Mike Styles, CEO of Dyslexia Consulting and Hidden Talents is proud to announce a significant initiative to support the 10% of the population who have dyslexia.
Mike led the initiative to develop and implement the Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark (DFQM). The DFQM was funded by the Tertiary Education Commission – a New Zealand government agency and tailored to a New Zealand context. The target audience is tertiary education providers and those “education-adjacent” organisations who provide services to a similar sector of the community, like health and well-being organisations. In time it is hoped that the initiative will spread to organisations, both private sector and government agencies.
If organisations meet the standards, they will be awarded the Quality Mark for a three -year period. The standards are comprehensive and holistic. All aspects of an organisation’s operations are covered, from board and senior management to front line practitioners.
The Value Proposition
There has to be something in it for the organisation going through and securing the DFQM. Feedback from the organisations who have signed up so far see three main benefits: –
- Learners or clients with dyslexia will feel safe to attend the institution
- Having the DFQM will be a point of difference and a focus of PR and marketing.
- The DFQM standards will provide a focus for quality professional development for staff in tertiary education institutions. What is good practice for learners and others with dyslexia is good practice overall.
“The most exciting thing about the DFQM standards”, says Styles, “is that they serve to make dyslexia a more visible thing. This will enable the skills and talents of people with dyslexia to be fully explored”.
The DFQM is a New Zealand initiative, but there is no reason why a similar product could not be developed for Australia.