BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark for Organisations

Contents

Introduction ...... 3

What is a Friendly Quality Organisation?...... 4

What is the process?...... 5

Registration Form...... 10

The Dyslexia Friendly Standards – Audit Document ...... 13

Standard One: Policy...... 15

Standard Two: Meeting Needs / Service Delivery For Customers...17

Standard Three: Communication...... 19

Standard Four: Training...... 20

Standard Five: Partnerships...... 21

Standard Six: Employment...... 23

Action Plan (Template) ...... 27

Record of Evidence...... 26

Standard One...... 27

Standard Two...... 31

Standard Three...... 35

Standard Four...... 40

Standard Five...... 43

Standard Six...... 44

Verification Plan (Example)...... 49

Additional Useful Documents...... 51

BDA Dyslexia Friendly Style Guide...... 52

BDA Top 10 Reasonable Adjustments ...... 57

The BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark for Organisations

Introduction

The philosophy underpinning the Quality Mark is that changing practice to accommodate dyslexic individuals often results in good practice for everyone. This is what the Quality Mark strives to ensure.

Dyslexia is a learning difference that affects 10% of the population, a combination of strengths and weaknesses, which affects the learning process in reading, spelling, writing and sometimes numeracy. Dyslexic individuals may also have accompanying weaknesses in short term memory, sequencing and the speed at which they process information. These are skills that everyone needs if they are to learn effectively and they are also key skills for life.

Problems arise if dyslexia is not recognised and the environment and/or training are inappropriate. Viewing dyslexia as a learning difficulty implies that something is “wrong” with the individual. This leads to a focus on identifying weaknesses rather than celebrating strengths.

The BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark focuses on supporting individuals within their setting. The Quality Mark also recognises that there are individuals whose needs are more profound and complex and will therefore require specialist support, indeed a requirement of the Quality Mark is that such support be available. Even where this is the case the success of such support is likely to be greater if this is provided within a setting that accommodates such individual needs.

One of the basic principles of becoming dyslexia friendly is the expectation that those providing the service take immediate action when faced with individual needs, rather than refer for assessment and wait for a “label”. In a dyslexia friendly environment those providing the service are empowered through training, policy and ethos to identify issues and take front line action.

What is a Dyslexia Friendly Organisation?

The Quality Mark for organisations has been developed for employers who want to demonstrate a real commitment to equality and diversity and maximise the potential of their workforce.

Just as 10% of employees are likely to be dyslexic so are 10% of customers, suppliers and key stakeholders to your organisation. Commitment to becoming a dyslexia friendly organisation can result in the more effective achievement of performance targets and a competitive advantage.

Dyslexia Friendly employers recognise and utilise the strengths that dyslexic individuals have and create a climate where such abilities can be maximised. This leads to increased levels of motivation and morale, less stress and also enables employers to meet their responsibilities associated with the Equality Act 2010.

The BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark standards cover the 6 areas listed below:

Standard One – Policy

Standard Two - Meeting Needs/Service Delivery

Standard Three – Communication

Standard Four – Training

Standard Five – Partnerships

Standard Six - Employment

Under each of the above headings are criteria that must be achieved in order to demonstrate that the standard for a dyslexia friendly organisation has been met.

What is The Process?

1.Complete the BDA’s registration form (Page 10) and return it to the BDA who will acknowledge its receipt. You will need to specify the organisation / service or department that you wish to register for the Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark. The organisation / service / department will then have two years in which to achieve the Quality Mark from the date of registration. If you do not book a verification visit within this two year period, you will need to re-register.

2.Using the Standards Audit Document, (Page 13), carry out a self-audit of your service. Keep in mind that you will need to provide hard evidence at the point of verification to show that you have met the criteria.

When carrying out the self-audit try to assess whether or not your organisation meets the criteria or whether more development needs to take place in a particular area.

  • Evidence Exists means you have sufficient evidence to demonstrate compliance with the criteria.
  • Further Work Required means that you recognise that there is still some action that needs to be taken before you can consider this criteria as achieved

Once you have completed the self-audit you should have a clear picture of how dyslexia friendly your organisation already is and which areas require further development in order to reach the standard.

Please note that each of the criteria that make up the award will need to be addressed within your audit.

Some organisations have found it useful to issue the audit to each department or service area as an activity during staff meetings / staff development days, asking each group to give their opinions as to where they feel they score against the audit and to explain why? i.e. not just ticking a box but providing an explanation.

This type of approach is also useful to demonstrate a ‘whole organisation’ approach to achieving the award; as it should never be seen as the responsibility of just one person - everyone has had a part to play in its achievement.

When all of these findings have been collated, it is important to note that anything falling into the ‘Further Work Required’ category will need immediate attention and an Action Plan will need to be drawn up to show how the service intends to address these elements and move into ‘Evidence Exists’.

3.Draw up an action plan of the areas that need further development, (a template is provided on Page 25). An action plan willenable you to clearly identify and plan the activities that need to take place in order to meet the criteria. Ensure that the targets that are included within it are SMART:

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time bound

Please note that both your Audit and your Action Plan will need to be submitted to the BDA in preparation for your verification visit.

4.Once you have completed the self-audit and the resulting action plan you might haveidentified that you require some additional support, this could be some training, or simply advice and guidance.

The BDA is able to offer a full support service should you need it. This could include training for heads of department, support workers, service users and other stakeholders. This can cover a range of aspects, from basic dyslexia awareness, through to specialist provision that covers areas of screening and identification, support provision or teaching literacy to dyslexic individuals. Training can be tailored to meet individual needs.

Alternatively you may simply need some advice as to whether or not the evidence that you have collected meets the criteria. This can often be done via the telephone or email. A site visit or consultation can also been arranged which many organisations have found useful. The BDA also offers a mock verification service for organisations that are further along the process.

5.The next part of the process is to identify the evidence. Your Record of Evidence document (Page 26) acts as your ‘index’ of evidence and allows you to list (against each of the criteria) the items of evidence you have available to support it. As stated, it would be expected that you have evidence in place to support each of the criteria that make up the award. The Record of Evidence allows you to detail any cross referencing of evidence and to map precisely what you have in place. It is also very useful to identify any potential ‘gaps’ in evidence you may have and any points that can be added to you Action Plan.

Here you will need to make a note of ‘what form the evidence is in?’ and ‘where it is located?’ For example a lot of evidence may be contained within an individual’s record of support file. If this is the case then note this on the form and then note the location of the service user’s record of support file, for example, “in the filing cabinet in the learning and development office”. You do not have to have all of the evidence centrally located at this time. Again this process should help you to identify if there are any gaps. If there are then they can be added to the action plan or if you are unclear about what is required seek advice from the BDA.

Please note, your completed Record of Evidence will need to be submitted to the BDA before your Verification Plan can be released.

6.When you are happy that all the evidence is in place the next stage is to book a verification visit. Please allow a 2 - 3 month lead time for this. The BDA will allocate you a verifier and arrange a date. You will also need to send a copy of your “Record of Evidence” form to the BDA along with a copy of your Audit Document and Action Plan so that it can be passed on to the verifier prior to the visit.

7.The verification visit should be a positive experience for all concerned. All BDA verifiers are from an appropriate background and have experience of carrying out these processes.

8.Two weeks before the date of the verification you will be sent your verification plan (example on Page 49). This will identify the criteria that the verifier will be sampling. The verifier will look at a selection of criteria from each of the sections and examine the evidence that relates to these criteria. It is requested that the evidence for those being sampled is readily available and it is really helpful if this evidence can be referenced to the criteria it relates to. Sometimes it is also helpful to attach a brief explanation of why you feel that this particular piece of evidence meets this criteria. It is also recommended that at this point all the paper based evidence that will be required for the visit is gathered in a central point for ease of access.

9.Prior to the actual visit the BDA will contact you to agree an agenda for the day. Verifiers will try to cause as little disruption as possible to the normal activities of your organisation. There are, however, certain activities that verifiers will need to undertake during the verification day and these are:

  • Examine all paper-based evidence relating to the criteria being sampled.
  • Interview key staff including senior managers, support workers and those responsible for SpLD support within the organisation.

10.At the end of the verification visit the verifier will, where possible, provide some verbal feedback to the service, although please be appreciative of the fact that there will be a lot of information to assimilate so they will not be able to give a definitive answer as to whether or not the organisation has achieved the BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark.

11.Within 6 weeks of the visit the organisation will receive a written verification report. This will contain detailed feedback and also confirm the outcome from the visit. This outcome may fall into one of three possible categories:

  • The organisation has achieved the BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark
  • The organisation has achieved the BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark subject to it completing certain action points. Such action points will be detailed within the report and will include a timescale for their achievement
  • The organisation has not yet achieved the BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark and details will be provided within the report as to what further actions need to be taken to meet the required standard.

A timescale will be suggested for these and where possible a further verification date set which will be subject to an additional re-verification cost will be confirmed to you.

12.If the organisation / service disagree with the outcome of the verification visit they have a right to appeal. In such cases they should write to the Chief Executive, The British Dyslexia Association, Unit 6a Bracknell Beeches, Old Bracknell Lane, Bracknell, RG12 7BW, outlining the reasons for their appeal which will then be investigated.

13.Where an organisation / service has successfully achieved the BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark, written confirmation will be sent from the BDA along with a certificate of recognition and an electronic copy of the BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark logo that can be used on letter head, web site and publicity materials, etc.

14.The organisation may hold the BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark for 3 years, although during this time the BDA reserves the right to visit the organisation to ensure that standards are being maintained, will investigate any complaints that may arise and can, if it feels it necessary, remove the Quality Mark. It is recommended that organisations also inform the BDA of any changes that could impact on the Quality Mark such as changes in staffing structure, etc.

15.All organisations that hold the Quality Mark award must undergo re-verification after three years, and the BDA will be in contact to arrange a re-verification visit which will focus on the development of the organisations systems and processes against the standards since the last verification visit.

Registration Form

BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark for Organisations

Your Details

Name of Organisation: ......

Contact Name: ......

Position / Department: ......

Address: ......

………………………………………………………………………..Post Code: ......

Daytime Tel No: ………………………………….Mobile......

Email address: ......

Website: ......

BDA Code of Practice for Employers

Please tick here to receive your free copy of the BDA Code of Practice for Employers publication. Organisations are advised to refer to this document when working towards the award. Your free copy will be posted out to you upon our receipt of your registration form.

Please provide us with some details of the business focus of the organisation / department / team you wish to register onto the BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark award.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Payment

Fee structure applicable to your organisation will be based on annual turnover recorded within your previous year’s accounts, a copy of which will need to be submitted along with your registration form.

Please note that the fee structure will be reviewed for organisations with an annual turnover in excess of £2 million.

Please select the pricing structure appropriate to the annual turnover for your organisation.

Fees / Annual turnover of up to £1 Million* / Annual turnover of £1 Million plus
Registration payment. Due with your registration form. / £600.00
(£500.00 plus VAT) / £900.00
(£750.00 plus VAT)
Annual Maintenance Fee. Due one year after registration / £180.00
(£150.00 plus VAT) / £240.00
(£200.00 plus VAT)
Verification payment. Due before your verification visit and within 2 years of registration.
Please note this is a daily rate; where an organisation’s requirements take us beyond one day’s activity, fees will be agreed in advance of the visit. / £1,800.00
(£1,500.00 plus VAT) / £2,400.00
(£2,000.00 plus VAT)
Annual Quality Mark Status Maintenance Fee. Due annually after QM status is achieved. / £120.00
(£100.00 plus VAT) / £180.00
(£150.00 plus VAT)
Renewal payment - Due every 3 years after the Quality Mark is awarded.
Note daily rate is quoted, please refer to instruction above. / £1,800.00
(£1,500.00 plus VAT) / £2,400.00
(£2,000.00 plus VAT)

*This fee is applicable to not for profit organisations.

Payment: I wish to pay by:

Cheque Please make all cheques payable to “British Dyslexia Association”

Invoice

Order Number:......

Invoice address: ......

......

Declaration

I am applying for the BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark and agree to pay the fees as outlined above.

I understand that the initial Quality Mark Registration fee must be received in full before the application is processed and that all fees are non-refundable.

I undertake to adhere to all decisions made by BDA.

Signed:...... Date: ......

Print Name: ......

Data Protection Act 1998

The information you provide on this form will be used by the BDA and used to process your registration onto the BDA Quality Mark Initiative. From time to time we would also like to send you information about the BDA’s other services, offers, activities and appeals. If you would like to receive this information please tick here 

Disclaimer

In awarding the Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark, the BDA cannot guarantee or be responsible for individual performance and/or attainment within related departments or teams.

Please return your completed form to:

The Quality Mark Administrator, British Dyslexia Association,

Unit 6a Bracknell Beeches, Old Bracknell Lane, Bracknell, RG12 7BW

Tel: 0333 405 4555 Email:

BDA Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark for Organisations Page 1 of 60

Updated April 2016