Helping children overcome dyslexia costs money - we can't
get enough of it

Every year the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre allocates funding of around £150,000 to provide free or subsidised services to those who cannot afford the fees. We would like to have even more available in order to support more dyslexics and upgrade our own facilities.

Supporting individuals and schools alike

For individuals in need we offer a free initial consultation (our subsidised fee is £55) meaning they can come to the Centre for the first time, seek help in an unpressured way , and decide the best course of action for their child or themselves. Where appropriate we then offer subsidies for educational assessments, specialist tuition, counselling, speech and language therapy, study skills and all other services. In the majority of cases direct individual bursarial dyslexia support is extended to children, but where required we also offer support to their parents.

For teaching staff from state schools who are training at the Centre we offer 2/3rds reduction in fees for all classroom assistants from state schools, and reduced fees for teachers on certificate and diploma courses whenever funds allow.

We support state schools partnerships whereby we assess children at risk and set up teaching programmes - "Catching Children Before they Fail!"

We work with Local Education Authorities in partnership to deliver schemes that take training, skills and resources to all the schools in a Local Authority

We also allocate funding for

  • Computer equipment and a video projector for teacher training
  • Library resources to provide reference and loan books
  • Diagnostic and screening materials
  • Teaching materials

Dyslexia research and development funding

The world of dyslexia does not stand still and every year we allocate bursarial funding to research and development into teaching methods, professional practice and improved resources for assessment and remedial delivery. In particular we are working on two specialist areas:

  • A more effective method to assess reading difficulties in young children aged four to six years
  • A new standardisation for the Helen Arkell Spelling Test to ensure its continued use across primary, secondary and tertiary education