In January 2021 SASC initiated
a wide-ranging consultation process to consider issues concerning the
assessment and identification of dyslexia. To date, this process has consisted
of four stages:
1. Firstly, the
creation of a working group, comprised of academics and practitioners, brought
together to facilitate discussion and interaction between academics and
assessment practitioners, including specialist assessors, psychologists and
those who had personal and/or family experience of dyslexia. SASC also ran a parallel
online consultation with a group of assessment practitioners, and special
educational needs and disability services managers in schools and higher
education. This focused on issues around effective assessment for intervention
and support in schools, colleges and universities. A draft consultation paper
was written.
2. A second consultation phase involved both the
initial working group and a wider body of consultants in commenting and
advising on changes and amendments to an initial draft of a consultation paper.
3.
In April 2022, the third part of the
consultation was launched with the publication on the SASC website, of a
paper: Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) Assessment Standards
Committee (SASC) Consultation Paper on the identification of and effective
intervention for literacy difficulties in children and adults. Implications for
the assessment of dyslexia. (See Downloads).
Between April and May 2022, A SASC survey gathered 407 responses to this paper.
These were summarised, presented and discussed at the SASC Conference in June
2022. SASC also made an official response to the March 2022 HM Government SEND
Review Green Paper, ‘Right Support, Right Place, Right Time'.[1] (See Downloads)
4. Between October and December 2022, in a fourth
consultation phase, key issues arising from responses to the paper were
discussed with a group of 50 assessment practitioners, academics and
representatives from stake-holding organisations, at a series of six online 90
minute structured discussions. Among the themes discussed were a definition and
identification criteria for dyslexia and key current issues in both pre and
post 16 years assessment. Summaries of these
meetings were presented to the SASC Board in January 2023.
What next?
The SASC consultation on
dyslexia will set priorities for SASC policy discussions. A final paper
will be produced, with a particular emphasis on refining the proposed
definition and identification criteria for dyslexia. The paper will be
re-written in three parts: Theory, Policy, Practice, with a short
summary document that covers all three sections. The revision of the paper will
take into account commentary from the consultation survey's qualitative and
quantitative data and feedback from the structured discussions. While the initial plan was to produce this paper by April
2023, SASC will now delay this publication for a few further months: This is so
that it can also take into account two important developments:
- A
newly initiated Delphi consensus study will aim to reach consensus
around a definition and identification criteria for dyslexia.
This study will be led by Professor Maggie Snowling (Oxford University),
Professor Julia Carroll (Coventry University), Paul Thompson (Warwick
University) and Lynn Greenwold and Caroline Holden (Chair and Vice-Chair
of SASC). 60+
academics, practitioners (including psychologists and specialist
assessors), representatives from stake-holding organisations and other
interested individuals across the UK, Europe and internationally, will be
invited to take part. We aim to conclude the study in no longer than six
months but hope that this study will represent the best possible UK,
European and international consensus statements on these issues.
- Further work arising from the Specific Learning
Difficulties Network SLDN headed by Michelle Luciano of
Edinburgh University michelle.luciano@ed.ac.uk and Sylvia Parrachini of St Andrews University sp58@st-andrews.ac.uk. Leading the SLDN terminology working group are Kinga
Morsanyi (K.E.Morsanyi@lboro.ac.uk) and Joel Talcott (j.b.talcott@aston.ac.uk). The network has discussed the SASC consultation and has
set as a priority a mission to achieve agreement over definitions of
SpLDs.
SASC therefore hopes to conclude this important
consultation and to produce further guidance for assessors on a definition and
identification criteria for dyslexia by autumn 2023. The SASC consultation has
also prompted important discussions about the current pre and post 16 report
formats, about SASC's role in providing policy advice and guidance to the DfE,
SfE and SLC, and about other further guidance it can usefully offer to
assessors. These discussions are ongoing and any changes to current advice and
guidance will be reported as soon as they are confirmed.
Any
further enquiries: email sasc@sasc.org.uk.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/send-review-right-support-right-place-right-time |