Records (2017-2020) related to dyslexia assessment methodologies used by UK universities

The request was refused by Department for Education.

Dear Department for Education

Freedom of Information Request: Records (2017-2020) related to dyslexia assessment methodologies used by UK universities

Please provide sight of records related to dyslexia assessment methodologies used by UK universities and psychologists acting on their behalf, to include internal documents and communications, as well as records of any related communications with any third parties to include the SpLD Assessment Standards Committee (SASC) and the British Psychological Society.

Please also provide sight of all scrutiny and governance procedures related to the above.

Yours faithfully

David Gale

MINISTERS, Department for Education

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ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

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Dear David Gale 

 

Thank you for your request for information, which was received on
23/06/2020.

Please see enclosed our reply to your request.  

Yours sincerely

Higher Education Briefing Team

 

Dear Department for Education,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Education's handling of my FOI request 'Records (2017-2020) related to dyslexia assessment methodologies used by UK universities'.

[ The DfE has stated that it does not possess the requested information. This appears to contradict previous written statements from the DfE that a Ministerial policy decision was behind the failure to scrutinise and amend dyslexia assessment methodologies, as well as the complete absence of any governance framework for disability discrimination complaints made by university students.
If this FOI response is a correction of previous email responses, please state as much, bearing in mind that such a correction would indicate that there is no government scrutiny and governance over SASC whatever.
The DfE's statement , that it does not hold any records of related communications with SASC is, frankly, unbelievable. ]

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...

Yours faithfully,

David Gale

MINISTERS, Department for Education

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Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. If you are
contacting us about coronavirus (COVID-19) you can find advice and
guidance on [1]GOV.UK. This includes [2]guidance for educational settings
in England. You can also contact our coronavirus helpline on 0800 046
8687. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and weekends 10am to
4pm.

For emails and other written enquiries you will usually receive a reply
within 15 working days. You can find out how the department processes your
personal information by reading our [3]Privacy Notice.

 

 

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ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

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Dear David Gale 

 

Thank you for your request for information, which was received on
7/21/2020 9:38 AM . 

Please find attached an update to your request.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you are unhappy with the way your request has been handled, you should
make a complaint to the Department by writing to me within two calendar
months of the date of this letter. Your complaint will be considered by an
independent review panel, who review panel, who were not involved in the
original consideration of your request. 

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint to the
Department, you may then contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.

 HE Briefing Team 

Web: [1]https://www.education.gov.uk
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Dear ACCOUNT, Unmonitored

Ref: 2020-0039780

Since the DfE has persistently refused to make the requested reasonable adjustment for my disability, namely by communicating via email, I will provide you with just one of the DfE's myriad of internal reference numbers for previous correspondence - Ref: 2020-0001743. The provision of this reference number will provide you with my email address. You now have the task of examining your records to familiarise yourselves with a full record of correspondence to include the reference to a policy decision taken by the Minister.

Yours sincerely

David Gale | Information & Records Management Forensic Consultant | Derby

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. We can confirm that
we have received the Freedom of Information request you submitted.

We will respond to you within 20 working days.

 

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

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Dear David Gale, 

 

Thank you for your request for information, which was received on
03/08/2020.

Please see enclosed our reply to your request.

Yours sincerely

Higher Education briefing and Communications Team 

 

Dear ACCOUNT, Unmonitored,

As requested: email of Fri 28/02/2020 08:55

Yours sincerely,

David Gale

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. We can confirm that
we have received the Freedom of Information request you submitted.

We will respond to you within 20 working days.

 

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

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Dear Mr Gale,

Please see enclosed the outcome of the internal review which you
have requested and we have undertaken.

Yours sincerely,

Higher Education Briefing and Communications Team

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear ACCOUNT, Unmonitored,

Thank you for your response of 03.09.20.

Whilst enquiries are ongoing, I can confirm that the Minister has been made aware of the dilemma faced by students. It would appear that this has been studiously ignored by the Department for Education.

It is particularly disturbing to receive this statement, when the DfE has previously been provided with written confirmation from the OIA that disability discrimination cases are outside of its remit:

"If a student remains dissatisfied with the university’s final response they can take their
complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA). The OIA
was set up as an alternative to the courts and it is free of charge to students."

To clarify: students cannot take complaints of disability discrimination to the OIA. Students have no access to Employment Tribunal, and have no redress short of expensive civil litigation.

As a positive suggestion, the DfE ought to be lobbying government for the remit of the Employment Tribunal to be widened to become the Equalities & Employment Tribunal.

Yours sincerely,

David Gale

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. We can confirm that
we have received the Freedom of Information request you submitted.

We will respond to you within 20 working days.

 

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Dear Mr Gale

Thank you for your email dated 9 October, in responding to our reply to
your Freedom of information request, about the remit of The Office of the
Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA), to consider disability
discrimination complaints made by students.

You questioned the OIA’s remit in considering disability discrimination
cases. The OIA makes clear on its website that it can look at complaints
involving discrimination. It does confirm however, that it does not act in
the same way as a court and would not make findings that a provider has
discriminated against a student. The OIA will refer to the law and
guidance on discrimination to reach a view about what is good practice and
to decide whether the provider has acted fairly.

This means that the OIA can look at whether a provider has properly
considered whether its procedures are putting a disabled student at a
substantial disadvantage and, if it has not, the OIA might recommend that
it does so. Or if a provider did not make an adjustment the student had
reasonably asked for, the OIA might say that the provider had not acted
reasonably or that it had not shown that it properly considered its
responsibilities under the Equality Act. The OIA would not confirm that
the provider had discriminated against the student.

I hope this reply finds you well.

Your correspondence has been allocated reference number 2020-0057399. If
you need to respond to us, please visit
[1]https://www.education.gov.uk/contactus and quote your reference number.

As part of our commitment to improving the service we provide to our
customers, we are interested in hearing your views and would welcome your
comments via our website at:
[2]https://form.education.gov.uk/service/TO....

Yours sincerely

 

Miss N Stewart

Ministerial and Public Communications Division

Web: [3]https://www.education.gov.uk
Twitter: [4]https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
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Dear Ms Stewart

Thank you for your response of 14.10.20.

It is disappointing that the DfE is still insisting that the OIA has the ability to resolve complaints related to disability discrimination when I have previously provided the department with written confirmation from the OIA that such a response would be outside of its remit.

This statement by the DfE does not match the responses from the OIA:

"This means that the OIA can look at whether a provider has properly considered whether its procedures are putting a disabled student at a substantial disadvantage and, if it has not, the OIA might recommend that it does so. Or if a provider did not make an adjustment the student had reasonably asked for, the OIA might say that the provider had not acted reasonably or that it had not shown that it properly considered its
responsibilities under the Equality Act.

That would require a legal judgement by the OIA on the Equality Act that sits outside its remit, confirmed in live complaints dealt with by the OIA.

Indeed, in the case of R (Maxwell) v Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education [2011] EWCA civ 1236 , Lord Justice Mummery confirmed:

"The issue for the OIA in this matter was not to decide whether Ms Maxwell was in fact the victim of disability discrimination or whether the University is liable to her for such discrimination. The OIA’s task was to review Ms Maxwell’s complaint, which included a complaint of discrimination, to see whether the University’s decision was reasonable in all the circumstances and was Justified and, if so, to what extent, and what recommendations should be made to the University.”

"The courts were not entitled to impose on the informal complaints review procedure of the OIA a requirement that it should have to adjudicate on issues such as whether or not there had been disability discrimination. Adjudication on the issue usually involved making decisions on contested questions of fact and law, which required the more stringent and structured procedures of civil litigation for their proper determination. "

Live cases evidence that the OIA may, at best, reference its 'extreme concern' but that it will not take a position if the subject of the original complaint to the university is 'disability discrimination'.

Given the persistent position taken by the DfE, this important matter should escalated as a matter of the utmost urgency. I am available and well-versed in providing ministerial briefings.

Yours sincerely,

David Gale

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. We can confirm that
we have received the Freedom of Information request you submitted.

We will respond to you within 20 working days.

 

Dear Department for Education,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department for Education's handling of my FOI request 'Records (2017-2020) related to dyslexia assessment methodologies used by UK universities'.

The DfE is now significantly out of time with its response in circumstances where the information provided by the DfE so far is evidenced as inaccurate and inconsistent.

It may help the DfE to learn that a litigation support strategy for disabled university students suffering disability discrimination, enunciated by the EHRC in 2017, was later reversed, without notice, to specifically exclude university students.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/r...

Yours faithfully,

David Gale

MINISTERS, Department for Education

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Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. If you are
contacting us about coronavirus (COVID-19) you can find advice and
guidance on [1]GOV.UK. This includes [2]guidance for educational settings
in England. You can also contact our coronavirus helpline on 0800 046
8687. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and weekends 10am to
4pm.

For emails and other written enquiries you will usually receive a reply
within 15 working days. You can find out how the department processes your
personal information by reading our [3]Privacy Notice.

 

 

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ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

 

Dear  David Gale 

 

Thank you for your recent enquiry which was received on 10 December.

 

A reply will be sent to you as soon as possible. For information; the
departmental standard for correspondence received is that responses should
be sent within 20 working days as you are requesting information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Your correspondence has been allocated
reference number 2020-0069458. 

Department for Education

Ministerial and Public Communications Division

Tel: 0370 000 2288

Web: 

[1]https://www.education.gov.uk
Twitter: [2]https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
Facebook: [3]https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk

 

 

 

 

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ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Dear David Gale 

 

Thank you for your further email of 20 October about the Office of the
Independent Adjudicator (OIA) and its approach to dealing with student
complaints. On this occasion I have been asked to reply and would like
to apologise for the delay in doing so, which is due to exceptionally high
levels of correspondence received by the department. 

 

You question the department’s understanding of the OIA for Higher
Education and its approach to dealing with student complaints relating to
discrimination. We have checked with the OIA before responding to your
latest email and are reconfirming the position.    

 

As we explained in our previous response of 14 October, whilst the OIA can
look at student complaints relating to discrimination and consider, for
example, whether higher education providers have acted fairly, it does
not act in the same way as a court and would not make findings that a
provider has discriminated against a student. The approach is explained on
the OIA website. [1]Can you complain to us? - OIAHE .   

 

Students can of course pursue their complaints through the courts either
as a first option or if they are unhappy with a response from the OIA.   

 

I hope that this clarifies the department’s position for you in this
matter. 

 

 

Your correspondence has been allocated reference number 2020-0059290. If
you need to respond to us, please visit
[2]https://www.education.gov.uk/contactus and quote your reference number.

 

 

As part of our commitment to improving the service we provide to our
customers, we are interested in hearing your views and would welcome your
comments via our website at:
[3]https://form.education.gov.uk/service/TO....

Yours sincerely

Amanda Christian 

Ministerial and Public Communications Division

 

Web: [4]https://www.education.gov.uk
Twitter: [5]https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
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ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Gale,
 
Please see enclosed our response to your request for an internal review.
 
Higher Education Briefing and Communications Team

Dear ACCOUNT, Unmonitored,

The DfE response of 12.01.21 appears to be made without knowledge of the DfE response of 08.01.21 which was sent by a different business unit.

We note that the DfE claims not to have sent any correspondence that includes a reference to a DfE policy decision not to provide fee-free access to justice for university students suffering discrimination at the hands of their universities.

We conclude from the responses of the DfE that it has failed to ensure that appropriate governance procedures were put in place to oversee disability discrimination complaint procedures in UK universities and that it has no governance procedures in place by which to monitor SASC's control of SpLD testing.

Given the ongoing volume discriminatory abuse being suffered by university students, as well as the evidence of UK universities failing to commission SASC compliant SpLD tests, unless we hear from the DfE within fourteen days from the date of this email, we will assume that the department offers no defence to its evidenced negligence.

Yours sincerely,

David Gale

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. We can confirm that
we have received the Freedom of Information request you submitted.

We will respond to you within 20 working days.

 

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Dear  David Gale 

Thank you for your recent enquiry which was received on 02/02/2021.

A reply will be sent to you as soon as possible. For information; the
departmental standard for correspondence received is that responses should
be sent within 20 working days as you are requesting information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Your correspondence has been allocated
reference number 2021-0010054.

Department for Education

Ministerial and Public Communications Division

Tel: 0370 000 2288

Web: [1]https://www.education.gov.uk
Twitter: [2]https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
Facebook: [3]https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk

 

 

 

 

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ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Dear Mr Gale 

 

Thank you for your further email of 2 February about an internal review
of a Freedom of Information request. 

 

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, we are dealing with a large volume of
correspondence. Please therefore accept my apologies for the delay in
replying to your email. 

 

I can only reiterate the response we provided to you on 12 January 2021. 

We confirmed that that we have completed an internal review and that if
you remain dissatisfied you should contact the information Commissioner
directly to appeal our decision, setting out clearly to the Commissioner
which aspect of our decision and handling you remain unhappy with.   

 

Further information about the Information Commissioner’s complaints
procedure can be found on the Information Commissioner’s Office website:  

 

[1]https://ico.org.uk/fororganisations/guid...

 

Thank you once again for writing. 

Your correspondence has been allocated reference number 2021-0010054. If
you need to respond to us, please visit
[2]https://www.education.gov.uk/contactus and quote your reference number.

As part of our commitment to improving the service we provide to our
customers, we are interested in hearing your views and would welcome your
comments via our website at:
[3]https://form.education.gov.uk/service/TO....

Yours sincerely

 

M DHOKIA 

Ministerial and Public Communications Division

Web: [4]https://www.education.gov.uk
Twitter: [5]https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
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Dear ACCOUNT, Unmonitored,

I am bending over backwards to assist the DfE and the Minister to avoid an allegation of negligence.

The DfE's previous statement (below) is demonstrably false:

"You questioned the OIA’s remit in considering disability discrimination
cases. The OIA makes clear on its website that it can look at complaints
involving discrimination. It does confirm however, that it does not act in
the same way as a court and would not make findings that a provider has
discriminated against a student. The OIA will refer to the law and
guidance on discrimination to reach a view about what is good practice and
to decide whether the provider has acted fairly.

This means that the OIA can look at whether a provider has properly
considered whether its procedures are putting a disabled student at a
substantial disadvantage and, if it has not, the OIA might recommend that
it does so. Or if a provider did not make an adjustment the student had
reasonably asked for, the OIA might say that the provider had not acted
reasonably or that it had not shown that it properly considered its
responsibilities under the Equality Act. The OIA would not confirm that
the provider had discriminated against the student."

The OIA has already made it clear in written responses that it does NOT have the power to adjudge whether a "the provider had not acted reasonably or that it had not shown that it properly considered its
responsibilities under the Equality Act."

That the DfE continues to insist on this point as evidenced above suggests a significant void in its understanding and records management related to the OIA. This should by now have raised a flag for proper investigation with a resultant amendment in the DfE's response to this FOI request.

In terms of the FOI response, a failure to take appropriate steps to correct the DfE's error will result in a complaint to the ICO of the DfE having knowingly provided false information. If you choose to refuse to take appropriate action, you may also regard this response as a formal complaint on negligence.

I will offer to take the DfE through the available evidence via initial contact by Direct Message at Twitter account @DavidGaleUK

Yours sincerely

David Gale

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. We can confirm that
we have received the Freedom of Information request you submitted.

We will respond to you within 20 working days.

 

Dear Department for Education,

Further to my last, on a separate subject matter but contained within my original FOI request, the DfE has consistently denied any link or responsibility for university dyslexia assessment standards, as well as any link to SASC.

I attach for your review a link to a copy of the 'SpLD Test Evaluation Committee (STEC) (DfES Guidelines) September 2018': https://docplayer.net/100503435-Suitable...

Whilst the document uses the older DfES identifier, it is clear that SASC has been tasked by the DfE in delivering assessment standards for UK universities. It is therefore the DfE's role to ensure that appropriate governance over said standards is in place.

I have previously provided the DfE with information that evidences that SASC standards are not being upheld by UK universities and that the DfE has failed to put in place any structure or procedure to ensure that standards are met.

I now require the DfE to demonstrate a concerted effort to remedy this shortfall. Failure to do so will represent unlawful / serious misconduct. The DfE can start by changing its previous FOI response to now admit that it had a role in enabling and approving the SpLD assessment guidelines.

The Minister should note that, to date the following public bodies are evidenced as being culpable for systemic service failures around dyslexia assessment and related disability discrimination within UK universities:

The DfE, Universities UK, Office for Students, EHRC, HMCTS, and multiple universities.

Some of the activity is evidenced as being knowingly unlawful.

Yours faithfully

David Gale

MINISTERS, Department for Education

1 Attachment

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contacting us about coronavirus (COVID-19) you can find advice and
guidance on [1]GOV.UK. This includes [2]guidance for educational settings
in England. You can also contact our coronavirus helpline on 0800 046
8687. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and weekends 10am to
4pm.

For emails and other written enquiries you will usually receive a reply
within 15 working days. You can find out how the department processes your
personal information by reading our [3]Privacy Notice.

 

 

[4]cid:image001.jpg@01D42E43.58989C30

 

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ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Dear Mr Gale

Thank you for your email of 22 April about the role of the Office of the
Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for higher education. As these were not
questions regarding the release of information, the correspondence has not
been handled under the Freedom of Information Act.
 
We can only reiterate the response we provided to you on 8 and 12 January
2021. We confirmed that we have completed an internal review and that if
you remain dissatisfied you should contact the Information
Commissioner directly to appeal our decision, setting out clearly to the
Commissioner which aspect of our decision and handling you remain unhappy
with. Further information about the Information Commissioner’s
complaints procedure can be found
here: [1]https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/. 

In addition, we confirmed the position with regards to the OIA. As we
explained in our previous response of 14 October, whilst the OIA can look
at student complaints relating to discrimination and consider, for
example, whether higher education providers have acted fairly, it does
not act in the same way as a court and would not make findings that a
provider has discriminated against a student. The approach is explained on
the OIA website:
[2]https://www.oiahe.org.uk/students/can-yo....

We have done all we can to answer your questions and as such, we will no
longer respond to queries you have on this subject.

Thank you once again for writing. 

 

Your correspondence has been allocated reference number 2021-0024188. If
you need to respond to us, please visit
[3]https://www.education.gov.uk/contactus and quote your reference number.

 

As part of our commitment to improving the service we provide to our
customers, we are interested in hearing your views and would welcome your
comments via our website at:
[4]https://form.education.gov.uk/service/TO....

Yours sincerely

 

D BIRKETT 

Ministerial and Public Communications Division

Web: [5]https://www.education.gov.uk
Twitter: [6]https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
Facebook: [7]https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk

 

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ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Dear Mr Gale 

 

Thank you for your email of 4 May, about University dyslexia assessment
standards and the SpLD Assessment Standards Committee (SASC).

 

It may help if I explain that SASC was set up following the 2005 report of
a working group on the assessment of dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and
attention deficit disorder in higher education, which was convened by the
(as the department was known at the time) Department for Education and
Skills. 

 

This was arranged following requests from local education authorities to
clarify what would constitute acceptable evidence of an SpLD in order
to qualify for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). The department has no
formal relationship with SASC. If you have any concerns about the guidance
issued by SASC you will need to take this up with them directly. The
departments remit in this matter extends only to the evidence that we can
accept to demonstrate eligibility for DSA. 

 

We are satisfied that our previous FOI response was correct. 

 

I must inform you that we will no longer be responding to
letters, emails or telephone calls from you on this particular subject.  

 

You have contacted the department several times outlining your concerns
about this issue and we have replied on each occasion. There is now
nothing more we are able to do to help you with this issue.  

 

I hope you will understand that this decision has not been taken lightly. 

  

If you write to us on any other subject, we will of course reply as
usual.   

Your correspondence has been allocated reference number 2021-0025548. If
you need to respond to us, please visit
[1]https://www.education.gov.uk/contactus and quote your reference number.

As part of our commitment to improving the service we provide to our
customers, we are interested in hearing your views and would welcome your
comments via our website at:
[2]https://form.education.gov.uk/service/TO....

Yours sincerely

E Lamb 

Ministerial and Public Communications Division

Web: [3]https://www.education.gov.uk
Twitter: [4]https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
Facebook: [5]https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk

 

References

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Dear ACCOUNT, Unmonitored,

Thank you for your attempt to clarify the relationship between the DfE and SASC.

Your response raises a requirement to then further clarify why the publicly available 'SpLD Test Evaluation Committee (STEC) (DfES Guidelines) September 2018' for SpLD assessment methodologies document exists.

Far from being pedantic, the requirement to clarify this document is driven by a court seeking to understand whether DfES Guidelines is a legitimate document. Questions include: whether this a DfE endorsed document, and whether SASC should be amending the title of the document.

The Minister should note that since SASC confirms its remit as only ensuring assessment standards within a specific methodology, there is no governance whatever to ensure that such methodologies and standards are adhered to by universities. One would expect it to be a matter for the Office for Students but they claim otherwise. To note, there is ample evidence that tests being commissioned by some universities do not meet the basic requirements laid out in the DfES guidelines.

What is really required is a definitive statement by the Minister to ensure proper governance and accountability. In the meantime can you please simply confirm whether the referenced document is endorsed by the DfE as appears to be suggested in its title, or is the title misleading / incorrect?

Yours sincerely

David Gale

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. We can confirm that
we have received the Freedom of Information request you submitted.

We will respond to you within 20 working days.

 

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Dear Mr Gale

Thank you for your further enquiry of 18 May, about Disabled Students’
Allowance (DSA) and the relationship between this department and the
Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) Assessment Standards Committee
(SASC). On this occasion, I have been asked to reply and I would like to
apologise for the delay in doing so, which is due to exceptionally high
volumes of correspondence received by the department at the present time.

 

It may be helpful for me to provide some background information on how
SASC came into being. In 2003 the then Department for Education and Skills
(DfES) convened a SpLD working group following requests from Local
Education Authorities (LEA) to clarify what would constitute acceptable
evidence of SpLD in order to qualify for DSA: at that time, the
administration of DSA was undertaken by LEAs. 

 

The final report, which was issued in 2005, was intended to be a guide for
those assessing SpLD in Higher Education students and a statement of what
was considered to be an acceptable standard expected from those carrying
out those assessments.

 

As part of their final report the working group also asked a small
committee, led by the Professional Association of Teachers of Students
with SpLDs (Patoss) and the British Dyslexia Association (BDA), to take a
lead in developing guidelines for the evaluation of applications for
assessment certificates from specialist teachers to ensure consistency. 

 

This committee, which was augmented by other professionals, would also
process applications from those wishing to become recognised as
assessors.  My understanding is that this group became the SASC. 

   

As previously stated, this department has no official relationship with
SASC, and you should note that we have no further information to offer on
the relationship between this department and SASC.

  

I hope this response is helpful. 

 

Your correspondence has been allocated reference number 2021-0027508. If
you need to respond to us, please visit
[1]https://www.education.gov.uk/contactus and quote your reference number.

 

As part of our commitment to improving the service we provide to our
customers, we are interested in hearing your views and would welcome your
comments via our website at:
[2]https://form.education.gov.uk/service/TO....

Yours sincerely

 

M Ingle 

Ministerial and Public Communications Division

Web: [3]https://www.education.gov.uk
Twitter: [4]https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
Facebook: [5]https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk

 

References

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5. https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk

Dear ACCOUNT, Unmonitored,

Thank you for your response of 21 June 2021. To note: at no point have I enquired about Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).

Sadly, the DfE has, yet again, failed to answer very basic questions of clarification within my previous communication of 18 May 2021:

1. "A requirement to then further clarify why the publicly available 'SpLD Test Evaluation Committee (STEC) (DfES Guidelines) September 2018' for SpLD assessment methodologies document exists."

2. "The requirement to clarify this document is driven by a court seeking to understand whether DfES Guidelines [2018] is a legitimate document."

3. "In the meantime can you please simply confirm whether the referenced document [in question one above] is endorsed by the DfE as appears to be suggested in its title, or is the title misleading / incorrect?"

Clearly, the current suggestion from the DfE is that the 2018 DfES Guidelines document should NOT be carrying a reference to DfES and that SASC approval and assessment methodologies carry no regulatory weight or approval from a government body whatever. Please confirm.

Please try to limit your response to addressing the questions being asked.

Yours sincerely,

David Gale

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. We can confirm that
we have received the Freedom of Information request you submitted.

We will respond to you within 20 working days.

 

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Department for Education

Dear Mr Gale 

In response to your enquiry of 21 June 2021 about the relationship between
this department and the Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) Assessment
Standards Committee (SASC), I must inform you that we will no longer be
responding to letters, emails or telephone calls from you on this
particular subject.  
 
You have contacted the department several times outlining your case and
asking us to provide information. We have already provided all the
information that we can on this point and there is now nothing more we can
say or do to help you with this issue.  

I hope you will understand that this decision has not been taken lightly. 

 

If you write to us on any other subject, we will reply as usual.  

 

Your correspondence has been allocated reference number 2021-0031465. If
you need to respond to us, please visit
[1]https://www.education.gov.uk/contactus and quote your reference number.

 

As part of our commitment to improving the service we provide to our
customers, we are interested in hearing your views and would welcome your
comments via our website at:
[2]https://form.education.gov.uk/service/TO....

Yours sincerely

 

M Ingle 

Ministerial and Public Communications Division

Web: [3]https://www.education.gov.uk
Twitter: [4]https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
Facebook: [5]https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk

 

References

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2. https://form.education.gov.uk/service/TO...
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