How to Share a Dyslexia Assessment Report With School
Updated: 4 days ago
Make the report the start of a conversation
A diagnostic report may be detailed and technical, while teachers need to know what will help during tomorrow's lesson. Rather than emailing a long document with no explanation, send it to the school's agreed contact—often the SENCo—and ask for a short meeting.
State the practical reason for sharing it: you would like the findings considered alongside classroom evidence and translated into support. In secondary school, the form tutor or head of year may also help coordinate communication.
Decide what information to share
The full report may be useful to the SENCo, but not every teacher needs every page. Ask the school how assessment information is stored and who can access it. You can highlight the summary, relevant attainment findings and priority recommendations, then agree how teachers will receive an accessible one-page overview.
Older pupils should be involved in decisions about sharing information wherever appropriate. Avoid circulating sensitive background details more widely than necessary.
Use a brief covering message
You could write: “We have received our child’s diagnostic assessment report. Could we arrange a meeting to discuss the findings, the support already in place and which recommendations would be useful in lessons?”
Add one or two findings from your own child’s report and ask when progress can be reviewed. Share the report securely using the school’s agreed method. The message should start a discussion about needs and support, rather than assume that every recommendation must be adopted unchanged.
Bring concrete examples
The school may have evidence that differs from what you see at home. A child might produce reasonable work in class but spend two hours completing a short homework task, or read accurately aloud yet struggle to finish an exam-style passage.
Take two or three specific examples. Ask teachers what they notice across subjects, including reading load, note-taking, spelling, planning and speed of work. A report is one source of evidence within a broader picture.
Turn recommendations into actions
Recommendations are most useful when they have an owner and a review date. Instead of 'use technology', agree whether the pupil will try text-to-speech for longer texts, where it will be available and who will show them how to use it.
Instead of 'differentiate work', agree how instructions or key vocabulary will be presented. For targeted teaching, ask what skill will be taught, how often and how progress will be measured. Not every suggested adjustment will be appropriate in every subject.
Understand the English SEN support process
In England, schools should identify and address special educational needs using the assess–plan–do–review cycle. Parents and pupils should be involved in planning and reviewing support.
A dyslexia diagnosis can contribute useful evidence, but support should be based on need rather than withheld until a label is obtained. Families in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland should check the distinct national systems rather than assuming England's SEN terminology applies everywhere.
Keep exam arrangements as a separate discussion
If GCSEs or A levels are approaching, ask the SENCo how the centre gathers evidence of need and a pupil's normal way of working. JCQ makes clear that privately commissioned assessments, without the centre's required involvement, cannot simply be used to award access arrangements.
The school must follow the current rules and make its own decisions about the appropriate process. A useful diagnostic report can still inform the conversation about needs.
Finish with a written record and review
After the meeting, send a short summary of the actions agreed, who is responsible and the review date. Ask your child which changes feel helpful. At the review, look at work samples, participation and confidence as well as scores.
If a recommendation cannot be implemented, ask what alternative the school proposes and how it will meet the underlying need. The goal is a workable partnership, not a document sitting unread in a file.