Another dyslexia question.

[Vixxxen]

A private assessment costs between £400-£500 right?

But if a school agree to refer the child for an assessment, who pays the bill? The school, LEA?

I think the school have to pay it but they probably get some sort of allowance a year to put towards assessments. I might be completely wrong. I think if it is requested by the community paediatrician then perhaps the school budget is bypassed but not sure about that.

If it's a state school and they've referred your DC then the LEA Ed Psych will do it and you don't pay anything.

It doesn't matter who pays as long as it's within the school system.
It's a service provided by the ed psychs to schools but I don't know if it comes out of the school's budget- I have always assumed that as the ed psychs were employed by the LEA it didn't come out of the school budget.

Paediatricians do not refer for dyslexia assessments. Paediatricians are doctors, employed by the NHS not the LEA, and assess for ADHD not dyslexia. The school SENCO or class teacher and of course ultimately the head does this.

The downside of having an LEA assessment is often there is a wait for 6 months, and the depth of the assessment is often limited- I have seen dozens from private ed psychs and LEA ed psychs and there is no comparison.

LEAs seem to avoid noting overall ability (IQ) on the reports for some reason as if it's not PC yet this is a crucial factor in assessing dyslexia as some children with general learning problems can present with dyslexia too.