Guernsey dyslexia day centre loses £200,000 grant

Mike and Teresa O'Hara founded the centre in 1987 to offer specialist support for islanders affected by dyslexia.

A charity for children with dyslexia has lost its government subsidy after leaders decided to "re-invest" the money to support literacy in schools.

The Dyslexia Day Centre's £200,000 annual funding will be cut from September.

The Committee for Education, Sport and Culture said the change would enable more children to receive support.

The centre chairman said they were left in "severe financial difficulties" but supported efforts to help more pupils.

Mike O'Hara added: "The ironic thing about it is what they are trying to achieve we agree with, it's just a shame we are not involved."

He said the centre, in St Andrew's, Guernsey, which has eight teachers supporting about 150 children each year, had a "great legacy" after 30 years of working.

He added: "Having said all that, we do agree with what they are doing, it is good for the children."

He said he hoped they could "continue providing tuition across the wider community".

The States said a transition period meant children could continue to receive support from the centre until December 2023.

It said funds would then be redirected to:

• Increase support and training for language and literacy specialist teachers in States-run schools

• Ensure early identification of literacy difficulties and targeted interventions

• Ongoing assessments and support for children with literacy difficulties

• Programmes for literacy intervention in secondary schools

The Dyslexia Day Centre, which received the Queen's Award in 2011, was set up in 1987 by Mike and Teresa O'Hara to offer specialist tuition, assessments, support and advice to islanders affected by dyslexia.

'Targeted support'

The States said the centre had focused primarily on primary-aged children and following discussions with the centre, the charity recognised the changes will lead to "an increased number of students receiving targeted support".

Nick Hynes, director of education, said he wanted to "reassure" families currently receiving support from the day centre that their children's needs would continue to be met, initially in the transition period and then through schools.

Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen, president of the Committee for Education, Sport and Culture, said the centre's work had been "pivotal" at a time when "far less" was known about dyslexia.

She said the education office could now "take the baton" thanks to the expertise which had grown both in the department and in schools.

She added: "I want to publicly thank Mike and Teresa for their commitment and their hard work over many years and also for engaging with us and accepting the Committee's decision to use the available funding in a different way to ensure the legacy of their work continues."

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