Charity accuses government of failing dyslexic children

According to the charity's report Spelling It Out, many dyslexic children find school difficult without early intervention and support.

This can lead to expensive knock-on effects for these children, who are also more likely to go on to have crime, social or drug-related problems.

These problems could be avoided if the estimated 2m dyslexic children in the UK were given support from trained specialists, Xtraordinary people has said.

According to the report, dyslexic children in pupil referral units cost the UK £64m a year. Children with dyslexia who have been excluded from school cost £16m a year, and the cost of dyslexia to the NHS through drug problems is £266m a year.

This could all be avoided if schools had a teacher trained to recognise dyslexia in children and help them, which the charity says could be done at a cost of just £10 per child.

Last week, the Department for Children, Schools and Families said it would spend £1m on piloting specialist dyslexia training for teachers in three local authority areas.

The department has also asked Sir Jim Rose to make recommendations on identifying and teaching dyslexic children as part of his ongoing independent review of the primary curriculum.

But Kate Griggs, founder of Xtraordinary People, said: "The government still doesn't understand the importance of fast-tracking dyslexia expertise in schools. Instead, it is spending unnecessary time and money on lengthy pilots and reviews."