexia. Up to 80% of children with the condition leave school without a diagnosis or the support they need to reach their full potential. When I was at school, dyslexia was understood even less than it is now. I was one of those kids who took a long time to progress through English. Some people might not be surprised to hear that it took me three attempts to pass my O-grade English, which was Scotland’s equivalent of O-level English. It was not until I became a university lecturer and encountered kids with a proper diagnosis that I started to understand the condition and how it affected me. I developed coping strategies that enabled me to try to sit my higher English at evening college. I did succeed, but it was not a journey I entirely enjoyed.

As a university lecturer, I met students who had been really well supported at school, and that had helped them to reach their full potential. I taught civil engineering, a subject that often attracted students with good mathematical skills but perhaps not the best English skills. I also encountered students who had not been diagnosed at school, and it was not until their first set of exams that they started to be flagged as needing extra support.

[Adam Dance]

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that if someone with dyslexia has not been identified and fails English at GCSE level, and then has to go to college and retake it, that puts them off going to university? It certainly put me off.

[Dr Arthur]

Absolutely. Particularly if the condition is not understood, they just assume—let us face it—that they are not the smartest kid in the class, whereas often the opposite is true. Through working with dyslexic students in my job as a lecturer, I know they are often real problem solvers, as we have heard, and systems thinkers able to see the bigger picture. Once they had a diagnosis, we were able to support them in their studies.

I worked in the sector for a long time. I started lecturing in the late ’90s, and when staff back then discussed dyslexia we had spectacularly uninformed debates about the condition. I remember one well-intentioned colleague talking about his hope that a student could shake off dyslexia by the time they left university. If only that had been possible, that lecturer would be world renowned by now. He is still a great person, though.

In Edinburgh we are lucky to have organisations such as HealthCare in Mind stepping in to help parents in Edinburgh South West to secure a recognised diagnosis, so that their children can finally access the support they deserve. But receiving a diagnosis and the associated help should not be down to a postcode lottery. It should come early enough in a child’s life to allow them to adapt their style of learning and make the most of their school experience.

A recent survey by Dyslexia Scotland showed that dyslexia is still widely misunderstood. Many parents, and I dare say some teachers, still think it is something that children can grow out of, that it affects only boys, that it is about eyesight, or that children can overcome it if they just try harder.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister for School Standards (Georgia Gould)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I am sure you will cough at the appropriate time if I am going on.

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Juliet Campbell) and the hon. Member for Yeovil (Adam Dance) for securing this important debate. As others have said, they are both really important champions on this issue. The hon. Member for Broxtowe has huge experience from their previous life in training teachers and parents, and they have brought that into their work for the APPG. Since I have had the privilege of taking on this role, I have seen the hon. Member for Yeovil at almost every debate, which I think says something about their passion. The way that they speak about their own experience and the challenges they have overcome is inspiring for many young people. As we have heard from many across the Chamber, dyslexic people and parents of dyslexic children are important voices in the debate, and this place is stronger as a result.

I appreciate the constructive tone of everyone in the Chamber. As has been said, this is a critical issue for many young people around the country. In my own experience as a council leader, I have seen the huge challenges in the system and am deeply motivated to change it. We are not waiting for the schools White Paper: interventions are already happening to support the SEND system. Mention was made of Ofsted; changes to include inspection on inclusion are already happening. Changes are being made to teacher training to help teachers support young people with SEND, in particular on adaptive teaching. We have invested an extra £1 billion this financial year into the high-needs block and an extra £740 million into specialist places across the system. Those changes are happening, but we recognise the need for wider reform. I support the desire to work cross-party and we wish to hear from Members across the House to help us shape those proposals and to scrutinise them as we go forward.

On the issue of dyslexia, which Members spoke about powerfully, recently I attended a parliamentary reception hosted by the British Dyslexia Association, where we heard some of the stark research referred to in the debate. The statistic that stays with me is the 70% of children and young people who feel bad about themselves because of their dyslexia. Earlier, we heard a powerful story about Lucy and her experiences. At the event, I spoke about my dad’s experience. He was severely dyslexic and failed his 11-plus, later leaving school with only one A-level. He talked to me about how he felt like a failure at school, but he was one of the most creative and brilliant people I have known.

I have heard from too many young people who still feel that same way so many years on—that sense, which someone described as humiliation, that they are not good enough and that their huge creativity and contributions are not recognised. That has to change. This debate and the ideas we have heard are important within that. On Thursday, I will visit the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Bracknell (Peter Swallow), who was present earlier, where the British Dyslexia Association is based, to meet young people to hear their experience, to feed into the White Paper. As I said, however, we are not waiting and work is already happening to improve things on dyslexia while we look at the wider reforms.

I want to start with the focus on reading that we heard about, and on identifying needs around reading. Many MPs talked about early identification, which is vital. We heard about phonics and some of the great successes with that: 80% of young people pass their phonics screening checks, but 20% of young people do not. Putting in more support and intervention for those young people is a key priority for us. In the curriculum assessment review response, we set out a new reading test for all pupils in year 8. That is focused on identifying young people who are struggling at key stage 3, because given some of the statistics, by the time we get to GCSEs, it is too late.

[Adam Dance]

On reading, does the Minister agree that teaching assistants are vital? Without teaching assistants, I would not have got through education. To this day, if someone gives me a book to read, it daunts me; I have probably only ever read one or two books to the end in my whole life, because it takes me so much time. Does she agree that teaching assistants are important to help with reading?

[Georgia Gould]

I do agree. Teaching assistants play a vital role in supporting children with special educational needs, which can include reading, and there is good evidence that that support is working. Today, we have heard about some of the huge challenges, but I want to mention a school I visited in Amber Valley, which had brilliant support for young people struggling with reading.

I spoke to a child who said that, in the transition into year 7, he had had the reading age of a four or a five-year-old. He talked about trying to access the curriculum, but getting increasingly frustrated and not listening. The school had put in place a small nurture group, focused on supporting young people with reading, with a range of children—some had dyslexia and some did not. He is now 14, and that extra support and intervention means that he is fully accessing the curriculum and thriving. That was a teacher-led intervention.

--- Later in debate ---

[Adam Dance]

I, too, thank my co-sponsor of the debate, the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Juliet Campbell). It has been absolutely fantastic to hear so many supportive remarks about dyslexia from across the House. It is important to get across that this issue should not be political; it should be cross-party, because we want the best for our young people and their future. It is clear that in Parliament, dyslexia is on the agenda; that is great news, but it has to stay there and translate into real change. We need to make sure that it does not come off the agenda, so I will carry on pushing. I am sure that the Minister will get fed up of me eventually, but I look forward to meeting her tomorrow. We need to make sure that school is not somewhere dyslexic people fear, but somewhere to set them up to do what they want in life.

Something stays with me; we all, as Members of Parliament, visit schools in our constituencies, and the other day I visited a rural school to talk about my life and background, and why I got involved in politics. At the end, two lads asked their teacher whether they could stay behind. The teacher said, “You’re not going to say anything you shouldn’t be saying to Adam, are you?” They said, “No, we just want to talk to him,” and I said, “Let them stay behind.”

Those two lads were primary school-age children, and what they said stuck with me: “Thank you. We both have ADHD and dyslexia. We keep thinking we’re going to fail in life, and you’ve taught us that we’re not going to fail in life. We want to thank you for that.” Just before that, the teacher had said to those children, “What do you want to stay behind for?”. Children are already hearing, “Oh, you’re going to stay behind to say something you shouldn’t.” That is the perception we have to change in our education system. I will follow those two lads’ careers and see where they get to, because that really has stuck with me. I think they will succeed.

Let us keep working together on this. As I will say to the Minister tomorrow, “Let’s get on with it, move positively and make real change together.”

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered support for dyslexic pupils at school.