Every Lesson Counts
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Every
Lesson Counts is a DfES campaign to improve attendance in schools and to support
families in helping their children to do so.
Contact Miriam Laverick or Gemma Hutchison at Geronimo Communications on 020
7299 8785 or 0207 299 8753
Missing days at school? Is dyslexia holding your child back?
Missing days at school leaves children playing an unhappy game of catch up
with their peers, not only affecting their education but also their self-esteem
and emotional wellbeing. In many cases of poor school attendance, however, there
are underlying reasons preventing children from going to school - dyslexia may
be one of them.
When dyslexia goes undetected children fall further and further behind their classmates, causing frustration, embarrassment and fatigue to set in. Identifying dyslexia and accessing the support children need at an early stage will ensure that they remain engaged in education and are present to develop the social skills that being part of the school community brings. Once a child feels left behind in class and finds it hard to make progress they seek to avoid a situation where they feel like a failure. Soon missed days become more regular.
Learning Support Teacher, Celia Laverick, at Calvin Grove Primary, Gateshead, says: “Missing lessons often starts with constant disappearances to sharpen pencils which never get used, frequent visits to get a drink or go to the loo which take most of the lesson and days off school with ‘illnesses’ such as poorly tummies or headaches. The odd day off often becomes days off because on return to school the child is even further behind and feels even more lost.”
Wendy Dodd has experienced the tell-tale signs first hand. Her son, now eight, was six when she started to notice that there was something wrong with his development at Calvin Grove Primary School in Gateshead. “I used to help out at the school once a week and started to notice that there was a disparity between his reading and the others’. There wasn’t a big difference in ability between him and the other children in the learning support class, but he would read a word on one page and be unable to read the same word on the next,” says Wendy.
It wasn’t until she read an article in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle during Dyslexia Week that Wendy started to wonder whether her son’s difficulties at school could be down to dyslexia. “There was a check-list in the paper that listed signs such as problems reading, identifying numbers, writing, spelling and speech problems. He struggled with all of these.”
Contacting the Dyslexia Action was the best thing she could have done for her son, says Wendy. Having a name for his condition, knowing there was support available and a plan of action for moving forward was a huge relief. Now he receives support from the Learning Support Teacher at school and Dyslexia Action in Jesmond, a support organisation for people with dyslexia. “He’s taught with different methods to mainstream schooling,” says Wendy. “He can learn at his own speed because he is part of a small group that only moves on once he understands.”
Wendy has found small changes to their routine really help to manage her son’s school life and make things easier for herself as well. They have started to use a memory board at home so that he doesn’t forget to do his homework among other things that are important to him. Wendy and her son’s teachers share a diary so that Wendy can keep track of swimming days or any changes to his school timetable. “His dyslexia causes him to lose his grasp on what day it is, or even the time,” says Wendy.
Wendy advises parents who are worried about their child’s attendance for
whatever reason to go to their school: “Never be afraid to build a rapport with
the school. Know the head teacher, and introduce yourself to the teachers. It’s
very important to be aware of each other and to communicate about any issues,”
she says.
Attendance is vitally important, if a child misses just one day a week, over
the course of their school career they will miss two years of schooling. The
Every Lesson Counts campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of
regular attendance and to help schools, parents and children implement simple
working practices to cut out absenteeism. For more details about the campaign
and sources of further information and help visit
www.direct.gov.uk. From here look in the
‘Your Child’s Welfare at School’ section in Education and Learning. You can find
out more about how to identify dyslexia and where to access assessment and
support on the parents section of Dyslexia Action.
Download this case
study in pdf format
Contact:
Miriam Laverick or Gemma Hutchison at Geronimo Communications on
020 7299 8785 or 0207 299 8753.
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Last updated:
30/07/2007