Assessments will take place at the assessors house, PE92FD, or within a practical distance of PE9 postcode. Locations further afield can be requested but will occur an extra cost. Assessments can be carried out at the child’s school with their agreement.

Assessments can be undertaken on a Thursday or Saturday during school term-time, on any day [weekday or weekend] during the school holidays, or – if necessary – on a weekday after school. A full dyslexia diagnostic assessment normally takes around three to four hours to complete, so it is usually impractical to undertake it in full after a day at school when a child is likely to be tired. With younger children, we sometimes find that it’s more practical to divide an assessment into two shorter after-school sessions, as most children are able to cope with this without any adverse effects.

I gather information from parents/carers to understand their child's specific profile and collect background information.

Information will be gathered from the school/class teacher giving details of the pupil’s strengths, weaknesses and attainment, in addition to any other valuable information that might be insightful.

Terms and Conditions and Privacy Notice will be forwarded to you, and then the assessment date can be secured with a deposit.

We find assessment results to be more reliable when a child works independently with the assessor. This is a less inhibiting and stressful experience than being ‘on show’. We would respectfully ask a parent to either remain in another room or to return after the time allotted for an assessment. Although this can be discussed with parents.

A Diagnostic Assessment will usually take up to three hours to complete. If necessary, an assessment can be carried out over several sessions, but this will usually be decided beforehand. Rest breaks will be planned in.

The assessment itself will include a full set of tests to gain a cognitive profile. It is pupil-centred and led by the information previously acquired and during the assessment process itself. Each pupil is unique and additional tests administered may be selected according to their needs.

You will receive a full and detailed written report within 4 weeks of the assessment date. The Diagnostic Assessment report will be in line with guidelines set by the SpLD Assessment Standards Committee (SASC). This report will provide evidence of the individual’s dyslexic profile (if the individual has been confirmed as having dyslexia). The report will include recommendations about how to support the individual in the context of their study, the workplace or day-to-day life.

The aim is that the report is a document that the individual is happy to share with family, teachers, tutors, other professionals and employers if they wish, as this will give them information on how they can help to provide support.

A follow-up meeting with parents/carers is offered to discuss the findings of the report (which should ideally involve/or be communicated to the school).

Under the Equality Act (2010) Schools are required to provide ‘reasonable adjustments’ to ensure that a pupil can access the curriculum and learn in line with their peers.

Schools must engage in a discussion with the parent/carer to ensure they are meeting the pupil’s needs, so every child is supported and can make progress at school. The school does not have to put in place every recommendation made by the assessor, but they do need to consider what is needed and what is reasonable within their budget and staffing resourcing.

Exam access arrangements are carried out by the school at the time of the exams taking place. Many children get access arrangements without a diagnosis based on their needs. Having a diagnosis and assessment report may however help you as the parent/carer to discuss the need to have your child assessed for access arrangements.