Where pupils with a specific learning difficulty are, and where the Dyslexia Network is
Every school in England records its pupils’ special educational needs, and the Department for Education counts them council by council. The British Dyslexia Association publishes the charities of its Dyslexia Network. This puts the two side by side.
This is a map, not an assessment, and nobody here can advise you. For a child, the place to start is their school. A local dyslexia association can help too — find yours under Find a charity.
180,217pupils in England with a specific learning difficulty
Pupils whose main special educational need, as their school records it, is a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia, January 2026.
48 of 152areas of England where a Dyslexia Network charity records working
Counties and unitary authorities a network charity names on the Charity Commission register.
37.8%of those pupils go to school in an area with one
Counted by the council area of their school.
4 of 31of the most deprived areas in England have one
Against 12 of the 30 least deprived.
What the BDA says, and what the map shows
The BDA says: “Please note that local associations provide support and information for their local authority area.” A network charity records working in 48 of England’s 152 council areas, where 37.8% of pupils with a specific learning difficulty go to school.
The largest count where no network charity records working is Kent: 4,598 pupils with a specific learning difficulty. The BDA’s page does list Dyslexia House Association for it, and the register does not show it working there.
Where the Dyslexia Network is
England’s counties and unitary authorities, split into five equal groups by the published measure of deprivation — the share of each area’s neighbourhoods in the most deprived tenth nationally.
| Deprivation | Areas | A Dyslexia Network charity shows |
|---|---|---|
| Least deprived fifth | 30 | 12 of 30 |
| Second | 30 | 17 of 30 |
| Middle | 31 | 7 of 31 |
| Fourth | 30 | 8 of 30 |
| Most deprived fifth | 31 | 4 of 31 |
There is no steady pattern with deprivation. Comparing the two ends: one is present in 4 of the 31 most deprived areas and 12 of the 30 least deprived. That is a finding about where Dyslexia Network charities are, not about how much help anybody gets.
By kind of council
Every county and unitary authority, by the kind of council it is. London boroughs and metropolitan boroughs are the big cities and their conurbations; counties are mostly rural and small-town England; the unitary councils are a mix, many of them cities.
| Kind of council | Areas | A Dyslexia Network charity shows | Share of pupils with a specific learning difficulty at school where one shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| London boroughs | 33 | 14 of 33 | 49.1% |
| Metropolitan boroughs | 36 | 8 of 36 | 22.1% |
| Unitary councils in England | 59 | 14 of 59 | 25.7% |
| Counties | 24 | 12 of 24 | 50.7% |
See the areas where no network charity records working, and what that does not mean →
The charities themselves
The BDA’s page lists 36 charities in the Dyslexia Network — 30 local and 6 working nationally — each under the areas it serves. 30 of them are on the register for England and Wales. The typical one — the median — reported income of £8,362 in its latest accounts. The BDA says: “The BDA hosts the Dyslexia Network, made up of charities working towards shared aims of supporting and campaigning for people with dyslexia.”
What this is for
Two readers, and they want different things.
- A parent, or a dyslexic adult. The list is here to find the local association, with its own website.
- Somebody arguing about support for dyslexic children. This sets the pupils schools record beside the charities that exist, council by council, rather than asserting either.
This was built without asking you, from information you and others already publish, to show what is possible rather than to speak for you. If you would rather it came down, say so and it comes down, and you do not have to give a reason. If you would rather it were built properly — with your own figures for the people each one works with — that is the more interesting conversation.