ABSTRACT
Formal identification of dyslexia focuses upon learner's cognitive characteristics, rather than social and environmental aspects. Teachers generally accept the usefulness of baseline or profile information; more controversial has been the introduction, in England in 2012, of an early years phonics check. This takes place at six years of age and reflects the importance that phonics have come to represent in English literacy learning. The phonics check is not concerned with identifying dyslexia, the difficulty of phonological skills for the majority of dyslexic learner's means that has meaning for dyslexia-aware practitioners. The phonics check is not concerned with identifying dyslexia, the difficulty of phonological skills for the majority of dyslexic learner's means that it has meaning for dyslexia-aware practitioners. Trained practitioners may use many of these but they are more likely to be the responsibility of a special educational needs or dyslexia specialist. Dyslexia assessment often takes place because a parent or caregiver is worried about a Childs literacy progress.
