My child has dyslexia

Guidance for parents and carers about help in school.

We provide funding through normal school budgets to help schools to support pupils with special educational needs. Derbyshire local authority has produced The Derbyshire Descriptors of Special Educational Needs (SEN) Provision.

The Descriptors offer guidance and advice to primary and secondary schools about the level and type of support they should provide for pupils with additional needs. They are used by the local authority to monitor provision for pupils with SEN without a statement. They outline how schools should:

  • Assess, plan and review provision.

  • Arrange teaching groups.

  • Adjust the curriculum and teaching methods.

  • Provide resources, such as access to additional support from a teaching assistant for up to three hours per week for pupils at School Action or up to eight hours a week for pupils at School Action Plus.

Your child may:

  • Have difficulties with reading, spelling and writing.

  • Have a poor short term memory.

  • Have a poor visual memory.

  • Have a poor auditory memory.

  • Find it hard to hear sounds, syllables and rhymes in words.

  • Have good ideas and knowledge but find it hard to write down what they know.

  • Be anxious and frustrated about their difficulties.

  • Have difficulties with understanding time

  • Find it hard to remember sequences such as times tables.

  • Have difficulties with being organised and having the right equipment for each day/lesson.

  • Have difficulty with study skills.

What can your school do?

  • Use teacher assessment and observations to establish clearly what your child can and can’t do and what style to teaching and learning suits them best.

  • Discuss your child with relevant professionals who visit the school and follow their advice.

  • Follow guidance from the County File for Dyslexia Friendly Schools and be aware of what teaching approaches are helpful for pupils with dyslexia.

  • Arrange for your child to have some additional support in smaller teaching groups supported by a teaching assistant.

  • Help your child to develop study skills and use visual techniques such as mind maps.

  • Help your child to help themselves by being active learners and being better organised.

  • Support your child’s self esteem by ensuring that they have learning tasks they can be successful at.

  • Involve you and your child in planning and review of progress.

Who else can help?

Schools have access to a range of professionals who visit regularly or can be contacted in order to discuss arrangements for supporting pupils with special educational needs. These include:

If your child has other difficulties as well as with learning, all schools have access to county services which can offer support and advice for pupils with:

You or your child’s teacher (with your permission) can ask a speech and language therapist to see your child.

Your GP can make a referral for physiotherapy and occupational therapy, and will also advise on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and voluntary services such as Barnardo's.

What other advice is available?

Derbyshire has published comprehensive files of advice and information on speech and language difficulties and autism.

Contact details

Derbyshire Educational Psychology Service
County Hall
Dale Road
Matlock
DE4 3AG
Tel: 01629 580000

Local Inclusion Officer Service
Chesterfield Area Education Office
Sheffield Road
Chesterfield
S41 7LU
Tel: 01246 204851

Derbyshire Parent Partnership
The Community Centre
School Board Lane
Chesterfield
S40 1DD
Tel: 01246 273154/5

The full version of the SEN Descriptors is available in every school.

If you require this and other local inclusion officer service leaflets in large print or another format, please contact the head of Local Inclusion Officer service listed above. 

Related documents

The following document is in Portable Document Format (PDF). You can download the PDF software for free from the Adobe website (opens in a new window)

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