Level 7 Postgraduate Diploma: Specialist Assessment and Teaching for Literacy-Related Difficulties

This Postgraduate Diploma in literacy-related difficulties is appropriate for a wide range of teachers, practitioners and specialists who have a relevant classroom or student learning support experience including:

• Qualified teachers at all key stages, special educational needs teachers and co-ordinators (SENCOs)
• Tutors and support staff in Further and Higher Education and other adult educational settings
• Psychologists and Speech and language therapists with relevant experience

QUALIFICATIONS

Prospective students will have:

• Recent and relevant experience (at least two years) in a school or college in a teaching/teaching support role
• An honours degree or equivalent
• GCSE Maths grade C/4 or higher (or equivalent)
• Candidates with English as an additional language will need a high level of competence in the use of English, equivalent to a GCSE result of C/4 or an IELTS result of at least 6.5 (with a minimum of 6.0 in all components)
• See Regulations for Postgraduate (masters) programmes: realgroup.co.uk/postgraduate-programme-regulations/

Private tutors:
Private tutoring will partly count as recent and relevant experience and if you hold QTS/PGCE this will strengthen your application. You will need:

• Recent experience of working in a school/college is essential: If you are not currently school/college-based you will need to demonstrate that you are willing and able to work within an educational setting as part of your professional role. You will need to list a role within a school/college setting on your application i.e., you must find such a role before applying. This role can be voluntary; it does not have to be a teaching or paid role and can be, for example, listening to readers for at least 3 hours a week in a school setting. Please note: a role within a home-setting is not appropriate for safe-guarding reasons.

If you do not have any recent or substantial experience of working in school/college, you will need to show that you have found a placement for the teaching practice DAPP21-02 BEFORE you apply

Applicants who do not fulfil all the requirements above may be considered for ‘special entry’ if they can demonstrate other relevant academic and professional experience. Such applicants are advised to apply in the first instance and fully explain their experience in their application statement.

Please note: We reserve the right to reject any application that does not meet the criteria specified.

Are there any live sessions?

There are no ‘live’ lecturers, one-to-one tutorials or meeting provisions within the modules or requirements to be online at particular/set times of the day. The exception to this is if you decide to follow route 2 and opt for the intensive delivery method for the CCET course.

Working with a learner

You will be required to find learners whose main difficulties are with literacy and who are not currently receiving any other form of specialist teaching support. You can only teach a learner within a DfE registered state or independent school/college with a Unique Reference Number (URN). See: get-information-schools to find school and college URNs (this does not apply to those based overseas, although the school/college should be a registered organisation through the state authority). This can be a voluntary placement and you must be covered by the organisation’s DBS.

See: Module outlines above and the programme syllabus for further details.

After completion of the Postgraduate Diploma Specialist Assessment and Teaching for Literacy-Related Difficulties (option one or two) you will become a fully qualified Assessor which gives you eligibility to apply for an Assessment Practising Certificate (APC). You may also be interested in completing the Enquiry-Based Practice Module (M10 – 60 credits) with our sister company Real Training to gain the Masters in Professional Practice in Dyslexia and Literacy.

See: Programme syllabus for further details.

The Dyslexia Action Postgraduate programme is a competency-assessed course at Level 7, Master’s level, which requires tutor assessment of the candidate undertaking teaching and assessment. This means that other academic programmes that have not included competency assessment or are at a lower level (e.g. Level 5 or Level 6) will not qualify for recognition of prior learning (RPL).

For further details see: Recognition of Prior Learning

Postgraduate Certificate Specialist Teaching for Literacy-Related Difficulties 

• 6 October 2026
  and
• 6 April 2027
  Cost*: Apply for the programme, once accepted Module fees (payable in four instalments) are as follows:
  DAPP21-01: £2,195 +VAT
  DAPP21-02: £2,195 +VAT

There are no additional costs for International delegates.

For further information please visit our payment FAQ page

*Individual module prices may be subject to an annual increase on 1 October

Postgraduate Diploma Specialist Assessment and Teaching for Literacy-Related Difficulties

• 6 October 2026
  and
• 6 April 2027

• Cost* Apply for the programme, once accepted Module fees (payable in four instalments) are as follows:
  DAPP21-01: £2,195 +VAT
  DAPP21-02: £2,195 +VAT
  DAPP21-03: £2,195 +VAT
  DAPP-DPRW: £2,750 +VAT

  Please note: professional practice assessment test costs may also apply.

There are no additional costs for International delegates.

For further information please visit our payment FAQ page

*Individual module prices may be subject to an annual increase on 1 October

MEd in Professional Practice in Dyslexia and Literacy Option one

• 6 October 2026
  and
• 6 April 2027

MEd in Professional Practice in Dyslexia and Literacy Option two

• 6 October 2026
  and
• 6 April 2027

For further information please visit our payment FAQ page

Interested in applying? Please ensure you have read the syllabus document above and complete an application through the ‘How to Apply’ section.

6 April 2027 cohort – apply by 4 March 2027

We reserve the right to close applications early if the cohorts are full.

• Before applying, make sure you have the following documents ready to upload:
  • Relevant qualification certificate(s)
  • Degree certificate(s)
  • ID document
• Confirmation of application: You will receive a notification once your application has been submitted correctly.

Application Review
Your application will be reviewed by the:

1. Postgraduate Administrator who may contact you for additional details
2. Programme Manager for academic suitability, references may also be taken up at this time
   

Next Steps (Decision)

A decision on the outcome of your application usually takes up to 10 working days.

Professional Practice Materials

Applicants should note that the Dyslexia Action Postgraduate Diploma qualification is intended for individuals who wish to work as specialist literacy teachers/practitioners-assessors. You will need personal copies of your own test materials and you will then be able to use these for your own professional practice following the course. 
See: Module overviews for test requirements

You will be sent a full list of required resources including assessment tests, practical teaching materials, books and materials once you have registered for the course.

Dyslexia Action courses have been in existence for 50 years and have a national respected profile in specialist teacher training and support. Our courses meet several accreditation criteria reflecting the importance we place on the quality of our courses and high standards of teaching and learning which are intrinsic to our programmes.

The Postgraduate Diploma in Specialist Assessment and Teaching for Literacy-Related Difficulties confers eligibility for Member of The Dyslexia Guild (MDG) recognised as the first grade of professional membership for a specialist teacher/practitioner-assessor. Other membership bodies include the British Dyslexia Association for Associate Member of the British Dyslexia Association – AMBDA and PATOSS for Full membership. 

Free membership of The Dyslexia Guild

Delegates will automatically become student members of The Dyslexia Guild for the first year of their course while they are actively studying on a Postgraduate Certificate in Specialist Teaching, or Postgraduate Diploma in Specialist Assessment and Teaching Programme with Dyslexia Action. The Guild is a membership network and professional association for practitioners in Dyslexia and SpLD, which aims to promote discussion, information and best practice as well as keep members informed of developments in the field through publication and distribution of topical news, updates and maintenance of an up-to-date library. 

The Guild provides its members with a wealth of information relating to dyslexia and SpLDs through its online library (the National Resource Centre for Dyslexia), a single-easy to access online platform that produces focused search results accessible by members 24/7. The library is supported by a Chartered Librarian and provides a unique, e-resource collection, covering the fields of dyslexia and other co-occurring difficulties. Participants have access to an online collection of over 800 specialist e-books, hard copy books and resources as well as simultaneous access to an online EBSCO database of over 1,600 full-text education and psychology journals.