Question 1

Can you explain the full diagnostic assessment process?

Accepted Answer

1. A Family Questionnaire and a Visual Difficulties Questionnaire will need to be completed by the child’s parent/carer and returned to me at least 2 weeks before the agreed assessment date.
2. A School Questionnaire will also need to be completed by the child’s SENCo or teacher and returned to me at least 2 weeks before the agreed assessment date.
3. Your child will need to have had an up-to-date eye sight test within the last 2 years before the assessment. This is important as certain visual difficulties can impact on a person’s performance in the assessment. If your child is experiencing any visual difficulties, such as blurring, moving, swirling of text or has frequent difficulties keeping track of text when reading, seeking the advice of an optometrist before the assessment is beneficial. If your child has had an eye test in the last 2 years and there are no visual difficulties present, then a retest before the assessment is not necessary.
4. The assessment can take up to 4 hours and can be carried out in your home or at your child’s school. 
5. During the assessment, tests will be carried out to ascertain your child’s strengths and weaknesses in the areas of underlying ability, cognitive processing and attainments in literacy (reading, writing and spelling). Mathematical skills will not be investigated during the assessment.
6. During the assessment, alongside looking for indicators of dyslexia, I will also be looking for additional signs of co-occurring difficulties, such as those related to coordination and attention and concentration. Children under the age of 16 who may have DCD/dyspraxia or ADHD may need a GP referral as these are considered medical difficulties. This may require either an occupational therapist or a medical consultant to carry out additional assessments. For attention and concentration difficulties, a referral to CAMHS or a specialist in ADHD may be appropriate. This will be outlined in the report if necessary.
7. Following the assessment, I will analyse the results and aim to give you initial feedback as soon as possible by phone. I will aim to do this the day after the assessment if possible.
8. The report will be completed within 3 weeks of the assessment and a password-protected electronic copy will be sent to you via email. It is recommended that you check the report for factual accuracy and let me know if there is any information that needs amending. It is also recommended that you keep the report in a safe and secure place should it be needed in the future.
9. The report will include:
 • An overview of the assessment outcomes and recommendations
 • A summary of the learner’s background information from home and school
 • A summary of underlying ability
 • A summary of cognitive strengths and weaknesses, e.g. phonological awareness, memory and speed of phonological processing
 • A summary of current attainment in reading, spelling and writing
 • Confirmation of the diagnostic decision
 • Recommendations, including recommendations for any onward referrals, access arrangements (if appropriate), the classroom, specialist teaching and at home
 • A table of formal test results
 • Full details of the tests used in the assessment.

Question 2

Can you explain the access arrangements assessment process?

Accepted Answer

Exam access arrangement assessments and short report
1. This assessment will take approximately 1 - 2 hours.
2. As per the Joint Council of Qualifications (JCQ) requirements, the school must be consulted and involved in the process prior to the assessment. Any access arrangements must reflect your child’s history of need and their normal way of working as documented by the school.
3. The school questionnaire and family questionnaire both need to be completed before the assessment date can be agreed and booked.
4. The assessor can identify and recommend relevant access arrangements; however, it is the school’s responsibility to decide what access arrangements to apply for and to make the application to the awarding body.
5. The report will be completed within 3 weeks of the assessment and will include:
 • A summary of the learner’s background information, including history of need and any support received
 • A summary of current reading, writing and spelling attainments, as appropriate
 • A summary of cognitive strengths and weaknesses
 •  A table of formal test results
 • Recommendations for possible exam access arrangements and completion of JCQ Form 8 Part 2 if required.
Please note that having an assessment is no guarantee that evidence for access arrangements will be found.

Question 3

What are your assessment Terms and Conditions?

Accepted Answer

1. The booking form (the Consent for a Specialist Teacher Assessment) must be signed/submitted and I ask for a £100 deposit at the time of booking to secure your date for an assessment.
The Family Questionnaire, Visual Difficulties Questionnaire, Combined SpLD Questionnaire and School Questionnaire all need to be completed and returned to me at least 2 weeks before the assessment.
2. Dates can only be provisionally held for 48 hours.
3. A full diagnostic assessment can take up to 4 hours. Testing for access arrangements will be shorter.
4. The report will be sent to you within 3 weeks of the assessment.
5. Reports will be sent to you by email as a password protected PDF.
6. Banking and payment details will be sent out with the initial email along with the questionnaires and forms. The outstanding balance must be paid before the assessment date by BACS. Cheques cannot be accepted. The report will not be released until payment is received.
7. If you are unable to go ahead with the assessment on the date agreed, please let me know at least 48 hours in advance. I will endeavour to rearrange the date to a mutually agreed time.
8. Surrey Dyslexia Solutions reserves the right not to accept a referral, to terminate an assessment or not release a report if: 
i). The referral is outside their area of expertise.
ii). The client fails to cooperate with the requirements of the assessment procedure in such a way that may compromise the validity of the assessment.
iii). The client fails to comply with the Terms and Conditions as laid out above. 
9. Following GDPR Regulations, all information given to me will be stored either in a secure, password protected file or in a secure filing cabinet. The background forms and questionnaires will be kept until the assessment report has been completed and then will be destroyed. Test papers used during the assessment will be kept for 1 month and then will be destroyed. After the assessment, we will actively keep your data in the form of an e-copy of the report until your child reaches the age of 25.
10. The final report can be sent to your child's school SENCo with your permission.

FAQs