When the System Can't Cope: Dyslexia Support in Sheffield Needs a Rethink

Sheffield, like many cities across the UK, is grappling with a mounting crisis in special educational needs (SEN) provision. With a projected shortfall in its High Needs Block for 2025/26, the city’s ability to support neurodivergent learners—particularly those with dyslexia—is under immense strain.

Amid this funding storm, a local event is offering families and educators a lifeline...

On 23rd June 2025, international speaker and author Richard Whitehead will be joined by Sheffield-based tutor and Davis® Facilitator Sue Bernardé at the Sheffield Students’ Union to present “Dyslexia: The Label — And Then What?”—a public talk designed to challenge assumptions and provide practical, proven strategies for overcoming learning barriers.

Why the Traditional Model Is No Longer Enough

The UK is facing a national funding crisis in education, particularly when it comes to supporting children with dyslexia and other learning differences. Despite decades of effort, most traditional approaches rely on years of additional help—teaching assistants, reading schemes, and accommodations—without ever offering a true “exit strategy.”

“These systems often assume the child will always need support,” says Richard Whitehead. “But we have to ask: what if the problem isn’t with the child—but with the method?”

Many standard literacy interventions are designed around phonics-based instruction that may work for the majority—but often fail to engage the dyslexic mind.

The result is:

• ongoing dependency,

• lost confidence,

• and untapped potential.

A New Way Forward: Fast-Track, Strengths-Based Interventions

What’s needed now—urgently—is a different kind of solution: one that works with a dyslexic child’s natural learning style, rather than against it. That’s where the Davis® Methods come in! Developed by a dyslexic thinker for dyslexic thinkers, Davis programmes are built around visual-spatial reasoning and concept mastery. They enable struggling learners to make rapid gains—not just in reading, but in focus, confidence, and independence. And most importantly, they do so in a matter of days or weeks—not years!

“Davis isn’t a coping strategy,” explains Sue Bernardé, herself the parent of two formerly struggling, now-thriving dyslexic sons. “It’s a transformation. These children learn how they learn—and that’s something no budget cut can take away.”

Sheffield Deserves Better—And It Starts With Awareness

The Sheffield event is more than a lecture—it’s a call to action! It invites parents, teachers, and school leaders to reimagine what’s possible when we stop treating dyslexia as a lifelong limitation and start seeing it as a different, equally valid way of processing the world.

As budgets tighten and waitlists grow, there has never been a more important time to explore interventions that build resilience, independence, and success in a short space of time.

Event Details:

📅 Monday 23rd June 2025

🕢 7:30 PM (Doors open at 7:00 PM)

📍 Sheffield Students’ Union, Western Bank, S10 2TG

🎟 £10 (Free for teachers)

🔗Secure your spot now: http://www.davismethod.co.uk/event-details/dyslexia-lecture-sheffield

For interview enquiries, contact Richard Whitehead at 📧 richard.whitehead@davismethod.co.uk or

📞 07816 117225.