Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help improve the diagnosis of dyslexia in children.

Assessments for dyslexia in children are currently provided through Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) services by an educational psychologist or an appropriately qualified specialist dyslexia teacher.

If a parent thinks their child may be dyslexic, as a first step they should speak to their child’s teacher or their school's special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) about their concerns. They may be able to offer additional support to help the child if necessary.

The government will be focusing on a community-wide approach to meeting the needs of children with SEND, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools. On 22 November 2023, the Department of Health and Social Care, Department for Education and NHS England launched a joint project, Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS), with £13million of funding to test an innovative delivery model to improve access to specialist support in mainstream primary schools, upskilling those settings to meet a range of neurodiverse needs. The programme is ongoing, with delivery due to be completed by 31 March 2025. The programme is being evaluated, and learning will inform future policy development around how schools support neurodiverse children.