Victoria’s education system has long failed children with literacy difficulties. Rather than being equitable, it’s discriminatory. Rather than being inclusive, it’s marginalising. All children deserve policy makers, educators and parents who are willing to step up to the collective responsibility of teaching all children to read and write in their early years of school.

“The ability of a population to read and write at standards considered competent, and not merely functional, confers widespread opportunities to succeed academically and gain post-school training and education, even in the context of inter-generational academic under-attainment. This in turn affords opportunities for larger numbers to be part of the social and economic mainstream, and sits at the core of reading ability as a pressing public health issue and as a modifiable form of social inequity and disadvantage.” (Snow, P. (2020). SOLAR: The Science of Language and Reading. Child Language Teaching and Therapy. Published early online August 4 https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0265659020947817)”

DVS parents contend with the academic, social, emotional and financial costs that follow when their child’s reading difficulties are not addressed at school. This parent survey gave Victorian parents of children with literacy difficulties the opportunity to share their experiences. Thank you to those who shared their personal experiences. You are not alone.

Click here to view the Report:    PDF