Your child has started dyslexia intervention. What should you tell the school?

Start with your child’s class teacher, then the academic or learning support coordinator, so support stays consistent across subjects. Share what the intervention is working on, how your child learns, and what helps in class. The aim is not simply to inform the school; it is to build a partnership around your child.

Why does the school need to know?

One of the most common questions parents ask me after a family decides to begin intervention is: “What should I tell my child’s school?” Many parents feel uncertain. They know their child has been struggling, but they are not sure how to explain the difficulties, or whom to approach first.

Children spend a significant part of their day at school. Even a child receiving excellent dyslexia intervention outside school still needs a classroom where they feel understood. When teachers understand a child’s learning profile, they can set realistic expectations and offer the right kind of help, and the daily knocks to confidence stop.

Who should you speak to first?

Start with your child’s class teacher. They observe your child every day and are often the first person to notice changes in learning and confidence. Then involve the academic coordinator, learning support coordinator, or SEN coordinator if your school has one. They can carry recommendations to the other subject teachers, so your child meets the same understanding in every class, not just one.

The goal is not simply to inform the school that intervention has started. It is to help the school understand how they can support your child while it happens.

What should the conversation cover?

Quite a lot, which is why I have written about each part separately. Here is the shape of the whole conversation, with the detail one click away.

Begin with what you know. If your child has had a formal assessment, or an informal assessment of reading and spelling, the findings are your anchor. How to talk to your child’s school about an assessment report shows how to turn a report into two or three clear requests.

If report cards are all you have so far, look at them again. Comments like “needs to focus more” or “doesn’t complete his work” may be true, but they don’t explain why a child is struggling. What report card comments miss reads between those lines.

Set expectations about marks early, with the school and with yourself. Skills rebuild long before marks move, and school marks don’t improve as soon as dyslexia intervention starts explains that gap so nobody loses heart inside it.

Ask what the classroom can do in the meantime. Small adjustments cost a teacher little and change a child’s whole day; classroom supports that help during dyslexia intervention lists the ones I request most often.

The first conversation is not the last one. What can I ask my child’s teacher during dyslexia intervention gives you questions that keep the exchange useful from term to term.

Two more pieces sit alongside these: when your child may need more than literacy intervention, for the times the difficulties reach beyond reading and spelling, and what schools need to remember when a student starts dyslexia intervention, written for teachers, if you would like something to share with the school directly.

What does a good partnership look like?

When parents, teachers, and therapists work together, children receive a consistent message: “We understand how you learn, and we’re here to help you succeed.” An assessment report is not the end of the process, and the goal is not simply better marks. The goal is a child who feels understood at school as well as at home. Children thrive when the adults around them work as one team.

Frequently asked questions

Should I tell the school at all?

Yes. A teacher who understands why a child struggles responds very differently from one who assumes carelessness. You don’t need to share every detail; a short picture of how your child learns, and what helps, is enough to start.

Who should I speak to first?

The class teacher, because they see your child daily. Then the academic coordinator, learning support coordinator, or SEN coordinator if the school has one, so the same understanding reaches every subject teacher.

What if the school is not supportive?

Stay specific. Vague concern is easy to set aside; a report and one or two concrete requests are harder to ignore. Give the school time, keep the coordinator involved, and put requests in writing. Your child’s progress in intervention continues regardless of how quickly the school comes around.

Dr. V.S. Gayathri is a Dyslexia Therapist, an Orton-Gillingham trained literacy specialist, and the founder of Flourishing Kids. She has delivered over 4,000 hours of one-to-one reading and spelling intervention, helping children across multiple countries build stronger literacy skills. If your child is starting intervention and you are planning that first conversation with the school, get in touch for a free 15-minute conversation.