Sarah Beard
Dyslexia Assessor and Dyslexia Specialist Tutor, Centre Director
Sarah is the founder and director of SJB assessments and Dyslexia solutions online ( formerly dittas). She is a Dyslexia Consultant with extensive experience teaching and assessing learners of all ages, having worked for over twenty-five years supporting dyslexic learners, including many years in a College of Further Education. Sarah also lectures locally and nationally on the subject of dyslexia and SpLD and has trained over 300 teachers to become Dyslexia Specialists in teaching and assessing students with SpLD (Dyslexia). She was a joint founder of the PAPAA course, a nationally recognised qualification in assessing Access Arrangements. Sarah offers assessments for all ages and tutors children aged 6-14. She regularly attends training events to supplement her Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and believes that you never stop learning.
Sarah has three dyslexic children of her own (all adults now), so she understands the struggle that parents have with getting their child’s needs recognised. She is passionate about helping dyslexic students and those who support them. When you call DITTAS, Sarah will always be the first person you speak to and is happy to answer any questions you may have.
Cathy
Dyslexia Assessor
APC – Assessor for all ages, including DSA, Workplace and Exam Access Arrangements
Cathy returned to teaching over fiteeen years ago as a result of seeing how learners with SpLDs often struggled to have their difficulties recognised.
She has now been assessing both children and adults for a number of years, including assessing for DSA, Workplace and Exam Access Arrangements. Cathy has conducted many assessments for dittas over a period of eight years and works from a business centre in Croydon.
Sharon
Dyslexia Specialist Tutor
Sharon generally works with students in Key Stage 3 and upwards. She has worked in a large secondary school for many years and gained experience working with students with a wide range of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Her passion has always been literacy and reading and she enjoys nothing more than escaping into the pages of a book - this is where her interest in dyslexia and working with students with literacy difficulties stems from.
Sharon gained her dyslexia qualifications in 2013 and 2016 to allow her to fully develop her knowledge and skills. Tutoring allows her to really get to know a young person and work closely with them to make a positive difference to their confidence and their skills.
Karen
Specialist Teacher and Assessor
Karen developed her interests in dyslexia and specific learning difficulties when working within the Special Educational Needs Department of a large secondary school. Karen supported students in the classroom as well as delivering 1-2-1 and small group tuition daily.
Karen is a qualified Specialist Teacher in Dyslexia and Specific Learning Difficulties (Level 5) and recently qualified as an Assessor of Learners with Dyslexia/Specific Learning Difficulties (Level 7). She has been awarded her Assessing Practicing Certificate through PATOSS (Professional Association of teachers of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties).
"Being able to provide specialist 1:2:1 teaching is extremely rewarding. The teaching I provide is multisensory, child-centered, and adaptable, as well as being fun and positive. I believe using our senses and strengths improves learning, making learning more memorable and enjoyable."
Francesca
Speech and Language Therapist, Founder of Allied Health and Therapies Network
Francesca is a Speech and Language Therapist who offers Speech and Language Therapy and Speech and Language Assessments. She works in a number of london and Kent schools with children of all ages and has extensive experience in ASD
Penny
Dyslexia Specialist Tutor
Penny is a qualified dyslexia specialist and has over 16 years’ experience working in education, where she delivers interventions daily to learners age 5 – 11 years old.
She has been awarded her teaching practice certificate from PATOSS (the Professional Association of Teachers of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties) and she supports learners through online tutoring by creating an individualised programme to meet their needs and interests.
Penny's aim and passion is to help build learners’ self-esteem and confidence, discover the way they learn best and enable them to reach their full potential.
Mary
Dyslexia Specialist Tutor
Mary has over 20 years’ experience working as a specialist SpLD teacher in the private and state schools’ sectors, supporting students aged 5 to 14 with both literacy and maths. She is now working as a private tutor and believes that it is important to bolster students’ confidence and self-esteem. Her lessons are personalised for pupils to help them study in the way best suited to their learning styles, and include interactive and fun activities.
Luthfa
Dyslexia Specialist Tutor
Luthfa has over 13 years of expertise as a primary school teacher and SEND intervention lead in schools around East London. She has spent this time working directly with students of all learning abilities and categories, including those who have autism, down syndrome, physical, and sensory impairments. She now has knowledge of various disabilities and requirements, which enables her to provide individualised and pupil-centred plans. Luthfa works part-time as a private dyslexia tutor for primary and secondary students in addition to her job as an exam access arrangements assessor. She provides all her students with a multisensory, structured, cumulative, and phonically based programme.
English is Luthfa's area of expertise and focus, and as a former English Coordinator, Luthfa observed that students struggled with literacy as opposed to other subjects. To better comprehend and support her learners, she felt compelled to finish a Masters in Special and Inclusive Education and a Level 7 Postgraduate Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia).
Nicola Howard
Dyslexia Specialist Tutor
Nicola has over 15 years teaching experience working first in Further Education and then in Primary Schools. As a class teacher, she was particularly passionate about finding the most effective way to help learners who found it challenging to develop foundational literacy skills. She decided to specialise in supporting learners with literacy difficulties, became Reading, Phonics and Intervention Lead Teacher at her school and qualified as a Specialist Teacher/Assessor of Dyslexia and Literacy Difficulties.
She loves working 1:1 with learners as she is able to find out about their unique strengths, difficulties and learning styles to be able to give them the tailored and high-quality support that they need to make great progress in their learning and confidence.
In her free time, when she is not reading, she loves spending time cliff-top walking, paddle-boarding and bird-watching (ideally with a nice cup of coffee!).
Nicola Harbisher
Dyslexia Specialist Tutor
Nicola has over 20 years’ experience of working in secondary schools as a French and Spanish teacher and, more recently, as a Specialist Teacher delivering 1-2-1 Literacy and Study Skills Interventions.
Nicola first became interested in dyslexia when she, herself, was diagnosed in her final year at the University of St Andrews. Then, some years later, having a daughter with dyslexia prompted her to train at UCL to become a Specialist Teacher in Dyslexia (Level 5) and a Dyslexia Assessor (Level 7). Nicola has been awarded her Assessing Practising Certificate through the British Dyslexia Association.
Combining both her empathy from personal experience with her professional background, Nicola is passionate about supporting her students and equipping them with the skills to become confident and independent learners. Lessons are bespoke, fun, multi-sensory, and learner-led and they follow current evidence-based practices.
