Dyslexia (Hansard, 27 January 2003)

§ Mrs. Brooke
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people serving sentences in(a) prisons and (b) young offender institutes in England and Wales have been diagnosed as suffering from dyslexia, in each year since 1992; and what estimate he has made of the numbers serving sentences and suffering from dyslexia, in each year since 1992. [91824]

§ Mr. Ivan Lewis
We do not have robust data for the numbers of prisoners and young offenders diagnosed as suffering from dyslexia.
Many of the experts in this field hold differing views on whether or not the percentage of the prison population suffering from dyslexia is higher than that of the wider community. Some feel that what may appear to be indicators of dyslexia are in fact the result of a whole range of social factors that could include the effects of drug and alcohol abuse, physical injuries, interrupted schooling and lack of parental support. Conversely, others suspect that there is a high incidence of dyslexia among this specific group and that the frustrations arising from this learning difficulty have contributed to their offending behaviour.
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Research has also provided conflicting results. In 1998 research from Cambridge University's Institute of Criminology, based on a survey of 323 prisoners at nine establishments, found that only around 4 to 6 per cent. of prisoners were dyslexic.
The most recent research (1999), from the Dyslexia Institute, is based on a survey of nearly 100 young offenders at HMYOI Feltham. This study, which measured cognitive ability as well as dyslexia, found that 17.5 per cent. screened positive against indicators for dyslexia.

§ Mrs. Brooke
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which(a) prisons and (b) young offender institutes in England and Wales have facilities for (i) diagnosing dyslexia and (ii) providing education for inmates suffering from dyslexia. [91825]

§ Mr. Ivan Lewis
A survey carried out in 2001 indicated that around a quarter of establishments had staff trained to support learners with dyslexia. Under the Government's Skills for Life strategy, staff in all prisons and young offender institutions will have access to training so that they can identify indicators of dyslexia, know when to refer learners for specialist assessment, and provide appropriate educational programmes for them. This will be further enhanced in those young offender institutions caring for 15 to 17-year-olds by the appointment of special educational needs coordinators, and of learning support assistants on a ratio of one to every 10 learners.
New diagnostic assessments for prisoners, to be administered after initial assessment by a specialist teacher, will offer guidance on when to refer learners for a full dyslexia assessment with an educational psychologist or other appropriately trained person.
The majority of people with dyslexia do not require specialist teaching. They need high quality basic skills teaching which adopts a variety of inclusive strategies to support the needs of all learners. An inclusive learning handbook for all staff in prisons and YOls to be published this spring will increase the understanding of the needs of those with dyslexia.