Was private school worthwhile for your neurodiverse child?

Building more schools would be a massive financial outlay. They can’t maintain the existing estate let alone build more and then there is the issue of finding the additional teachers. Again they are struggling to fill roles due to teachers leaving. Sadly there is no simple solution. The whole system needs a massive overhaul in full consultation with the people who work in the schools and have to deliver - not by a group of remote faceless civil servants and government ministers.

I can’t say as he only went to Private school. His in-class behaviour was very problematic, but they absolutely persevered until he finally got it.

Yes, v sensitive ASD DS was basically being ignored in his state primary as he behaved well, and was performing well enough not to trigger any interventions. But he was not progressing at all. We moved him for Y6 (SATS would have been a pointless year for him), small class sizes meant he couldn’t keep under the parapet, and he stayed until end of A Levels. The local secondary would have eaten him alive and just didn’t have sufficient resources to support him. The fact that he passed A Levels and went to Uni is testament enough to me that it was the right decision.

We are planning to send our suspected ASD and dyslexic daughter to a private school for primary. I cannot see her thriving in the same way in our local state school which is rundown, sensorially overwhelming, teachers constantly off on sick leave, 30 per class etc. I doubt it's great for NT children either to be honest.

In contrast there is a local private primary with no more than 15 per class, calm, quiet and relaxed atmosphere. I am sure it will be the better choice for her.

Depends on the child and the school there is no one clear answer for you OP. I have a younger daughter who is suffering from burnout now she’s 11 in her Prep school, our academically selective senior school have offered us a place based on her academics but we are now going though the EHCP process to see if her needs can be met there.

Dd attended a large independent school from year 9.

Years 9 to 11 were horrific. Entitled, alpha, competitive peers; teachers who (before diagnosis) treated her as a badly behaved child, with little compassion or willingness to support her effectively.

Sixth form, post diagnosis was very different. A lot of the children who were targeting her left the school, Teachers recognised her skills and potential and supported her.

Before sending any child with SEND to a private or independent school I would want to be very sure that the school genuinely had the skills and willingness to meet their needs. Private and independent schools are businesses. They rely on GCSE and A Level results to attract students. They generally retain the option to withdraw a student’s place if the decide they can no longer meet their needs either because of behavioural concerns, because they are taking up to much teacher time, or because they are unlikely to have a positive effect on a school’s results.

Yes it was worth it for one child who is academic. My eldest has ASC and was struggling massively in mainstream and the smaller classes in private worked a lot better for him.

The youngest struggles more academically and has done really well at a specialist provision that we got him into after his EHCP. He was very nearly excluded from his mainstream school due to his behaviour but has had nothing like that at his new school.

My son is in a private specialist provision, so state funded but independent. He’s academically able but found mainstream awful and unsafe emotionally.

If he’d not have been served well by his state primary (who were instrumental in him getting his diagnosis, EHCP, and approved for a fully specialist setting) we’d have had to pay for an independent school without a doubt.

He has been transformed in a very short time.

In my professional experience, I have found that our local private schools have almost become 'victims of their own success' with so many SEN children being enrolled for the smaller classes, that, in some cases,.most of the class have additional needs that the staff are neither qualified or experienced to deal with. They also do not get the same level of support as state schools for some of the universal children's services. Ask lots of questions when you look around.

We have relocated to Europe to afford private school at secondary school age for our ND child. Best choice we have done.
We have British and an EU passport.

If you could find a state school that was academically stretching, clamped down hard on bullying and valued a calm atmosphere that would be fine, but that’s not at all fashionable in the new ‘inclusive’ state sector.

yes

Depends on the ND. High functioning ASD - worth every single penny. No regrets whatsoever. I’d never considered it until my child just couldn’t take anymore bullying, and it was literally a lifesaver. They are academically stretched in a way the state school wasn’t equipped to provide too.

I am neuro diverse and went to both Private and state schools. I found my primary state school really difficult, teachers just didn't have time to support me the way I needed. I flourished at the private secondary school I attended, it gave me some fantastic skills that have set me up well for the workplace as well as the support I needed. I would say it also depends on the school, not all private schools are equal and not all will support neuro diverse children.

I can see similar traits in my children and have chosen to send them privately for the beginning to hopefully avoid the painful primary school experiences I had.