Andi Tuck is a Cornish Chef and Southwest England Regional semi-finalist in BBC’s Great British Menu. The chef, who competed in this year’s series, is dyslexic, but despite the challenges that dyslexia can bring, is still planning to launch his first cookbook next year.
Andi said: “I took to cooking as a way to be creative and feel empowered and successful without words – but since Great British Menu I am determined to produce my own cookbook and won’t be letting my dyslexia hold me back.”
This comes after a study found the teachers in the top and bottom five cities across the UK to be most confident in teaching students with dyslexia. Commenting on the results of the survey, the chef said: “I was quite lucky at my school, but I did have moments where I really suffered with my dyslexia and found I wasn’t very well supported or understood by teachers.”
The study, that delved into how confident teachers are when teaching students with dyslexia, found that those from Oxford came out on top, with a whopping 98% of Oxford respondents saying they felt able and well equipped to deal with teaching dyslexic students, in comparison with under a third (28%) of teachers nationally.
Teachers from Aberdeen came in second as the most confident in the UK with 75% saying they felt confident teaching dyslexia in the classroom, while Manchester teachers came in third with 74%. Edinburgh and Belfast also reached the top five, with 71% and 70%, respectively.
Less than a third (28%) of teaching staff respondents from the UK as a whole were confident in their ability to support students with dyslexic needs. Extensive research discovered UK teaching establishments noted a combination of lack of support, training and tools to offer basic needs to those with the condition.
A third (32%) of secondary teachers felt they were not trained or supported enough in helping students with dyslexia, with over a quarter (28%) of teaching staff overall feeling underequipped, The Dyslexia Shop research found.
Four out of five (80%) of teaching staff in the UK disputed more resources were needed to help them better assist children with Dyslexia, shortly followed by better training (78%). Other support systems such as earlier diagnosis and smaller class sizes only came in at 50% and 41% respectively in comparison, alerting education ministers around the UK to a relatively easy solution to the issue.
In fact, less than half (45%) of secondary school teaching staff stated they were provided with teacher aids, tools and equipment to support children with dyslexia correctly, whilst a third used assistive technology (35%) and multisensory learning techniques (30%) to help in classrooms.
Nearly one in ten teachers (8%) think they are unable to recognise the signs of dyslexia altogether, whilst Two out of every hundred (2%) teaching staff admitted to using no methods whatsoever to help children with dyslexia in their studies. Computing studies staff consistently showed the lowest level of confidence in the study.
Honor Page, Director of The Dyslexia Shop said: “Sadly these findings aren’t a massive shock to those of us affected by Dyslexia. I can’t speak for everyone, but I have spoken to hundreds of sufferers over the years who have consistently found themselves being overlooked, under supported and generally treated in a way that makes them feel stupid, rather than special.
Dyslexia research has been extensive over the last two decades and we have evidence to show that with the right guidance, training and tools we can reduce the knock-on effect in the classroom and make dyslexic children feel capable and confident in their futures. It’s a shame to see that the government is still underfunding essential classroom materials when they can make such a huge difference to a child’s day.”
The top five cities in the UK for most confident teachers of dyslexia:
- Oxford (98%)
- Aberdeen (75%)
- Manchester (74%)
- Edinburgh (71%)
- Belfast (70%)
The top five cities in the UK for the least confident teachers of dyslexia:
- Liverpool (71%)
- Leeds (65%)
- Bristol (61%)
- Birmingham (60%)
- Newcastle (54%)
For more information please visit https://www.thedyslexiashop.co.uk/blogs/blog/dyslexia-crisis-here-s-why-uk-educators-are-struggling-to-support-their-students-new-study
