Jamie Oliver wants dyslexic children to know their worth in new documentary
Jamie Oliver is known for his campaign to get children eating better food in schools - but now, he’s setting his sights on improving education for the 1.3 million children with dyslexia in the UK.
The TV chef, who has been outspoken about his own struggle with dyslexia in school, is working on a new documentary with Channel 4, in which he will highlight the challenges faced by children with dyslexia.
"Oliver will also call on the government to make the changes needed to help children like him, so he can look 13-year-old kids, who are struggling with reading, in the eye and say to them: 'You are NOT worthless'."
He told The Sun on Sunday that while he was "lucky" because he knew he wanted to become a chef, other children may not be as fortunate. "What happens to those who don’t know where to go?" he said.
"We can’t leave kid’s futures up to luck. We need the education system to update, so everyone has the best possible chance in life."
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that causes problems with reading, writing and spelling, and affects an estimated one in every 10 people in the UK to some degree.
Oliver’s forthcoming documentary, which doesn't have a release date yet, comes as MPs warn that there may be a "lost generation" of children who are leaving school without getting the support they need for their special educational needs and disabilities (Send).
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has found that the Send system is "in disarray", writing in a damning report that it is "mired in red tape, lacking funding and failing to produce value for money".
It is estimated that there are 1.7 million school-aged Send children in England, most of whom will be taught in mainstream schools.
Those with further needs are legally entitled to more support via an education, health and care plan (EHCP). However, the PAC report said there were just 576,000 children with an EHCP as of January 2024, despite demand for ECHPs soaring by 140% in the last decade.
"The PAC finds that too many families struggle to access desperately-needed SEN support, with a system inherently favouring parents and carers better able to navigate an often chaotic and adversarial process liable to produce marked inequalities," the report said.
Watch: Jamie Oliver says cooking ‘makes you a better person’
MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the committee, said: "The immensity of this situation cannot be overstated. As a nation, we are failing countless children. We have been doing so for years.
"At the same time, we are creating an existential financial risk for some local authorities, caused by that same failing system. This report must serve as a line in the sand for government. Every day that goes by for families not receiving the right support is another day closer to a lost generation of young people."
In 2023, Oliver opened up about how dyslexia impacts his career as an author. Despite struggling with the learning difficulty throughout his life, Oliver is the second-best-selling British author, behind JK Rowling, and the best-selling British non-fiction author since records began.
Reflecting on his book-writing process after releasing his first children’s book ever, he said: "Being dyslexic, I’ve had to come up with my own way of writing. I’ve never had a problem with ideas or bringing things to life - it’s getting it down on paper that’s a challenge.
"Words on a page have always been the enemy, so to write 27 cookbooks and now, a book like Billy & The Giant Adventure, has been huge for me.
"My dyslexia has meant I approach writing as a whole experience - not just words but photography, design, font and application (what kind of paper, what kind of layout). I’m very visceral."
Read more about dyslexia:
BBC's Matt Baker opens up about his dyslexia diagnosis and its impact on his TV career (DevonLive, 2-min read)
Five lesser-known dyslexia symptoms, as Zoe Saldaña opens up about learning disorder (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
Sir Richard Branson launches free-to-access online university DyslexicU (PA Media, 3-min read)
