ATL

Scotland 'needs greater dyslexia training'

17 July 2009

Teachers in Scotland require specialist training to enable them to help pupils with dyslexia cope in the classroom, a Scottish charity has claimed.

Dyslexia Scotland (DS) welcomed Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families MP Ed Balls' recent announcement that the Government will train 4,000 teachers to provide dyslexia support and called on the Scottish Executive to adopt a similar policy.

Chief Executive of DS Cathy Magee told the Herald: 'There are still far too many children who are not identified as early as they could be and therefore who do not receive the support they need when they need it.

'DS would like to see a specialist teacher available to every school and favours the three levels of expertise proposed south of the border.'

The charity currently provides a list of specialist tutors to parents worried about the effect of the condition on their children's education because no such provision is made through local schools, according to the newspaper.

Approximately half a million people in Scotland are thought to suffer from the condition, with one in four of those diagnosed as severely dyslexic.