1. Suggested link this month Dyslexia Awareness Week 2013 Monday 14 th to Sunday 20 th October 2013 The theme for this year’s Dyslexia Awareness Week is Beyond Words. The aim of the week is to debunk the myth that dyslexia is just a difficulty with reading and spelling. Dyslexia is a phonological processing difficulty and this means that dyslexic people have trouble with a range of things including poor short term memory, maths difficulties, poor organisational skills. Throughout the week information and tips on the other difficulties that face dyslexic people will be provided. An information pack about the week filled with activities you could do can be obtained by emailing eorannl@bdadyslexia.org.ukeorannl@bdadyslexia.org.uk The Art, Inventors and Writing Competition will also be held during Dyslexia Awareness week in the age categories of Primary School, Secondary School and Adult. If you know of someone who has gone to great lengths to help dyslexics, perhaps a volunteer or a teacher, teaching assistant or dyslexia friendly organisation that has given special care and attention and brought out the best in dyslexic individuals, then please nominate them for one of the British Dyslexia Association Annual Awards. http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/get-involved-and- fundraising/dyslexia-awareness-week.html Youth Literacy and Employability Commission The Commission is a joint venture between the All Party Parliamentary Parliament Group on Literacy and the National Literacy Trust to gather evidence and make recommendations to Government on what action is required. An evidence session will be held in Parliament to hear from invited witnesses representing the three main stakeholders - employers, the education sector and young people themselves. Others can have their say by submitting online evidence. The call for evidence will be open until the end of July 2013. There is a strong link between literacy and employability in the UK: people with the lowest levels of literacy are the least likely to be employed while only 2% of families with good levels of literacy live in workless households. Despite this well-established link, employers consistently claim that the education system is failing to equip young people with the skills required for an increasingly competitive job market. In 2011, the CBI Skills report noted that 42% of employers are not satisfied with the literacy of school leavers and as a result 44% have to invest in remedial literacy. This is clearly linked to the growing issue of youth unemployment in the UK, where for the first time the number of 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) has passed one million recently. One of the most important factors in addressing social inequality is to ensure that school leavers have the literacy skills required to secure employment or further training. Furthermore, issues could be compounded in certain geographical areas if employers' concerns lead to disinvestment, as companies relocate to find a better skilled pool of potential staff. Read the full article here - http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/policy/literacy_and_employability_commission July 2013  www.everybodylearns.co.uk  support@everybodylearns.co.uk  01969 625542 We believe that everybody is entitled to be able to read well. We provide comprehensive learning systems and support to make this possible. Recommended website Are you looking for things to do with the family during the summer holidays. Discover free and not for profit activities for families, children and all ages run by the BBC and partners. Find activities near to you on the following website. http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo New Website Launches Everybody Learns Ltd are pleased to announce that our new and improved website will be launching soon at www.everybodylearns.co.ukwww.everybodylearns.co.uk The website will contain information, support and advice for parents who are worried about their child's reading ability or their progress at school. A free online reading test will also be available as well as up to date educational news and our blog. Did you know … The Summer Break is now known as six weeks of sun, fun and holidays but this was not always so. The summer break and other school holidays were during spring planting and early autumn harvests when children were needed at home. They would help with work in the fields or in the house during the busiest time of the agricultural calendar. Other breaks in the school year would often be for financial reasons as schools would shut due to a lack in funding to pay for coal to heat up the classrooms in wintertime.