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Dyslexia Support at School: How to Get Help, What a Diagnosis Changes, and the Rules for Extra Time in Exams

Dyslexia support at school in England does not have to wait for a formal diagnosis. If your child is struggling with reading or spelling, the school should assess their needs and put SEN support in place under the SEND Code of Practice. A private diagnostic assessment can add detail but costs several hundred pounds, and exam extra time follows separate JCQ rules. Here is how each step works.

Signs that make it worth raising

Dyslexia mainly affects reading and spelling, and the underlying difficulties are usually with phonological awareness (hearing and handling the sounds in words), verbal memory and processing speed. Signs parents and teachers often notice include:

• reading that stays slow and effortful even after phonics teaching has clicked for classmates, or a low score in the Year 1 phonics screening check;
• spelling the same word several different ways on one page, or spellings learned for a test forgotten a week later;
• a gap between what the child can say and what they can get down on paper;
• trouble following several spoken instructions in a row, learning times tables, or remembering the days of the week in order;
• tiredness, frustration or avoidance at homework time.

None of these on its own means a child is dyslexic, and dyslexia appears across the range of ability. The point is to ask for a closer look rather than wait.

Step 1: talk to the class teacher and the SENCO

Every state school in England must have a special educational needs coordinator (SENCO). Ask for a meeting with the class teacher or form tutor and the SENCO, and bring examples of written work, reading records and anything you have noticed at home. Ask three things: what the school has seen, what it will do to find out more, and when you will meet again to review it. Our list of parents' evening questions works for this meeting too.

Step 2: SEN support in school

Under the SEND Code of Practice, a school that identifies a special educational need should put SEN support in place using a cycle it calls the graduated approach: assess, plan, do, review. For a child with dyslexic difficulties that typically means some or all of:

• small-group or one-to-one structured literacy teaching, often phonics-based and multisensory, delivered several times a week;
• in-class adjustments: printed copies instead of copying from the board, coloured overlays or tinted paper if they genuinely help, extra time for written tasks, and marking that separates ideas from spelling;
• assistive technology such as text-to-speech, speech-to-text and a laptop for longer writing;
• regular checks of progress with standardised reading and spelling tests, so you can see whether the support is working.

The school does not need a formal diagnosis to do any of this. Support should be based on what the child needs, and the school's own assessment is enough to start. Our SEND support guide explains how SEN support is recorded and reviewed, and what the school must tell you.

Step 3: a diagnostic assessment, if you want one

A formal diagnosis of dyslexia comes from a diagnostic assessment carried out by a specialist teacher holding a current Assessment Practising Certificate (APC), or by a psychologist registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. The assessment usually takes around two and a half to three hours and ends in a written report with recommendations for school and home.

Because dyslexia is not a medical condition, the NHS does not provide diagnostic assessments, and schools rarely pay for them. Privately, expect to pay several hundred pounds; prices published by the British Dyslexia Association have ranged from around £540 to £690 with a specialist teacher and £720 to £880 with a psychologist. The BDA sometimes offers bursaries. Assessors are often booked months ahead.

A diagnosis can be useful: it explains the difficulty to the child, gives the school a detailed profile to work from, and can help later at university, where it supports applications for Disabled Students' Allowance. But it does not guarantee any particular level of help in school by itself.

Step 4: exam access arrangements

For GCSEs and A levels, arrangements such as 25% extra time, a reader or a word processor are governed by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). A diagnosis of dyslexia is not enough on its own. Under the 2025-26 rules, 25% extra time normally needs a JCQ Form 8 completed by the school's appointed assessor, based on tests from Year 9 onwards, showing at least two below average standardised scores of 84 or less in different areas of speed of working (such as reading speed, writing speed or processing), or one such score plus one low average score of 85 to 89. The school also has to show that the arrangement reflects how the pupil normally works in class. Ask the SENCO in Year 9 how and when the school tests for access arrangements.

When SEN support is not enough

Most dyslexic children are supported well at SEN support level. If a child is making little progress despite well-targeted help over time, you or the school can ask the council for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment. Dyslexia on its own does not often lead to an EHC plan, but it can when needs are severe or come with other difficulties. See SEN support vs an EHCP and how to apply for an EHCP.

Dyslexia can also count as a disability under the Equality Act 2010 where it has a substantial and long-term effect on day-to-day activities. Schools then have a duty to make reasonable adjustments. Our page on SEND rights at school covers what the law requires and how to complain if support does not happen.

Sources: SEND Code of Practice, GOV.UK; JCQ overview of evidence requirements 2025-26; British Dyslexia Association assessment pages. Checked 24 October 2026. Back to the Schools Insight homepage.