Liverpool Dyslexia Project

The Liverpool Dyslexia Project is a BDA project which receives funding from Liverpool Children’s Fund (part of Liverpool City Council). The project’s work focuses mainly upon ensuring Children’s Services are Dyslexia Friendly.

The project has a number of targets which project work is structured around:

• To achieve multi-agency ownership where services embed practices, which ensure they are responsive to the needs of young people with dyslexia and their families.

The project’s steering group consists of a mixed and varied group of professionals and employees from the voluntary sector. This ensures project accountability and also enables the project to have input in many spheres for example, the National Health Service.

• Focus on in-depth work with Children's Services.

This is a key component of project work. Liverpool Services for Children, Adults and Families are working towards the BDA’s Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark. The project officer therefore trains, and provides bespoke guidance to teams in order to prepare for verification.

• To increase the number of young people with dyslexia, as risk of social exclusion, accessing services with an emphasis on young people and families in BEM communities.

Working in partnership with the Local Authority a number of awareness sessions have been delivered in order to target community groups who speak English as an additional language. Basic information about dyslexia has also been produced in languages such as Urdu, Arabic and Bengali.

• To work directly with young people with dyslexia; those who are experiencing low self-esteem and are therefore at potential risk of becoming school-refusers.

Creative workshops are delivered to children in school, focusing upon positive thinking and self-esteem. The project officer links up with an artistic facilitator e.g. actor, artist and deliver integrated sessions.

• Work in partnership with local groups and schools to ascertain the 'voice' of young people with dyslexia and engage them to help promote that 'voice'.

The project has produced a ‘Best Practice Guide’ aimed at both service users and providers. This guide highlights ideas and opinions from young people in Liverpool with dyslexia as well as promoting the BDA’s strategies for becoming Dyslexia Friendly.

Liverpool City Council requires that the project submits monitoring reports in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the project per quarter. The project’s steering group also ensures that aims are achieved. The project officer is also accountable to the Children’s Commissioner for Education.

To find out further information about the Liverpool Project, contact the Project Officer Donna Gray on 0151 281 7898 or email donnag@bdadyslexia.org.uk.