How do we support a dyslexic pupil in the classroom?

Start with the teaching, not a referral

Start with high-quality, adapted teaching: multisensory phonics, assistive technology and extra processing time. Then run the assess-plan-do-review cycle with your SENCO. No dyslexia diagnosis is needed first.

The class or subject teacher owns the first response. Under the SEND Code of Practice, high-quality teaching that is adapted for the individual pupil is the first step in responding to any pupil who has or may have special educational needs, and the teacher stays responsible for that pupil's progress even when a teaching assistant or a specialist delivers some of the support (paragraphs 6.36–6.37). That duty is triggered by need, not by a label, so you act on the difficulty you can see now and do not wait for a formal assessment to come back.

Run the graduated approach with your SENCO

Once you have flagged the concern, the structured route is assess, plan, do, review, the cycle every mainstream school must use as dyslexia and other needs emerge. With your SENCO you gather what the pupil can and cannot do (assess), agree the adjustments and any targeted intervention with a review date (plan), put them in place in your lessons (do), then check what worked and adjust (review). Each loop sharpens the next, and the pupil keeps as much of your teaching time as their peers rather than being handed off to an adult at the back of the room.

It is a legal duty, on two tracks at once

Two things most classroom tips lists miss. First, this is not only good practice: alongside the graduated approach, your school has a separate duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled pupil placed at a substantial disadvantage, and dyslexia counts as a disability where it has a substantial, long-term effect on everyday activities (section 20). That duty is anticipatory, so you plan for likely barriers in advance, and since 2012 it covers auxiliary aids such as a laptop or reading software. The cost of an adjustment cannot be passed to the pupil or their parents (EHRC technical guidance, 2015). Second, neither duty waits for a diagnosis. The graduated approach is triggered by “have or may have SEN”, and the Equality Act by disadvantage, not by a dyslexia report.

The adjustments that actually help

The British Dyslexia Association sets out practical, low-cost moves you can make in any classroom (advice for educators):

• Teach with structured, explicit, multisensory phonics, and break instructions into small, sequenced steps.
• Allow a word processor with a spellchecker, and offer text-to-speech or speech-to-text where writing is the barrier rather than the idea.
• Do not ask for unprepared reading aloud or copying from the board; give a printed copy and extra processing time instead.
• Try coloured overlays or off-white paper, and mark for content rather than penalising spelling in every piece.
• Plan early for exam access arrangements, such as extra time, a reader or a scribe, where dyslexia substantially affects performance.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.