The government needs to include these two things in it's SEND reform plans

Dr Penelope Hannant, Programme Lead for Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties in the School of Education, said:

"In light of reports that Labour is planning major SEND reforms and drawing up a white to be published in late spring, I have two recommendations based on my research findings.

"Firstly, there needs to be a generalised practitioner at an education level who is trained to support and refer. When people are sick they see a GP, someone who can look at the person comprehensively. In education it is often guess work for an untrained practitioner (the SENCo) as to who to refer to, and then the child immediately goes down a channelled pathway. This way diagnoses are missed or misdiagnosed and waiting lists are huge.

"Secondly, we need a development profiling tool in reception classes to profile all children's development and support as soon as possible. I am in the process of co-creating one. Literacy and maths are assessed when children start school, why are we not looking at whether they can see properly, hear properly, have difficulties with coordination, and internal sense? All of these create barriers to learning. We only support children when it is too late, we act in a reactive manner rather than being proactive. This is why a development profiling tool is vital."