Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock's bid to help dyslexic children

Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said “I don’t know what would have happened to me” if a university tutor had failed to spot his dyslexia.

He earned a place at Oxford University thanks to his ability in maths but struggled to read and write because of a condition that went undiagnosed throughout his school years.

It was only after an Oxford tutor urged him to get the problem identified that he discovered he was dyslexic.

Mr Hancock will this week present legislation to the House of Commons to ensure every teacher is trained in how to help pupils with what are known as neurodivergent conditions, including dyslexia, autism and ADHD. His proposed law would also ensure every child is screened to see if they need help.

Today he will run the London marathon to raise funds for the Accessible Learning Foundation, a charitable organisation he set up last year to help those with conditions.

He said: “I got to Oxford university based on my maths but my written language and my reading were terrible.

“Who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t been encouraged to seek help.

“I’m certain I wouldn’t have been able to have the career I have had.”

Oxford University’s education department taught him to read using techniques designed for people with dyslexia once the problem was diagnosed.

The 45-year-old MP for West Suffolk, who was Health Secretary at the start of the Covid pandemic, said: “Teachers don’t get nearly enough training in spotting and supporting kids with dyslexia, autism and ADHD.

“It helps all children if these things are spotted because then there are ways to help a child who might otherwise be disruptive for everybody.

“I want to see teacher training across the board focused more on this. Not just specialist teachers, because every teacher is the teacher of a dyslexic kid.”

He added: “One of the new figures that has come to my attention is that 97 percent of all kids excluded from primary school have a neurodiverse condition.

“It shows the impact these problems have. And just ignoring it makes the problem worse.”

Around one in ten people are dyslexic according to the British Dyslexia Association but the problem is often only identified if parents pay for expensive tests.

In the state school system, 2.2 percent of pupils are identified as having a special learning need while in the independent school system it is 18 per cent.

Campaigners say children from less wealthy families are being denied the support they need, effectively robbing them of full access to education.

Mr Hancock is a former Conservative MP who now sits as an independent after losing the party whip for taking part in TV show I’m A Celebrity while Parliament was sitting. He is to stand down at the next election.