Do private schools accept children with sn?

[DorothyL]

Or do only certain ones do? Ds has a physical disability as well as mild learning difficulties.

[ooerrmissus]

Depends on the school. Some will be entirely results focussed and will not be willing or able to offer support. Others are more accepting and supportive of a range of abilities and will be able to support children with SN. The only way to know would be to ask. Speak to the Head of Learning Support. Make sure they have some understanding of what your DCs needs are likely to be. Some schools like to talk the talk but don't actually walk the walk IYSWIM.

[TheoriginalLEM]

why private? you need the school that can provide your ds with the best support. that may well be better provided in a state school

[DorothyL]

I am not set on private, but I am worried about ds being in a comprehensive school bottom set group, where often behaviour difficulties are rife.

[meditrina]

Yes, some are set up specifically for it.

For the mainstream schools, they have to comply with Disabilities Act but what the actual provision is like varies. You'll need to talk to the learning support departments about your DD's needs, what support she's had so far, and what they can offer.

And check the school layout for accessibility, and how much (if any) is Grade 1 listed as that means physical modification may be out.

[meditrina]

Sorry! Your DS (my bad).

[TheoriginalLEM]

i share that concern as my dd is severely dyslexic. i don't have the choice of private.

i just have to pray that my shy, kind, hard working little girl will get the support she needs in groups where children will be disengaged due to the obstacles they face.

That wont be any different in private school.

[BakewellStart]

Private schools are independent private enterprises that choose how they run themselves. In a nut shell this means some will have fantastic SN provision and some even specialise in it. It also means some wont at all.

You need to inquire at all of your local schools and see what SN provision they can realistically provide and make a decision from there.

Good luck with your search.

[RalphSteadmansEye]

Ds has SEN (ASD) and is at a non-selective independent school which caters fabulously for students with AS, dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADD etc. So well, in fact, that the LEA place lots of children there because they don't really cater very well for mild lds (no autism units in any of the comps - but excellent severe ld provision in the county). Pastoral care is fabulous. Peers are lovely and very inclusive/tolerant.

Wrt physical difficulties, there is a lift and there is a full-time on site school nurse, so probably catered for better than most of the state schools I'm thinking of.

So, yes, it is perfectly possible to find, but you won't find this at all independent schools - apart from anything else, many are in really old buildings which might not have been well adapted for disabilities.

[RalphSteadmansEye]

Meant to say, as well, that if a student has difficulties which result in fatigue etc with potential to miss lessons, then it is possible that there would be more flexibility within the timetable to, say, drop a subject to free up time to catch up in others.

[RalphSteadmansEye]

Oh, and to be clear, I'm talking about a 'mainstream' independent, not a 'special' one. They have the full range of ability (ds in in top sets) and get brilliant results.

[Coffeethrowtrampbitch]

My Mum tutored a teenaged boy with mild SN after his private school had failed to make appropriate provision for him.
They promised his parents he would have extra help, it wasn't delivered and he was in danger of failing all his exams.
His parents withdrew him, sent him to a state school, and employed my mum to tutor him, he passed all his exams and got a job after leaving school where he was happy, something he couldn't have achieved if he'd failed his exams.

Private schools are more focused on promoting excellence than supporting needs, so if you don't find a suitable private school a supportive state education and extra tuition may benefit your child more.

[Lurkedforever1]

Depends on the school. An academically selective one isn't likely to change the entrance requirements because learning difficulties cause low achievement. Whereas if they have the ability to achieve they will. Eg Dds school contains high achieving children with dyslexia etc, and autism/asd. But I'd be very suprised if eg significant developmental delay causing low academic achievement would be present. And I do know lots of selective independents screen for dyslexia etc after pupils have started because its often missed in high achievers. Physical disability I'd say is better catered to at dds and many others purely because they have more space and money.

I'd say at a none academically selective one it would depend whether you can pay for extra support if they charge extra for it and you need it. And if the sn causes behavioural problems, eg behavioral problems that don't arise in the independents environment or with paid for support would probably be fine. Regular disruption to other pupils through no fault of the child and with no way to remedy it, probably not in mainstream.

[Foxyloxy1plus1]

Does your DS have a diagnosis of learning disability as well as the physical disability? Is there an EHC plan in place? These are important questions when considering a school placement. Some private schools do cater specifically for types of learning disability e.g. SpLD, but some private schools will focus on academic excellence.

If your DS has provision in place, there will be a requirement for his needs to be met within the state system. I don't know whether the same requirements are placed upon private schools.

If he doesn't have additional specific support identified, you'll probably have more work to do to ensure that he has the support in place to help him to learn.

[GinandJag]

Loads of independent schools cater for students with SN.

There are independent schools for all abilities.

[Tarrarra]

Really, you have to visit the schools in your area and see what you think, whether state or private. We have just removed DS from a private school as they were not willing to meet his needs. Different schools suit different children, and private schools are not always the best education for every child. Good luck with your search.