Tilly Mortimore

Dyslexia and difficulties with study skills in higher education

This article presents findings from a questionnaire survey of 136 male students, 62 with dyslexia and 74 without dyslexia, from 17 British higher education institutions. The students with dyslexia reported difficulties with a wide range of skills and academic tasks, notably note taking, organization of essays and expressing ideas in writing. They reported that their difficulties were long‐standing and had been experienced in primary and secondary school, although the pattern of these difficulties changed over time. They reported making use of resources available to them, including additional time for examinations, access to dyslexia tutors and support with information technology. However, there are indications of unmet needs in several areas, notably support for specific subjects and with organizing coursework, learning in lectures, and academic writing skills. The implications of these findings for provision for students with dyslexia are discussed.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities reforms 2014: SENCos’ perspectives of the first six months

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) reforms have been reported as the most significant reforms of their kind for over 30 years. Through the Children and Families Act 2014 the Government is seeking to effect cultural change regarding SEND. The SENCo is responsible for the operational and strategic aspects related to SEND provision within the school and as such could be considered a key implementer of the reforms. This article forms part of a PhD research project which is developing research within the area of SEND policy reform, through exploring and analysing the in-depth experience of the SENCo as a policy implementer during the first academic year post-reform. This article discusses the emerging themes from one of the wider data sets which sought to gather the views of SENCos six months after the introduction of SEND reforms and the SEND Code of Practice.

Lessons from the Dyslexia and Multilingualism Project

This chapter reflects on The Dyslexia and Multilingualism project (Mortimore et al, 2012), which adopted a mixed methodology approach to evaluate interventions for vulnerable learners with English as an additional language. It investigated the possibility of identifying risk of SpLD/dyslexia in children with English as an additional language (EAL), developed, selected and evaluated strategies and support materials and trained TAS and SENCos involved in SpLD/dyslexia and support for bilingual learners. The chapter explores the issues and challenges within the project together with lessons learnt from the literacy intervention programme and the experiences of children, parents and TAs. It discusses and makes recommendations for schools on assessment, intervention programmes and the value of a holistic understanding of children’s stories and of forming links between home and school to enable a ‘third space’. It shows how the quantitative element of the research affirmed the complexities and need for caution around labeling whilst confirming types of interventions to support bilingual learners. The qualitative element emphasised the voices of participants, especially children, highlighting how less measurable dimensions of learning, emotion and environment contribute to literacy development. It argues that mixed methodology research widens our understanding of what makes a difference in these rich, diverse, multilingual contexts.