Milton Keynes Dyslexia Assessment Guidance

This document links with MK Dyslexia Policy (2016) Compiled by Janet Probert, Specialist Teacher and Paula Williams, Senior Educational Psychologist, EPS

1. Introduction

This guidance has been prepared to assist schools in developing their assessments of pupils with literacy difficulties. It has been developed in response to requests for advice on the use of standardised assessment for diagnostic purposes, target setting and programme planning. It should be read in conjunction with the range of guidance on curriculum entitlement for pupils with special educational needs.

When planning for pupils with special educational needs, teachers need to ensure that they set suitable learning objectives. The SEN Code of Practice 2015 (CoP) specifies that schools have a duty to identify pupils’ needs and make appropriate provision. The role of the Teachers and SENCo is to identify pupils making less than expected progress given their age and individual circumstances. This is characterised in the CoP 6.18 (2015) by progress which:

is significantly slower than that of their peers starting from the same baseline
fails to match or better the child’s previous rate of progress
fails to close the attainment gap between the child and their peers
widens the attainment gap

This includes the assessment of pupils who have specific learning difficulties, some of whom may have dyslexia (CoP 6.31).

This guidance assists schools in carrying out detailed literacy assessments for pupils with dyslexia and other literacy difficulties. It considers the use of National Curriculum and other curriculum-based assessments and when standardised tests may be appropriate. It also addresses the issue of selecting relevant and valid measures to supplement other curriculum-based assessments.

The guidance on assessment supplements Milton Keynes Dyslexia Policy (2016) and Dyslexia: Information for Parents (2016). Milton Keynes Dyslexia Policy was developed to clarify the role of schools in assessing pupils with significant difficulties in literacy that may be classified as dyslexia.

2. The definition of dyslexia

Dyslexia is evident when accurate and fluent word reading and/or spelling develops very incompletely or with great difficulty. This focuses on literacy learning at the ‘word level’ and implies that the problem is severe and persistent despite appropriate learning opportunities. It provides the basis of a staged process of assessment through teaching.

Milton Keynes Dyslexia Policy (2016) and British Psychological Society (1999).

3. Good Quality First Teaching

All children should have access to regular good quality teaching (CoP 6.19). The first response to identifying a child making lower than expected progress is to provide high quality teaching targeted at their areas of weakness. Where progress continues to be less than expected the class or subject teacher, working with the SENCo, should assess whether the child has SEN. This will involve:

gathering relevant evidence (including the views of the pupil and their parents)
putting in place extra teaching or other rigorous interventions designed to secure better progress, where required
assessing the pupil’s response to such support to help identify their particular needs

Every action should be taken to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place. This SEN support should take the form of a four-part cycle through which earlier decisions and actions are revisited, refined and revised with a growing understanding of the pupil’s needs and of what supports the pupil in making good progress and securing good outcomes. This is known as the graduated approach. It draws on more detailed approaches, more frequent review and more specialist expertise in successive cycles in order to match interventions to the SEN of children and young people (CoP 6.44).

The ASSESS - PLAN - DO – REVIEW cycle

4. Key features of dyslexia

When assessing whether a pupil has dyslexia the following key features must be considered (taken from the Rose report 2009):

The pupil has difficulties in reading accuracy and fluency.
The pupil has difficulties in spelling accuracy.
Difficulties in word reading and/or spelling are one of the priority areas of need.
Difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing are common.
The difficulties are severe despite good quality first teaching. Milton Keynes Dyslexia Policy uses the criteria of at least two cycles of assess – plan- do- review. Interventions have been planned and delivered to meet individual needs and have been reviewed to inform the next stage of intervention.
The difficulties are persistent and the pupil has received effective additional provision.
The pupil has received appropriate learning opportunities through quality first teaching.

5. Gathering background information

The school needs to consider the following areas when checking why a child might be making lower than expected progress:

Absence from school	How much schooling has the pupil missed?
Changes of school	How many schools? When did the changes occur?
Changes of staff	Has the pupil’s education been disrupted by several changes of teacher?
Quality of learning and teaching	Has the teaching been of a consistently high quality? Have evidenced based interventions been used? Was the impact of interventions measured?
Early development	What early experiences may have contributed to learning disruption? Illness; emotional issues?
Family history	Are there any family reasons why the pupil may not have acquired literacy skills? Separation? Bereavement? Is there a history of dyslexia within the family?
Sensory impairment	Many pupils who experience early literacy difficulties have had sensory issues. Hearing – when was their last test; what was the result? Do they have frequent colds or waxy ears? Vision – when did they have their last eye-test? Have they had regular eyesight checks (these are free at the opticians and recommended every two years)?
English as an additional language	Can the pupil read in their first language? Are the scripts and grammar from the first language similar or is the pupil having to learn new rules about the language?
Medical conditions	Are there any reasons why the pupil may not be acquiring literacy? Have they missed days through illness?
Social, emotional and mental health issues	Are emotional difficulties preventing the pupil from listening, attending and progressing? Has their behaviour disrupting their learning?
Engagement and motivation	What is the pupil’s attitude towards reading? Is the perception the same for reading at home as at school?

6. How to assess key features of dyslexia

A detailed analysis of reading needs to include the assessment of:

Phonic knowledge, including decoding skills
Accuracy of reading
Types of errors made
Pace
Expression
Comprehension

Analysis of spellings needs to include:

Phonological awareness
Encoding skills
Assessment of types of errors made
Fine motor skills / handwriting
Visual discrimination skills

These are set out in more detail below

Reading and/or spelling difficulties must be the priority areas of need

It is recognised that some pupils may have additional difficulties that accompany dyslexia. Difficulties with phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing are frequently associated with dyslexia. It is also common for pupils with dyslexia/literacy difficulties to have a history of speech and language difficulties and conductive hearing loss (glue ear). In particular, it is common for pupils with dyslexia to have a history of speech and language difficulties. A common underlying factor in dyslexia is poor phonological processing. See below for assessing and responding to phonological difficulties.

Measuring severity of difficulties

The pupil would be receiving additional provision in school but continues to make slow progress. It is expected that progress would be thoroughly monitored through regular assess-plan-do review cycles, with increased intensity of interventions or a change of action should a pupil not be responding/ making progress.

Evaluating persistence

The difficulty may be described as persistent if the pupil has received effective provision at SEN support. The pupil’s progress has been evaluated, over at least three assess-plan-do review cycles.

7. Provision

In order to use the term dyslexia, the pupil needs to have had access to:

‘Quality First Teaching’: the effective inclusion of all pupils in classes where high-quality literacy has been taught. This would include ensuring that materials are accessible, age appropriate and conceptually relevant. Schools may be working towards establishing dyslexia friendly classrooms. See Dyslexia Friendly schools in the resources section, for more information on this.

SEN Support: Specific targeted approaches for individual pupils identified as requiring SEN intervention.

Pupils at SEN support may have particular needs related to literacy, or needs associated with other barriers to their learning. Provision at SEN support may draw on specialist advice. It may involve the adjustment of learning outcomes and teaching styles, and/or additional provision. It aims to reduce gaps in attainment and facilitate greater access to the curriculum.

Pupils at SEN support will be part of a regular cycle of assess, plan, do and review. Some pupils at SEN support may have received small group provision in the past, e.g. ELS, ALS or specific literacy interventions. All schools have to produce an SEN report detailing the provision they offer and must evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.

Suggestions for strategies can be found in the resources part of this guidance.

8. The role of support services

The Inclusion and Intervention Team (IIT)

The Inclusion and Intervention Team works in partnership with schools and other settings to increase their capacity to teach pupils who have SEN and/or a disability. IIT support is based on the needs of individual pupils, broader school issues and issues across groups of schools. IIT aims to:

contribute to raising achievement by promoting inclusive practice through which barriers to learning are overcome, suitable challenges set and pupils’ diverse needs met
develop the knowledge, skills and expertise of practitioners and work collaboratively with other divisions and agencies
encourage early intervention

The Educational Psychology Service

Educational Psychologists work through a consultation framework to:

support schools to meet children and young people’s complex needs
evaluate interventions and projects
work closely with parents/carers

This work would be commissioned by the school.

An Educational Psychologist will always be involved if the Local Authority is making a statutory assessment of a pupil’s special educational needs.

9. Parental involvement

Parents/carers should be involved in discussions when there are concerns about progress in literacy. The information that they can contribute to assessment can be valuable in identifying their child’s needs and possible ways forward. Parents/carers need to be aware of the actions the school is taking and their role clearly stated. Schools should refer parents/carers to the leaflet ‘Dyslexia: Information for Parents’ available on the Local Offer.

E: local.offer.feedback@milton-keynes.gov.uk

https://www.mksendlocaloffer.co.uk/

Facebook : www.facebook.com/mksend

10. Pupil involvement

The pupil should be involved in the setting, involvement and monitoring of their learning targets. During the assessment process, they are likely to have some insights into what their strengths are, what helps them to learn, and what barriers they are experiencing. This information could be presented in a one page profile – these are best done collaboratively with the child/young person taking a lead on the content and the adults who know them well adding additional information (see resources).

All of the information gathered from the child, parents/carers and staff should be used in the planning and reviewing of the intervention.

11. The Assessment of other Literacy Difficulties

The definition adopted in this policy proposes that dyslexia primarily involves difficulty with reading and/or spelling at the word level. However, reading is a complex process that involves both word level recognition and language comprehension. Some children and young people experience difficulties in language comprehension and other areas that affect their progress in literacy.

Comprehension

Reading comprehension can only be assessed at text level. Informal assessment can be carried out using a range of reading books, curriculum texts, magazines, etc. taking into account a pupil’s interests. Some standardised text-reading tests include miscue analysis, which provides useful information about the particular strategies being used. These can provide ideas for programme planning.

Many children and young people who have problems in reading comprehension have difficulties in language development. Advice is available to schools from support services including the Speech and Language Therapy Service.

Handwriting

Some pupils with literacy difficulties have problems in developing handwriting skills.

Handwriting speed needs to be assessed for special arrangements for GCSEs and in some circumstances for SATs.

For assessment and Intervention strategies please refer to the resources section.

REFERENCES

Backhouse, G. and Morris, M. (2005) Dyslexia? Assessing and Reporting: The Patoss Guide Hodder and Murray, London

British Psychological Society Division of Educational and Pupil Psychology (1999) Dyslexia, Literacy and Psychological Assessment. Report by the Working Party, British Psychological Society, Leicester

DfE (2015) SEN Code of Practice

Milton Keynes Dyslexia Policy (2016) Milton Keynes Council

Dyslexia: Information for Parents (2016) Milton Keynes Council