dyslexia | Page 11 of 12

Tesco Community Grants – New Stores!

We’re in the customer vote for a Tesco Community Grant. This is a scheme giving community projects and small charities like us grants of up to £1,500.When you pop into a local store, it would be fantastic if you could put your blue tokens (given out at the checkout) into the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity slot to decide how much funding we get. The money we then receive from Tesco Community Grants will be used to support children and young people with dyslexia, giving them confidence and helping them succeed at school, college or university.

Which Tesco stores?

From mid January until 31 March, you can choose Helen Arkell at:

Tesco Extra, Barnes Wallis Drive, Brooklands KT13 0XF
Tesco Express, Old Woking Road, West Byfleet KT14 6JA
Tesco Express, 15 High St, Knaphill GU21 2PG
Tesco Express, Guildford Rd, Woking GU22 7PX
Tesco Express, Station Road, Chobham GU24 8AQ
Tesco Express, Commercial Way, Woking GU21 6XR

Huge thanks to everyone who has been supporting us in various Tesco stores around the country since last October – this really makes a difference!

You can find out more about Tesco Community Grants here.

By admin|2024-07-23T16:50:56+01:00December 9th, 2022|Fundraising news|Comments Off

CEO Blog – It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

2 December 2022

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, a big donation, and an incredible quilt …

It might only be 2nd December, but our sweet little home in 24 West Street is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, much to the delight of the many visitors who keep coming through our doors.

It smells a lot like Christmas too, particularly in my room, because that’s where the mulled wine was served on Wednesday evening, when we opened our doors to the local community for Christmas Drinks, to nibble on the odd mince pie and hear more about our work.

The great and the good of Farnham and the surrounding area were here in force, including the Mayor of Farnham, who presented us with a cheque from Farnham Town Council, to provide specialist help to people with dyslexia from lower-income backgrounds.

Two other groups deserve special mention. The one is Castle Quilters, because they had clubbed together to make an amazing quilt in memory of dear departed Jan, who was not only a keen fellow-quilter, but also knew our charity well, having received much support from us over the years. Their donated quilt took pride of place in the raffle, (alongside Helen’s homemade cake), and spurred people on to buy loads more raffle tickets than usual. It was great that the winner, Lorna, was someone who has themselves done so much for the cause of Helen Arkell, having raised over £2,600 in sponsorship when running the Royal Parks Half Marathon for us earlier this year, along with her friend Susie.

The other special group are the family of our founder, the late Helen Arkell MBE. Peter, one of Helen’s children, attended Christmas Drinks on the family’s behalf, and announced a special donation of £40,000 from the family to the Charity, as a lasting legacy to Helen’s memory. How amazing is that?!!

Everything we do has the aim of furthering the work that Helen started back in 1971, with a special interest in providing 1:1 support to children and adults, regardless of ability to pay, and training teachers so their expertise can reach many more children with dyslexia in their classrooms, throughout their careers.

I hope Helen looks down on us and is proud of what we are doing in her name. This year, we have supported more people than ever:
• 1,387 children and adults have received 1:1 support from us for their dyslexia, or suspected dyslexia.
• Another 1,380 people have received training from us in how to support people with dyslexia at home, at school, and in the workplace.
• People have come from 27 counties of the UK, and from 12 different countries.
• 271 individuals have benefitted from bursary-funded support this year, at a total cost of over £120,000.

We can only increase the numbers of people we support, and the various ways in which we help them, thanks to a whole team effort. So, if you’re already a Friend of Helen Arkell, thank you for being part of a growing gang. And if you’re not (yet), then why not join us, and be part of a very special organisation that touches the lives of over 2,500 people a year?

By joining us as a Friend of Helen Arkell, you’ll be giving us the best Christmas present we could possibly have. And in return, you’ll hear our behind-the-scenes news, attend our events, and if you’re lucky you might even meet Teddy Edward Arkell Bear (!).

Thank you!
Andy

By Helen Arkell|2024-07-23T16:51:03+01:00December 2nd, 2022|CEO blog|Comments Off

Beautiful donation from Castle Quilters

We held annual drinks evening on 30 November for friends and supporters including the Mayor, Councillor Alan Earwaker. This is the first Christmas event at our new home on West Street.

The evening was made extra special by a fantastic donation from Farnham’s Castle Quilters who handmade a beautiful quilt to raffle in memory of a very special member of their quilting circle.

Jan Ashwell lived in Bordon for over 40 years and taught for 26 of those at Mill Chase School. As well as being a talented quilter, Jan was passionate about supporting young people with dyslexia and additional learning needs, including getting support and a diagnosis for her son. Sadly, Jan passed away last July.

The Christmas Drinks raffle made over £350 for the charity.

Huge thanks to the Castle Quilters for their enormously kind and beautiful donation – a long-lasting symbol of friendship both to Jan and to the charity. We are thrilled that the quilt was won by Lorna, one of our amazing supporters who ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon for Helen Arkell back in October. The quilt is now taking pride of place in Lorna’s home.

By Helen Arkell|2024-07-23T16:51:20+01:00December 1st, 2022|Fundraising news|Comments Off

Handwriting research – invitation to join

At Helen Arkell, we use a test called DASH-2 (Detailed Assessment for Speed of Handwriting, second edition) during our dyslexia assessments. Pearson Clinical UK, the publishers of the test, alongside academics at Oxford Brookes University, are developing a new edition of the battery of tests that the DASH test is part of. They are currently particularly interested in recruiting children and young adults with dyslexia to take part in their research. Could you or your child take part?

This is the message from Pearson Clinical UK:

At Pearson Clinical UK, we develop and distribute assessments for professionals in psychology, allied health, general education, special needs education, and other areas serving people of all ages and cultures.

What is happening? Pearson Assessment is collecting data for a new project involving the development of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children – Third Edition (MABC-3) and the Detailed Assessment for Speed of Handwriting (DASH-2). For this project, we will measure children’s movement ability and handwriting speed. By testing a large number of children and adults, we can understand how they typically perform. The results from this project will help develop the new assessments. The published assessment will then enable professionals to identify children who require intervention and support with movement activities and handwriting. We welcome your/your child’s participation in the project.

What will the project involve? If you agree to be involved, Pearson Assessment will first determine whether you/your child fit the criteria for taking part based on the demographic information you provide. If you/your child are chosen to take part, we will contact you via email to arrange an assessment session. This should take around 45 minutes, although this will depend on age and ability of the person being tested. The assessment will take place either at home or at a convenient public location. The tests will be conducted by a trained professional (with an enhanced DBS check). They will ask you/your child to complete some movement activities such as throwing, catching and jumping and/or handwriting tasks.

Being part of this research means that you can help make tests more accurate for those being assessed so that they can get better and more directed intervention and support. If you would like to be part of this project, please follow the links below. By clicking on the links, you are not committing to taking part in the research.

Children aged 3-15 years

Young adults aged 16-25 years

Thank you!

By Helen Arkell|2024-07-23T16:51:28+01:00November 22nd, 2022|Research news|Comments Off

Research into counselling for young people with dyslexia

Clare Field is a Masters student at the University of Roehampton and she is looking into the effects of counselling and psychotherapy on children who are diagnosed with dyslexia. Are you a young person who fits the criteria and may be able to help Clare? Details are below.

Aim: Study into the experience of counselling and psychotherapy for dyslexic children and young people
“…without asking the client themselves what has been helpful, the research can
only make assumptions as to why an individual may or may not have benefited from
therapy.” (Stamp & Loewenthal, 2008, p.350)

• As a child or young person, did you receive support through counselling and/or psychotherapy?
• Are you diagnosed with dyslexia?
• Would you like the opportunity to talk, explore and share your experiences of counselling and/or psychotherapy you had as a child or young person?

***I am looking for***
● Participants aged 18-24 years
● Diagnosis of dyslexia
● Received counselling/ psychotherapy or play therapy as a child or young person
● Willing to talk about experiences of therapy and dyslexia
● Available to talk over Microsoft teams for a 1-hour interview
If you are interested in taking part in the research, please contact me via email: Clare Field at fieldc@roehampton.ac.uk

By Helen Arkell|2024-07-23T16:51:36+01:00November 21st, 2022|Research news|Comments Off

CEO Blog – We all need friends

4 November 2022

Life’s a bit easier when you have friends to bounce things off, isn’t it? A problem shared, and
all that? In the charity world, it makes good sense for us to help each other, join forces and
work together when there’s a clear benefit to be had. Particularly when it brings added-value
to the people that our charities are set up to support.
So, I was delighted to be put in touch with Julia this week. Julia is an experienced dyslexia
specialist and founder of Literacy100, a charity that seeks to help people from the homeless
community improve their literacy. Many of the people Julia works with are dyslexic. Julia
also filled me in on all her work with Thames Reach, another charity working with homeless
people in London. We brainstormed ways in which our respective charities can work
together to improve the opportunities of homeless people who are struggling with literacy
and where dyslexia may be a factor.
Also this week I was lucky enough to be put in touch with Dean from NoticeAbility. This is a
non-profit based in the USA, which is doing brilliant work with students who have dyslexia –
Dean is Head Honcho. We have set up a call next week, to compare notes and see how we
can work together and learn from each other. It feels like the pandemic prevented us from
forging these sorts of links over the last two years, and it’s great to start making new friends
again.
Likewise, it was brilliant to meet my newly-appointed opposite number at the British
Dyslexia Association. Chivonne was only appointed Interim CEO of the BDA just last month,
so I felt very honoured that she could find the time in her busy induction schedule to pop
down to Farnham, to hear more about our work at Helen Arkell, to compare notes and
generally just to start forging a productive working relationship.
On Tuesday this week, Tory and I were delighted to make new friends at euNetworks, a
company that has a brilliant way of managing its workforce, and undertakes ‘Watercooler
Chats’ to bring people together and spark off discussions on a range of issues. Tory and I
joined them to introduce the topic of dyslexia and we had some great discussions between
all the 62 participants. We’ll certainly find ways to work together again in future.
Then on Thursday night, we made some friends down the pub! – this was a Quiz Night in aid
of Helen Arkell, at the Hog’s Back Brewery. Thank you to everyone who joined in to support
us and had some fun; beer and pizza at the same time!
Last but by no means least, this week Rachael and I met another group of individuals who
are keen to join our team of dyslexia specialists. It was great to hear all their various
experiences and to see how they might fit into our growing network. Between us, our aim is
to help more people with dyslexia with every year that goes by, so there will always be
room for recruiting more talent into our workforce.
Of course, there’s a very obvious way in which you could contribute to our overall team
effort too, even if you’re not a dyslexia specialist. We are badly in need of more Friends of
Helen Arkell, to become part of a growing ‘inner circle’ within the Helen Arkell community,
contributing small, monthly donations in return for receiving ‘behind-the-scenes’ news. You
will love being a Friend because it will make you all warm and fuzzy inside, and you’ll sleep
soundly in your bed. You will also give off an aura of saintly virtue, and will instantly become
more popular with everyone you know. Even Teddy Edward the Great Bear of Frensham is a
Friend of Helen Arkell. Or he would be if he had any money (which he doesn’t).
Onwards and upwards, my friends!
Andy
PS. We hope you like our new website, which was developed free of charge by our friends at
Delivered Social in Guildford. Our old website was on its last legs, so Jonathan and his team
stepped in with an incredibly generous offer to get us set up with a new one, free of charge.
A big shout-out to Jonathan’s gang, and particularly to office dog Dembe who is the real
brains of the operation. Thank you, guys!! It really is brand new this week, so if you spot any
glitches, typos, or anything else you feel we should know about, please drop us a line and
we’ll put it right. Thank you!

By Helen Arkell|2024-07-23T16:55:55+01:00November 4th, 2022|CEO blog|Comments Off

Research into students with dyslexia

Do you have 20 minutes to help Anna, an MSc Psychology student from Dundee University?

Anna is examining how students with dyslexia have learnt to compensate for the associated reading difficulties in order to cope with the reading demand required to complete a degree. She needs students who are currently at university to complete this study – both with and without dyslexia.

The study is anonymous and consists of a 20-minute session of three online tasks. There is more information on the link below and you are not obliged to take part or complete the tasks once you click the link.

Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity and the University of Dundee take your confidentiality seriously. By clicking on this link, you may be tracked by the provider of the current web page. In order to prevent this, we advise that you cut and paste the URL into a new browser tab or page.

https://research.sc/participant/login/dynamic/25251433-FA54-4BEE-A679-480558511840

Please pass this on if you know of anyone who could take part.

Thank you.

By Helen Arkell|2024-04-24T09:35:40+01:00October 10th, 2022|Research news|Comments Off

Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity students graduate!

Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity held a very special graduation ceremony on Friday 5 October for students of its professional qualifications.

The graduates now hold Level 5 Diplomas in Teaching Learners with Dyslexia/Specific Learning Difficulties

The year-long course is run from our Centre at 24 West Street, Farnham and consists of weekly lectures as well as teaching practice in local primary and secondary schools. The teaching practice demands a level of creativity from the students, and they were congratulated on their inspiring and memorable teaching methods.

Graduation certificates were presented by Helen Arkell former Principal Rosie Woods, and the ceremony was attended by families of the students, course tutors, charity trustees, and members of the Helen Arkell team.

The graduation was all the more special because the course was disrupted by the pandemic and students had had to go the extra mile with teaching practice under difficult conditions and tuition sessions being held in our car park (weather permitting)!. These students were delighted to meet their tutors again and to hear all the news from the charity about how it has stepped up to support more children and adults with dyslexia than ever.

CEO Andy Cook said, ‘Congratulations to all our graduates. We are so proud of them. Being ‘Helen Arkell trained’ is the Gold Standard and is highly respected in this field. These graduates are valued ambassadors and members of the Helen Arkell family. We are thrilled that some students are continuing to study with us for their Level 7 qualification.’

Find out more about our courses for educators.

By Helen Arkell|2024-07-23T16:52:51+01:00October 9th, 2022|Course news|Comments Off

Dyslexia Awareness Week 2022

Monday 3 October to Sunday 9 October

Dyslexia Awareness Week is an opportunity to build understanding of dyslexia, highlighting both the strengths and challenges it may bring.

We’d love you to join our events during the week or why not get involved at home, school or work.

Join in

A Big Bowl of Self-Esteem – practical strategies to improve self-esteem in learners with Specific Learning Difficulties

Free Webinar with Claire Harvey – Head of Education.

Monday 3 October, 19:00 – 20:00 hours.

Watch the recording of this webinar here.

Spotlight – supporting children at home with reading during the pandemic

With Dr Anna Tsakalaki – Lecturer in Education at the University of Reading.

Thursday 6 October, 13.00 to 14.30 hours.

Tickets £15.

Find out more and book your place here.

Get involved

You can get involved in Dyslexia Awareness Week in a number of ways:

Fundraise for the charity, at school, at work or as an individual. You could do a bake sale, run a sponsored challenge, hold a mufti day, put on a quiz or hold a film night. There are more ideas here.
Encourage discussion about dyslexia in your workplace. You could even book a Lunch & Learn session.
If you work at school, why not book an in-service session about dyslexia awareness or join the Supporting Learners with Dyslexia course.
Take part in the events we put on during the week.

Keep up to date

Check back here for updates on our Dyslexia Awareness Week plans or sign up for our e-newsletter here.

By Helen Arkell|2024-07-23T16:53:04+01:00September 22nd, 2022|Team blog|Comments Off

Support our 2022 London Marathon team

We’d like to introduce you to the amazing runners training hard to run an epic 26.2 miles in this year’s marathon taking place on Sunday 2nd October.

It’s a huge commitment, with months of training in all weathers. This year they’ve had to cope with weeks of extreme heat and now thunderstorms and torrential rain!

Please show your support for their heroic efforts and encourage them to get to the finish line.

It continues to be such a difficult time for many charities, and we are really truly grateful for their amazing efforts raising funds to support children and adults with dyslexia.

If you could donate a few pounds to spur them on, please click on their names below to find out more about their marathon stories. Thank you.

Paula Darch