Council for the Registration of Schools Teaching Dyslexic Pupils


The Council for the Registration of Schools Teaching Dyslexic Pupils is a charity which maintains a register of schools for dyslexic children in the United Kingdom. The use of upper and lower case letters for the acronym CReSTeD is an attempt to graphically represent the difficulties a person with dyslexia suffers when trying to read.

History

CResTeD was established as a charity in 1989 by the British Dyslexia Association and the, then, Dyslexia Institute, with the aim of evaluating schools for teaching dyslexic students and maintaining an up-to-date register of these schools.

CReSTeD Register

To facilitate access to the register of schools the charity produces the Register in booklet form and makes the information available via the internet on the charity's website. The printed booklet is circulated widely to Local Education Authorities, SNAP offices and to other interested bodies. It is also available on request directly from CReSTeD free of charge.
The Register booklet is reprinted once a year. However, the charity's website is maintained throughout the year, and any changes to registration are recorded on an ongoing basis. Schools wishing to maintain their registration re-apply every three years, when a further visit will be undertaken to ensure standards have been maintained. Around 90 schools were listed as registered in 2012.
The Register is also made available in digital formats: ibook, ebook and pdf, the digital versions contain additional material for each school as well as advice regarding Specific Learning Difficulties. All publications are made available free of charge.
Parents in the British Armed Forces whose children have a diagnosis of dyslexia are eligible for a Continuity of Education Allowance if their child attends a CReSTeD-registered school, registered as category DSP, SPS or DU.

Registration procedure

Registration with CReSTeD is voluntary, schools apply to be included. However, there is a strict application procedure:
CReSTeD places schools into several categories. Dyslexia Specialist Provision Schools are schools which focus specifically on teaching dyslexic pupils. Specialist Provision Schools are primarily intended for children with special learning difficulties, including, but not limited to, autistic spectrum disorder. Schools which have a specialist unit on-site devoted to teaching dyslexic students are referred to as Dyslexia Units. Schools without distinct units, but with separate classes for dyslexic students in some or all subjects are categorized as Specialist Classes. Schools with a Withdrawal System place students in regular classes for some instruction, but dyslexic students are withdrawn from some classes for specialist tuition. Maintained Sector schools have inclusion and support strategies for dyslexic students.

Funding

CReSTeD is a charity registered in England and Wales. It does not receive financial support from central or local government or from any other statutory bodies. All costs associated with the charity are funded by charging schools an annual registration fee of £550 per annum to independent schools and £250 a year to maintained schools. A charge is made to schools for the first registration visit, the cost of subsequent re-registration visits being included within the annual registration fee.