Need info on private school for services nephew with dyslexia in the Hampshire area.

[Convexbetty]

My sister is married to a man in the armed services and currently living abroad. Her ds has expressed an desire to go to boarding school, he is very unhappy where he is at the moment and there is only one school. They feel he was well supported with his learning needs at primary but have felt let down at secondary level. He is 11 and in year 7.
I am in the uk so have said I would help look.

He is working at mainly level 3 for the core subjects which I know is below his age. I know little about the independent sector so I'm not sure about entrance exams and selective ed based on high academic abilities.

They are looking for somewhere at about £3500 a term.

Are there any particular sites or forums where is could find out about schools as I have tried typing a variety of titles into search engines and not found what I need.

Any help would be appreciated.

[LIZS]

This may be as starting point . Not all are academically selective. If she can broaden the area Slindon College and Seaford College both are strong on SEN provision , as is Box Hill. Alternatively he could do Year 7 & 8 in a prep school and enter secondary at 13+. However 3.5k won't stretch far in SE England, would that be day fees or boarding?

[AuntieStella]

Has she asked CEAS for advice? and is there any particular reason why they are looking for a school whose fees are so far below allowance ceiling? Know they have to pay a proportion (10%?) but the level they are talking about paying would mean probably limiting their hunt to state boarding schools (where as an Armed Forces family, they would be in a priority admissions category).

[goinggetstough]

Hi,
It is important to contact CEAS who will be able to inform your sister whether their DS is entitled SENA which is an additional allowance to the normal CEA for boarding school if your DC has special needs. This is because specialist schools are often more expensive. There are strict criteria but it is important to ask to see if they will qualify.

Also look at the CReSTeD website crested.org.uk/index.html which is a register of schools which gives different levels of help to dyslexic DCs. However, there are reasons that schools choose not to be registered with them so a school can be good for dyslexics and not be on their register.

Auntie you mention 10% can i just clarify that an Armed Forces family must pay a minimum of 10% of the fees per child. And for those that are still unsure the Continuity of Education Allowance is available to ALL serving members of HM Forces who qualify and is not rank related in any way.

[Convexbetty]

With regards to money, we only worked it out roughly as they can pay £70 to £80 a month as the 10%

Thanks for replies. I'll get looking, pass on links and ask about ceas.

[Convexbetty]

Sorry, yes he would be boarding.

[LIZS]

Even state boarding schools can charge 4k + per term, sorry but they may have to been more realistic. This may be a place to start looking although I think the info may be a little out of date and the sbsa website doesn't work atm

[beboo]

Convexbetty...how did your sister get on? Is she still looking???
If so, get her to look at Forres Sandle Manor school in Hampshire..apart from having brilliant learning centre they have a lot of military families there so would prob be able to help with the whole CEA thing..
I have 3 DC there at the mo; we are really lucky in that we get v generous bursary. I was really worried that we wouldn't be able to "keep up" with the families that pay the full fees but couldn't have been more wrong-fab place!

[handcream]

Have to agree with some other posters. I pay £10k PER TERM for boarding for a 15 year old.... I have a friend who uses a private day school who has a DS with dyslexia and they are paying nearly £10k a term with the extra lessons and support he needs. Shocking prices.

[Lonecatwithkitten]

£3500 per term I afraid is unrealistic I am in that area and pay £3900 basic fees for day at what is felt as a cheap private school for juniors. I am moving to different senior and it will be £4400.
I do have a friend whose son had very similar problems and sent to Wycliffe not in Hampshire I know, but not that far away. Most of the boarders are service children. It was a massive turning point for her son and he has blossomed academically in a huge way. The school sat down and look not just at his ability, but at deployments. He had just got reading when his Daddy was sent to A the school felt this was very responsible for a lot of the problems and the army paid for the additional help.

[TeenAndTween]

No idea on costs, but Stanbridge Earls near Romsey is a dyslexia specialist.

However there have been massive issues with not keeping children safe there, not sure of current situation, believe head (and governors?) have been replaced, but Ofsted still weren't happy last thing I heard.

[kernowal]

www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/CARE/SC012020

The latest Ofsted report on Stanbridge Earls.

[Mutteroo]

Stanbridge Earls is closing down. Another school based in Surrey is taking over the site. Sorry I'm unsure of the new school's name, but believe they're also a specialist SEN school.

Hope the OP's sister found a great school.

[Talkinpeace]

"Stanbridge Earls" is closing, but there will be dyslexia provision on that site under utterly different management pretty soon : as there is not slack in teh system to take all the kids currently at the school

[Copthallresident]

Our borough sends 20 or so Dyslexic boys to More House School, Frensham, Surrey www.morehouseschool.co.uk/ an hour long commute each way. It's not far over the Surrey border. Around 8k per term boarding.

[trinity0097]

We also send a few children in the More House direction if they cannot cope with our mainstream independent school. I know one colleague who has a son there who is very pleased with how he is doing and the pastoral support he is getting.

[Pyrrah]

Not in Hampshire - but might be an idea looking at Christ's Hospital. It's full-boarding for a start which means there will always be children there at weekends and they have a very unique system of fees.

Not sure how they deal with dyslexia though.

All the other state boarding schools I know of are academically selective, but do/did have a high proportion of forces families.

[Pyrrah]

Ah, just seen that he's at L3 in Y7 - basically for selective secondaries you need to be a L3 at the end of KS2 - Y4, so he's way too far behind to have any chance I'm afraid.