Meeting with ACT Shadow Minister for Education, Ms Elizabeth Lee MLA

4 October 2018

I had a very positive meeting with the ACT Shadow Minister for Education, Ms Elizabeth Lee, MLA.  Ms Lee’s background in law attributes to her understanding of the importance of evidence.  We discussed in depth, all points outlined on the current ACT online Petition (Evidence-based literacy instruction, identification & intervention for ACT Students), focusing on the benefits of evidence-based reading instruction, early identification (phonics check) and evidence-based interventions for ACT School students with reading difficulties and the important role our local Universities play.

We discussed Dyslexia and its impact on students, families and individuals, including education, financial and emotional impacts.  Highlighted the importance of early identification and evidence-based intervention being provided within ACT Schools.  And the importance of appropriate Professional learning for Teachers and the use of decodable readers as a quality tool to support evidence-based reading instruction.  Also, the long-term economic savings to society that result by implementing appropriate evidence-based reading instruction and interventions in the early years of education to ensure every student learns to proficiently read before completing their schooling. 

I provided and discussed with the Minister documents and links to statistics that support the need to adopt evidence-based reading instruction; information about dyslexia facts; evidence-based literacy assessments; further links to Effective reading instruction in the early years of school; a copy of RANZCO’s article The Role of Ophthalmologists in the Management of Dyslexia (Specific Learning Difficulties); information about and examples of Decodable Books; links to the Australian Documentary Series – Outside The Square; the National Inquiry into the teaching of Literacy (2015); What research tell us about different interventions (AUSPELD) plus Examples of High Quality, Evidence-based Phonics Programs  (AUSPELD), Scientific Evidence for Effective Teaching of Reading  (Kerry Hempenstall); Dyslexia and Anxiety (Understood), and the role of Code Read Dyslexia Network Australia including our current awareness campaigns.

Bipartisan support for the adoption of early evidence-based reading instruction (SSP), early appropriate literacy assessments (including the Phonics Check) for all students, and evidence-based interventions for students identified with reading difficulties in the ACT is essential.  It is also imperative that Universities instruct their pre-service teachers on how to implement evidence-based reading instruction approaches in the classroom including explicit systematic synthetic phonics as part of the five keys to reading, quality literacy assessments and evidence-based information about dyslexia to gain a greater understanding and extinguish the misconceptions.

Jen Cross,

Director of Code Read Dyslexia Network; Founding Administrator of Dyslexia Information for the Canberra Region Facebook community page