Dyslexia Assessments in Doncaster

Doncaster's schools sit across a mix of local authority maintained settings and several large multi-academy trusts, and practice around identifying specific learning difficulties varies from one trust to another. Parents often find that support is being offered (reading interventions, in-class adjustments) while nobody is in a position to say whether dyslexia is actually present.

That is the gap a diagnostic assessment fills. Doncaster Council's Local Offer sets out the SEND provision available across the borough, and Doncaster SENDIAS can advise you free of charge on your rights and options. Neither service carries out private diagnostic assessments.

A specialist report gives the SENCo something concrete to work from, and gives you a documented profile that travels with your child if they move school or trust, which, across a borough with this much academy movement, matters more than people expect.

An assessment usually takes around two to three hours, with breaks, and can be split across two shorter sessions where that would suit better. It begins with a conversation about background, education and what has prompted the enquiry, followed by a series of standardised tasks.

Those tasks look at underlying cognitive processing, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, phonological processing, working memory and processing speed, alongside attainment in reading, spelling and writing. It is the relationship between those areas, not any single score, that determines whether the profile meets the criteria for dyslexia.

Every assessment is carried out to the standards set by SASC, and the written report follows within an agreed timescale. It sets out the findings in plain English, explains what they mean day to day, and makes practical recommendations for school, college, university, work or home.