Dyslexia Alliance in South Yorkshire

08/05/2026

❤️

05/05/2026

Have you had similar experiences?

17/03/2026

Well done xx

An 11-year-old girl just changed the game 💡

Millie, who has dyslexia, designed colour-changing glasses to make reading easier and more comfortable - an idea she first had at just 8 years old. Her glasses use interchangeable coloured lenses to reduce visual stress, helping words stay still and headaches fade.

With up to 1 in 10 people in the UK affected by dyslexia, this isn’t just an invention... it’s a potential life-changer!

Her design has already won a gold medal and been turned into a real prototype, and now the goal is to get them on shelves so others can benefit too.

The future is bright... and it’s being built by young minds like Millie’s 🟢

13/03/2026

New SEND provision in Wakefield.

A private school which closed last year will reopen as an education provider for children with special needs.

Read more: https://bbc.in/3NockvD

09/03/2026

❤️

This probably happens to you!

06/03/2026

One for a bit of fun…

A school in Upperthong has risked feeling the wrath of Yorkshire residents after BANNING future pupils from dressing as Billy Casper from KES (A Kestrel For A Knave) on World Book Day! 😲

The rule has been implemented after Craig David, 10, dressed up as his Idol Billy, and brought a real life kestrel to school as part of the outfit!

Unfortunately before school had even started, the kestrel had already attacked two mums in the playground and killed a pigeon. 😬

Craig's Dad, David, called the ban,

'Wokeness gone mad!'

Unfortunately the school was unavailable for comment, as like most schools, it is an inanimate object.

27/02/2026

This is so true for many learners, especially those who have a learning difficulty. There is so much research out there about rewarding effort and personal progress, it’s hard to understand why so many schools still reward 10/10, most minutes on timetable apps and the quickest to answer.

19/02/2026

🤔

We are disappointed to see further leaks from the Department for Education ahead of the publication of the Schools White Paper causing further anxiety in the SEND community.

We are still waiting for clarity on some fundamental questions:

🔷 How will the proposed individual levels of support be backed by legislation?
🔶 What will be a statutory requirement for public bodies?
🔷 How will those bodies be held accountable?
🔶 Will parents’ rights to challenge and appeal decisions be protected?

Children and young people with SEND must not lose the legal protections they rely on.

IPSEA will continue fighting in these final days to ensure any reforms strengthen, and not weaken, the right to an education that meets individual needs.

26/01/2026

That feeling of failure in education at such a young is remembered. Sadly, most of our students remember. Let’s try and change this.

“Early screening is so important for our students with dyslexia…it begins the process of quickly connecting students with the powerful interventions that can help them overcome dyslexia, or even prevent it from ever being a factor in their lives.”
- Dr Jan Hasbrouck

Early identification and intervention for those of us with dyslexia is essential.
It is a myth that diagnosis of dyslexia needs to wait until 8-years of age.
The earlier dyslexia is identified the better.
Not only can early identification prevent us falling behind academically, it can also help safeguard against low self esteem, negative self worth, school refusal and school dropout.
You can read more about early intervention at this article here:
👉 https://www.nessy.com/dyslexia-explained/how-to-help-dyslexia/what-is-early-intervention?fbclid=IwAR2BcZROQqeM9EhGRWhdhYIgOBajk8a2HYi6KWwsuDenC-42i3zZWdFe1tY
Here:
👉 https://dyslexiaida.org/its-a-myth-that-young-children-cannot-be-screened-for-dyslexia/
And here:
👉 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4538781/
You can read more about the late Diana King and her pioneering work in the early identification of dyslexia here:
👉 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/22/obituaries/diana-king-a-leading-teacher-in-overcoming-dyslexia-dies-at-90.html
And here:
👉 https://dyslexiaida.org/the-legendary-diana-hanbury-king/
And here:
👉 https://www.understood.org/en/articles/diana-hanbury-king-dyslexia-pioneer-and-champion-has-died
Quote in image: Diana Hanbury King
Quote in comment: Jan Hansbrouck

05/12/2025

How many adults are glad they don’t go to school these days?

"I was fine when I was growing up."

"We never needed all this nonsense when I was at school."

"We just used to get on with it, and it never did us any harm."

Sound familiar?

I went to primary school in the 1970s. I was never given homework, although we did read at home. We were allowed to read what we liked, and once we had demonstrated that we knew how to read, we were left to choose our own books according to our interests.

There was no national curriculum, and teachers were trusted to teach us what they knew we needed to know.

There were no SATs, and although we had spelling tests, there was no pressure. Assessment was presumably ongoing, as I don't remember ever doing an exam in primary school.

Children knew nothing about attendance targets, learning objectives and test scores. We were free to be children and to enjoy learning and playing with our friends.

I honestly think my children would have had no trouble coping with a 1970s primary school classroom.

We put so much pressure on our children to perform. We test them endlessly from the moment they enter the education system. They don't have time to settle into the classroom in the morning - they're straight into their morning numeracy and literacy tasks. Reading becomes a chore - another thing they have to be pushed to do.

From about the age of 5, my children told me they didn't like "doing learning". "Learning" involved sitting still and facing the teacher with their "listening ears" on, having to write the date and LO (enough writing in itself to exhaust my dyspraxic, hypermobile son) and producing endless amounts of written work.

Schools have become exam factories, where the joy is sucked out of learning for learning's sake.

I worked in professional training for 20 years. Over the last few years, the most common question I would get from graduates with good degrees was not "How can I use this in my job?", but "Do I need to know this for the exam?"

Neurodivergent children are the canaries in the coal mines. They're telling us that schools have become a hostile environment. I don't think I'd cope in a school these days without reasonable adjustments.

We should listen to them.