Education and Skills Bill

moved Amendment No. 3: 3: Before Clause 66, insert the following new Clause— ““Screening and assessment for specific learning difficulties (1) The following shall be screened for risk of specific learning difficulties— (a) each pupil in a maintained or voluntary aided school— (i) before his sixth birthday; (ii) in the second year after completion of Key Stage one; and (iii) in the first year after Key Stage two; and (b) each person sentenced to imprisonment in one of Her Majesty’s Prisons or a Young Offender Institution or a Secure Training centre for a period of not less than 6 months shall within one calendar month of the commencement of his sentence. (2) The screening referred to in subsection (1) shall be carried out by a prescribed person with prescribed qualifications. (3) The specific learning difficulties referred to in subsection (1) are— (a) dyslexia; (b) dyscalcula; (c) dyspraxia; (d) dysgraphia; (e) attention deficit disorder; (f) attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder; (g) Meares-Irlen syndrome; (h) a high level of co-morbidity of any two or more of the above conditions. (4) Every pupil referred to in subsection (1)(a) and every person referred to in subsection (1)(b) who is identified as being in need of support as a result of a condition mentioned in subsection (3)— (a) shall be entitled to that support, and (b) shall if appropriate be nominated for a full assessment. (5) Anyone nominated for a full assessment under subsection (4) shall— (a) be entitled to receive it within three calendar months of nomination; and (b) shall be entitled to appropriate support from a date not later than three calendar months after the assessment; and (c) shall at the time the result of the assessment is communicated to him receive specialist advice on the nature of his need and the strategies for coping with it. (6) The assessment referred to in subsection (4) shall be carried out by a prescribed person with prescribed qualifications. (7) In this section ““prescribed”” means prescribed by order by the Secretary of State. (8) The Secretary of State may, by order, specify conditions to be added to those referred to in subsection (3).”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, I acknowledge gratefully the permission that your Lordships have given me to move this amendment. I should explain that I have not in any way resiled from my overall objective of having every child screened for dyslexia in early school years. Teachers really need to know what is going on in the heads of the children whom they teach; the damage that can be done if that is not understood can be remarkable and can last a lifetime. The opportunity that your Lordships have given me is to enable Her Majesty’s Government to make a statement about what they intend in moving in this direction. The movement may seem small, given that dyslexia was first raised in this House in 1970 as a result of the work of the noble Lord, Lord Morris of Manchester, as he now is, and special educational need was first recognised as a result of the brilliant report in 1978 of the noble Baroness, Lady Warnock, whom I am glad to see in her place, which was incorporated into the Education Act 1981. That is all a long time ago. I think that the Minister will promise us legislation in the next Session; I can promise her relentless pursuit in this direction from all of us between now and then. I beg to move.