“I just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU for agreeing to another term and another BIG THANK YOU for all your hard work and guidance with us so far. It has meant so much to Joshua and me and we would be lost without it -  I will always be indebted to the Centre and to you all for the time you have given us”. Ruth

I am the mum of Damarni Smith who has been supported by The Dyslexia Teaching Centre at Brackenbury Primary School. Damarni has been getting help for just under one year now. She is now more confident and willing to tackle new words. I can see a major improvement in her rate of progress.

I know the work your Centre does is life-changing and giving the chance for children to enjoy the education system. I would like to thank all the staff who have helped in her progress.

Yours thankfully,
Dionne Smith

Toby was a past pupil at the Dyslexia Teaching Centre, both as a child, then later as a student. Now he is an orthopaedic surgeon.

He wrote the following testimony:

“I was lucky enough for my dyslexia to be picked up at a relatively early age as my older brother had just been diagnosed at a time when it was not necessarily established as a recognised learning difficulty. Fortunately my dyslexia was mild enough to allow me to stay in main stream schooling with help from out of hours coaching which initially took the form of generic reading and writing skills but as I progressed through the years became subject specific to address particular areas of weakness. The greatest challenge was the change in study methods when moving from secondary education to medical school. Although I had been given guidance on independent learning it was a real shock to loose the hand-fed approach offered at school. To say I struggled would be an understatement. I am now ten years into my medical career and thoroughly enjoy practising as an orthopaedic surgeon. I recently completed a doctoral thesis and still have further exams to sit and even now I find that my study skills can be and do improve, mostly through trial and error. Although dyslexia has been been a hindrance there are definitely areas which I have found much easier than colleagues such as spatial awareness and practical skills.”

Melanie, who has brought both her son and daughter to the Dyslexia Teaching Centre, writes:

“I think the Dyslexia Centre must be unique in having such a brilliant holistic approach to Learning Support, with a whole range of teachers who help in all areas, and with all levels of difficulty. We feel very lucky to have had such outstandingly good teachers who have shown a real commitment to our children. They have always offered their time, advice and support unstintingly. I would absolutely recommend the DTC to any parent struggling to understand dyslexia and the type of support their child might require.”

“We feel very privileged to have been given this bursary for Joshua. He has grown in confidence, his behaviour at home has improved and he is making great progress at school since his one to one sessions. He really likes his time with his teacher and is learning so much from her. Our hope is that Joshua can continue coming to DTC as he now believes he can become a pilot!”

“The Kensington centre is a wonderful resource for any individual or family requiring academic or emotional support. They provided tailored one-to-one tuition for a child in my care. This involved liaising continuously with the class teacher and family to arrange a suitable time-table and suitable lessons for the child. They provided fantastic sessions for Literacy, Numeracy and also sessions to develop fine motor skills and teach independent focusing strategies for the girl, who displayed signs of Developmental Coordination Disorder. They helped her improve her visual-spatial perception, focus her attention more readily and to develop bilateral awareness. All of this was undertaken by friendly supportive professionals in a lovely learning environment, which she enjoyed attending. I would have no hesitation in recommending the Kensington Centre to any organisation or parent requiring further support.”

“Sultan has benefited immensely from his lessons at the Dyslexia Teaching Centre.  Sultan’s written work has developed greatly thanks to the centre being able to pinpoint and target his specific needs.  Sultan now has an understanding for math concepts that are explained with materials in a way that he can grasp. Sultan’s confidence in school has improved dramatically because he is now more comfortable with the work set and his ability to accomplish it.”

Senco, from a Primary School taking part in our bursary project says:

“It has been great to be involved in the Bursary Scheme, which has added specific children to benefit from the expert ‘tailored’ teaching. All the children involved have enjoyed the sessions and have clearly improved in confidence and further developed their reading skills, even if these gains have not been demonstrated in the test results for several children. Some children have improved markedly, which would not have happened without the support from the Dyslexia Teaching Centre. We would very much like to be involved in future Bursary Schemes, should the opportunity arise.”

“The Dyslexia Teaching Centre was recommended to me via an Educational Psychologist, Veronica Bidwell when my son, Luke was 12 years old. The mainstream educational system had ignored my concerns and let Luke down. So when I met Jo Petty, the director of the DTC and her fantastic, experienced team I was bowled over to find that they actually believed my child did indeed have a learning difficulty. The Centre helps children with a range of learning difficulties and in Luke ’s case he specifically has difficulty processing comprehension and maths. After overcoming the first few lessons he loved it there and built up a good relationship with his tutors. Without their support and help I would have been in despair, they gave us hope and for that I am eternally grateful. There are not enough words to describe their dedication and commitment to children – they are truly an admirable organisation.”