A mum whose daughter is dyslexic has described a move by former Health Secretary Matt Hancock for all pupils to be screened for dyslexia when they leave primary school as "a great step forward".

Alexandra Castle appeared on this evening's Lowdown, our live debate show that's streamed on Facebook, Twitter and on KMTV.

Ms Castle, who has also recently set up a petition to make exams more dyslexic friendly, explained how her daughter was only diagnosed at the age of 10 and the only route for them was to go private.

She said: "It's a really great step forward, earlier diagnosis will have an impact on self esteem of the child who can really easily be made to feel that they're thick or not intelligent enough.

"The earlier the diagnosis and the more accepted it becomes, the easier it will be.

"If it were introduced, teachers' awareness [will] improve a little bit more and their teaching methods, awareness and strategies for dyslexia would improve as well.

"So many don't get diagnosed until later in life. How many more opportunities would they have if they were diagnosed earlier?"

Ms Castle joined KMTV's Phil Welbrook and assistant head teacher Keir Williams, who also helps screen people for the condition, on tonight's show.

Mr Williams added: "I think it's fantastic that dyslexia and neurodiverse conditions are being raised in Parliament.

"A lot of people I assess are in secondary school and they've always known there's difficulty or they struggled but do not know what it is.

"It is only later on as they progress that they realise they have some difficulties to keep up. But early identification, especially in school, would go a long way to addressing these difficulties.

Mr Williams also said it was helpful for teachers to be able to spot the signs themselves, but that screening pupils earlier then teachers, as well as parents, won't have to look out for the signs themselves.

The conversation comes after Conservative MP Matt Hancock, who found out he was dyslexic at university, called for the early screenings.