Sarah Melhuish BEd (Hons)
AMBDA - Associate Member Of The British Dyslexia Association.
Postgraduate Diploma In Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia).
Assessment Practising Certificate - PATOSS, SASC.
36 years Local Authority Education Professional, 33 years of which helping children with special educational needs.
A recent testimonial
"Sarah has a wealth of experience in SEN and in particular Dyslexia so I felt I was in safe hands. An initial discussion on the phone with Sarah confirmed that my concerns regarding my daughter are well-founded. She is a bright articulate and hard working pupil but started to struggle with some aspects of school work in Year 5 and starting Year 6 which seemed to largely involve working memory and processing speed. Sarah consulted with the school and completed her diagnostic assessment at the school. The report is comprehensive with lots of recommendations for home and school to trial to help support her and develop strategies, so that it does not become a barrier to her learning in the future.
Thank you Sarah for your advice and support, it is very much appreciated".
Parent & SENCO December 2024
About Me
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My name is Sarah Melhuish and I am a qualified teacher with over 30 years of experience in education - much of it spent working for Somerset Local Authority as an Advisory Teacher with the Learning Support Service. This work involves supporting schools in their work with children with Special Educational Needs including Dyslexia. My work involved training teachers and learning support staff in the best ways to support children with learning difficulties and Dyslexia.
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Early on in my teaching career I decided I would specialise in working with children who were finding it more difficult to learn than their peers. I worked as a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) in schools for around 15 years where I was able to combine working with individuals and small groups of children with SEN as well as training staff and supporting parents to help their children at home
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When I first started teaching Dyslexia was not widely recognised but there were clearly children who were unexpectedly struggling with the academic aspects of school despite being articulate and knowledgeable. I decided to pursue my interest in this further and embarked on a two year postgraduate course. In 2000 I gained a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Advanced Professional Studies in Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia) from the University of Plymouth. This enabled me to apply for and be awarded with an Assessment Practising Certificate (APC) that qualifies me to assess and offer advice to young people with dyslexia.
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I am member of PATOSS (Professional Association of Teachers of Students with Specific Learning Difficulties) and an associate member of the British Dyslexia Association.
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I am based in Taunton and work primarily across the South West.
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