Wellacre Awarded Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark

Posted at 11:32 am on 2nd November, 2017

Wellacre Awarded Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark

Wellacre Academy has became the first secondary school in the North West to be awarded the Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark, a Trafford award validated by the Dyslexia Aware Consortium of North West Schools.  The award is granted to schools meeting the standards of providing fully inclusive, quality education for dyslexic students.

Driving the process was Principal Melanie Wicks, who commented: “Students should not feel disadvantaged by their Dyslexia but rather embrace the positives and use it as a strength. We are proud to be recognised for the work we are doing to ensure we are fully inclusive and no student is left behind.”

Wellacre recognises that Dyslexic learners are often some of the most creative students and excel in problem solving skills, leadership and building resilience.  Famous dyslexics Richard Branson, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford and Steve Jobs only achieved success following on from struggles that they faced during their education.

Assistant Principal and SENDCo Michelle Critchlow and Specialist Teaching Assistant Louisa Tunney, who work one-to-one with students with dyslexia, have led the campaign for the award. Louisa stated: "The tailored one-to-one programme that we deliver at Wellacre has proved to be of great benefit to the dyslexic students. Not only have we seen an improvement in the students’ academic performance, they have also thoroughly enjoyed it. We also run a Student Leadership qualification alongside it in order to boost self-esteem.”

Matthew Mills, Year 10, stated: “Support from staff has helped me with my school work and boosted my confidence."

A key feature of the work on dyslexia was the involvement of students and a student learning committee was set up to assess the process and make recommendations.

Award Assessor and Trafford MBC SEN Consultant Julia Brown commented that: “Teachers and teaching assistants interviewed were knowledgeable and passionate about how they could support pupils and make their teaching engaging and accessible”.

The Dyslexia Aware Consortium said: “The Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark is an external sign of approval that is widely recognised not only in the UK but also internationally. Holding this award is a very positive statement that lets learners, parents, staff and stakeholders know that Wellacre is a safe place for dyslexic individuals”