The Dyslexia Day Centre will be closing at the end of this academic year saying it’s “too expensive to run”.
Parents and children received the news via a letter on Thursday 22 May, giving more details on the reasons of closure.
The DDC has been running as a charity for its whole existence, but it also used to get some money from the States.
That was revoked in 2023, when the Committee for Education, Sport, and Culture decided that each school would provide dyslexia teaching by their staff.
The DDC carried on offering after-school sessions, along with workshops, assessments and screenings for children and adults, but now it has said it can’t continue.
“Two years ago, the Director of Education decided that each school would provide dyslexia teaching by their staff. Therefore, they would no longer need our service,” wrote Theresa O’Hara, Manager of the Dyslexia Day Centre, in the letter to parents and service users.
“We have continued to raise funds to provide tuition and the running costs of the Centre. We have found over the years raising money is getting harder and everything is getting more expensive.”
The Centre opened in September 1986 when dyslexia was not recognised in Guernsey.
The service started with an educational psychologist and a teacher, said Mrs O’Hara.
“We raised money to pay for their training in London to become qualified Dyslexia Teachers and I became a temporary voluntary manager!”
Mrs O’Hara was compelled to help other children struggling with dyslexia after seeing her own son struggle with the learning difficulty during the 1980s.
Parents have already commented how saddened they are with the news that the DDC is closing, but also how amazing it has been in offering advice on next steps for their children’s dyslexia support journey, giving further details on onward teaching.
Mrs O’Hara has also praises the exceptional teachers the DDC has employed over the years.
“A special thanks must go to our present teachers, Miss Sally Nicolle, Mrs Angie McCarthy, Mrs Liz de Jersey and Mrs Jane Pearson.”
Current DDC parents and new inquiries can still be made to the DDC directly.