Guidance for parents and carers
The move from primary to secondary is one of the biggest changes in a child's education, new building, new teachers, new expectations and a great deal more independence. For a dyslexic learner some of that needs a bit of planning. It does not need to be daunting: most children settle well, and a handful of practical preparations make a real difference.
What changes
At primary, one teacher usually knows a child extremely well. At secondary, lessons move faster, reading gets heavier, homework comes from many directions and organisation becomes the young person's own responsibility. Literacy difficulties that were previously well hidden can become much more visible, one reason some children are identified with dyslexia in Year 7 or later.
Several rooms, several routes and a bag to keep track of. Familiarity built early takes most of the sting out of it.
Instead of one adult who knows your child well, ten or more. Shared information matters far more than it did.
A two-week timetable, different equipment each day and no one prompting. Practising in advance genuinely helps.
Set by different staff on different days, often recorded online. Systems, not memory, keep this manageable.
Longer texts, subject vocabulary and writing while listening, a real change of pace for a dyslexic learner.
Equipment, deadlines and asking for help all become the young person's job. This can be learned; it just needs teaching.
Free interactive resource
Work through this in the spring or summer term before Year 7. Tick items off as you go, print it for a meeting with school, and ignore anything that does not apply to your child.
Most of this is a conversation rather than paperwork.
Your ticks are saved in this browser only. There is no sign-up and no email address needed. Take a copy with you if it helps for a meeting with school, university or work.
The download is a small branded file you can open, save or print on any device. “Email myself a copy” opens your own email app with the text already written, no address is collected, nothing is stored by Defining Dyslexia, and you are never added to any mailing list.
Printing works best from a laptop or desktop. This checklist also appears in Free resources.
Working with the school
Secondary schools want this information. They simply receive a great deal of it in a short space of time. A one-page summary of strengths, needs and what already works is more likely to reach a subject teacher than a full report.
Access arrangements are decided by the school or exam centre, in line with current regulations and the evidence they hold, including how a student normally works. A diagnostic report does not itself award extra time, a reader, a scribe, a laptop or rest breaks, and no assessor can promise those things.
What a report can do is describe the profile clearly, so the setting has good information when it makes its own decisions.
How we work with schoolsQuestions parents ask before Year 7
Many parents choose to. An assessment in Year 6 means the profile and recommendations can be shared with the new school's SENCo from the start. It is a choice, not a requirement, and plenty of children move up successfully with good information and no formal assessment.
It works well. By Year 6 a child has had several years of literacy teaching, so a specialist assessor can build a clear picture. It also leaves time to discuss findings with both schools before September.
No. A diagnosis does not automatically result in any access arrangement. Arrangements are decided by the school or exam centre, based on current regulations, the evidence they hold and the student's normal way of working. A report can contribute useful evidence, nothing more.
Then wait and watch. Some difficulties only become visible in Year 7 or later, when reading volume and independence increase, which is exactly why some children are identified then. Keeping notes now makes any later conversation easier.
Knowledge Centre
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Read the articleThe journey
Needs change as education and work change. These are the points where the demands shift most, and what Defining Dyslexia offers at each one, guidance and free resources as well as assessment.
Reading and spelling are being learned. Some able children compensate well, so difficulty can be hidden behind good comprehension and strong spoken language.
Organisation, timetables, multiple teachers and heavier reading arrive together. A little planning in Year 6 makes the move considerably calmer.
Subject vocabulary, note-taking, coursework and timed exams place different demands on literacy, memory and processing speed.
Support is requested rather than arranged for you. Knowing your own profile and who to contact matters more than it ever did at school.
Reading volume, independent study and academic writing increase. Evidence of a specific learning difficulty may be needed for study support or a DSA application.
Dyslexia looks different at work: email, reports, meetings, deadlines and reading under pressure. Many adults are identified for the first time here.
Where are you on the journey?
Choose what actually fits where you are. There is no set order here.
