Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support dyslexic children with mental health difficulties in Surrey Heath constituency.

The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia and other neurodiverse conditions.

​Early identification of need and support is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND, including those with dyslexia. There are already a number of measures to help teachers do this, including the phonics screening check and statutory assessments at the end of key stage 2.

​Measures have also been introduced to support the effective teaching of reading, including for those at risk of falling behind. This includes the English hubs programme, the publication of the reading framework and an updated list of high-quality systematic synthetic phonics programmes for schools. The initial teacher training and early career framework, which sets out the core body of knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching, contains significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND, and from September 2025 will underpin the minimum entitlement to training for new teachers.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not had any conversations with Surrey Heath Borough Council regarding dyslexia support, as we believe schools are best placed to take these decisions locally, in consultation with parents, young people and the local authority, after a thorough assessment of the child or young person’s needs and drawing on wider professional advice, as appropriate.

The department will also provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. Further information on the support, as at 31 March 2024, for pupils provided by NHS funded MHSTs in Surrey schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision. We will recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, and open new Young Futures hubs with access to mental health support workers.