Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to give a minute of my time to Andrew R.T. Davies.

‘Life through a different lens’ pretty much sums up the experiences of people with dyslexia. Their way of seeing the world is changed, because they have dyslexia, which is defined as

‘a complex set of cognitive problems, which affects people in different ways and to different degrees.’

I aim to use this debate today to provide more information about the condition and highlight some of the experiences of dyslexics, and I want to suggest ways of enhancing the effectiveness of the current provision.

Dyslexia can affect all ages, but would normally show itself first in childhood. In years gone by, pupils would have been told that they were stupid, couldn’t read properly, were lazy, and definitely untidy with their handwriting. However, it is becoming more common for dyslexia to be diagnosed early, and it is this early detection that enables the intervention that is so critical to forging a successful educational flight path for a dyslexic child. Close to 10 per cent of the UK population has dyslexia; in real terms that’s more than 6.3 million people. Extrapolate this figure for Wales, and we could safely say that over half a million people are living with dyslexia here. Dyslexia can have a devastating effect on pupils’ education and their life chances. We already face challenges with one in 10 pupils leaving primary school not reaching the required levels in reading and one in six adults still only having the reading skills of an 11-year-old. What is also worrying is that pupils with special educational needs are around 10 times more likely to receive a permanent exclusion than pupils with no special education needs.