Learn How to Diagnose Dyslexia
Gain your APC and become a qualified Specialist Assessor. Becoming a qualified Specialist Assessor is closer than you think. Our combined Level 5 and Level 7 pathway gives you everything you need to apply for an Assessment Practising Certificate (APC) and start writing diagnostic assessment reports (DARs)
Specialists Trained
Who can diagnose dyslexia in the UK?
A formal diagnostic assessment of dyslexia, the kind that is recognised for Disabled Students’ Allowance, exam access arrangements and workplace adjustments, can only be carried out by one of two professionals.
Educational Psychologist
A chartered Educational Psychologist holds a doctoral-level qualification and is registered with the HCPC. The route typically takes seven or more years and is highly competitive.
- Doctoral training (typically 3 years post-undergraduate)
- Highly competitive university places
- Broad scope across many areas of psychology
Specialist Teacher with an APC
A qualified Specialist Teacher who holds a current Assessment Practising Certificate is fully recognised to diagnose dyslexia and other specific learning differences.
- Accessible to teachers, SENCOs, tutors and career-changers
- Practical, hands-on training rather than essay-driven
- Approximately 2 years from start to finish
- Flexible, remote study around work and family
Assessment Practising Certificates
An Assessment Practising Certificate (APC) is the professional credential that allows a Specialist Teacher to carry out diagnostic assessments and write reports that are accepted nationally. An Assessment Practising Certificate underpins a specialist teacher / assessor’s qualifications and competence to undertake full diagnostic assessments for dyslexia / Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD).
What it lets you do
Carry out full diagnostic assessments for children, young people and adults, and write SASC-compliant reports.
Where it's recognised
Reports written by APC-holders are accepted for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA), exam access arrangements, and workplace adjustments under the Equality Act.
How you become eligible
Complete the required units of an accredited Level 7 Diploma (such as ours), then apply to one of the three SASC-recognised professional membership bodies: Patoss, The Dyslexia Guild and The British Dyslexia Association (BDA).
Renewal
Assessment Practising Certificates (APCs) are current for three years. To ensure that your APC covers your assessment practice, up to 6 months before it expires you have the opportunity to renew your APC by submitting a continuing professional development (CPD) log and a diagnostic assessment report.
Where you can practise
As an independent specialist, or within schools, colleges, universities, assessment centres, charities and workplace settings.
Two starting points, one destination
Our Level 7 Diploma is the qualification that opens the door to your APC. How you get there depends on what you have done already.
I already have a Level 5
If you already hold a Level 5 Diploma in teaching learners with dyslexia, specific learning differences and barriers to literacy, you can move straight to units 2 and 3 of our Level 7 Diploma.
- Level 7 units 2 and 3 only
- Approximately 12 months
- Apply for your APC on completion
I'm starting from scratch
Most candidates come to us new to specialist teaching. The good news: our Level 5 Diploma IS Level 7 units 4 and 5. You are already part-way through the Level 7 the moment you finish Level 5.
- Year 1: Level 5 Diploma (= Level 7 units 4 and 5)
- Years 2 and 3: Level 7 units 2 and 3
- Apply for your APC on completion
- One continuous pathway, no wasted study
Qualifications and experience
There is no requirement to have any previous experience before embarking on this route. Many candidates arrive with significant qualifications or years of teaching experience behind them, and others are starting from the beginning. Both are welcome!
SASC (the SpLD Assessment Standards Committee), which sets the standards for the qualifications leading to an APC, does not operate a Recognised Prior Learning (RPL) framework. Every candidate completes the same Level 5 and Level 7 content, irrespective of their academic or professional background. The Level 5 covers a specific body of practical, multisensory teaching skills that diagnostic assessment is built upon, and the awarding professional memberships organisations require direct evidence of those skills before issuing an APC.
This consistency is part of what gives the APC its credibility, and part of why our graduates are so highly valued in the field.
If you are not sure where you stand, book a chat with us. We will look at your specific background and be straight with you about what it means for your route.
What experience does give you
- Confidence with learners from day one of teaching practice
- A richer context for the theory you will cover
- Examples you can draw on throughout your portfolio
- A faster, more assured passage through the course
The fastest route to diagnosing dyslexia
Here is exactly how the combined Level 5 and Level 7 pathway works, step by step.
Level 5 Diploma
Train as a Specialist Teacher with two learners. The same content also counts as units 4 and 5 of the Level 7 Diploma, so nothing is wasted.
Level 7 Units 2 & 3
Continue straight into the assessment-focused units. Learn to assess, write diagnostic reports and present findings.
Apply for your APC
Apply directly to PATOSS, the BDA, PASSHE or The Dyslexia Guild. Once issued, you are qualified to diagnose dyslexia.
What you'll be qualified to do
Holding an APC opens up a flexible, rewarding career working with learners of all ages.
Full diagnostic assessments
For children, young people and adults across all settings.
DSA-accepted reports
Support university students with Disabled Students' Allowance applications.
Exam access arrangements
Provide evidence for JCQ access arrangements at school and college.
Workplace assessments
Help employers meet their duties under the Equality Act 2010.
Independent practice
Run your own private assessment service, on your own terms.
In-house roles
Work within schools, colleges, universities and assessment centres.
Pricing
Two clear pathways, depending on where you are starting from. Payment by instalments is available on request.
Already have Level 5
Level 7 units 2 and 3 only
- 12 months of study
- Dedicated Assessor throughout
- Weekly Zoom sessions during practice
- All registration fees included
- Eligible to apply for APC on completion
Starting from scratch
Combined Level 5 + Level 7 pathway
- Approximately 2-3 years of study
- Year 1 Level 5 (= Level 7 units 4 & 5)
- Years 2 Level 7 units 2 & 3
- One continuous pathway, no wasted study
- Eligible to apply for APC on completion
Speak with a specialist
Book an informal chat with Julia, who will explain the APC pathway in more detail and answer any questions you may have.
Have a question?
Please fill out the contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
What Awarding Bodies say about Dyslexia Matters' training provision
An ‘excellent centre’
It ‘delivers courses of an exceptionally high standard turning out well-prepared teachers and Assessors who are prized by the organisations for which they work’
Delivered ‘well respected and nationally recognised gold standard qualification for teachers and Assessors of learners with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties’
Known as ‘a centre of excellence in the provision of these courses’
‘Portfolios show a high level of knowledge and understanding of the course standards and requirements. This Centre provides excellent training’
‘All Assessors are extremely competent, highly qualified and experience’
‘End-users and employers of the trained candidates were surveyed. These evaluations and feedback demonstrate the value of this course and the high satisfaction with which they are regarded’
Frequently Asked Questions
In most cases, no. Level 7 units 4 and 5 are the same content as our Level 5 Diploma, and they are a prerequisite for the assessment-focused units 2 and 3. The good news is that if you start with our Level 5, you have already completed those Level 7 units, so the combined pathway is fully continuous with no duplicated work.
No. We have trained hundreds of Specialist Teachers from a wide range of backgrounds, including teaching assistants, SENDCOs, tutors, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, parents, and people changing careers. What you need is a genuine interest in supporting learners and the time to commit to the course.
A Teaching Practising Certificate (TPC) qualifies you to teach learners with dyslexia and SpLDs at a specialist level. An Assessment Practising Certificate (APC) qualifies you to diagnose them. Our Level 5 Diploma supports the TPC route; the full Level 5 plus Level 7 pathway is the route to an APC.
Yes. Once you hold a current APC issued by a SASC-recognised professional body (PATOSS, the BDA, PASSHE or The Dyslexia Guild), your diagnostic reports are accepted for Disabled Students’ Allowanceand workplace assessments under the Equality Act 2010. Where assessors work closely with schools they will be able to assess for JCQ exam access arrangements.
Yes. Payment by instalments is available on request, and several of our candidates have been fully or partly funded by their school or workplace. We are also registered with ELCAS, so applicants from the Armed Forces can apply for funding through the Enhanced Learning Credits scheme.
