South London prep school with good SEN provision

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My son has all the signs of APD (Auditory Processing Disorder) but is too young to be formally assessed. Where we are schools have large classes and lots of bulge classes which makes for very noisy environment which I understand makes learning for APD nearly impossible. We've been thinking of going independent but judging by a lot of posts on mumsnet traditional preps might be quite behind on adapting to SEN needs. We can't really choose a state school so my question is whether anybody has good experience with selective independents as we are late for putting his name down for non-selective. Thank you.

Hornsby House in Balham is pretty good for Dyslexia I don't know about APD

I would think places that specialise in dyslexia would be good for APD as it is often a feature so the staff should have a good understanding.

Sadly South London isn't my patch so I don't know the schools at all. here is a list of schools that are members of the British Dyslexia Association.

South London is huge - could you at least give us a borough as a clue?! Don't rule out non-selectives btw: it is fairly normal to have your name down at a few schools as back-up whether it is backup for a selective or for a state school. Lots of spaces at nonselectives free up once the selectives and state schools make their offers.

How old is your son? Presumably he is not yet at school?

Thank you, everyone. We are in the middle of South London so Dulwich and Balham would be equally suitable. Or would it be too much to have a journey as opposed to a walk to a school? DS will start school next year so we've missed the boat to the Hornsby school - they offer places a year before entrance (!!!). It would be great to send him to a non-selective school with small class sizes but I was under impression that it's too late.

Just checked Dyslexia schools association and there is hardly anything in London! I'd rather he went to a mainstream school with good understanding of SEN than a specialist SEN school.

Where is he now? Has he been assessed and does he have/are you in the process of getting him a statement?

You could try Finton House which is non-selective mainstream but has some spaces for children with additional needs

Hornsby would be your best bet but you have missed the boat for reception

Might be worth looking at Wandsworth Prep - newly opening in September and will obviously have v small classes to start with

I'd be very surprised if any of the selective preps would be particularly good with any kind of SEN and you would almost certainly have to pay for any extra help your ds received over and above the fees if they agree to accept him in the first place

I wouldn't discount the state sector to start with - schools will be much more clued up about SEN and if it's not working it's much easier to transfer to somewhere like Hornsby for Y2 or 3 as there's always plenty of movement at schools outside the pressure point of reception

Thank you, basildonbond. He can't be formally assessed until he is at least 5 and
a half. So that would be the end of reception. He gets very attached to people so I think if we don't get it right from the start it will be a traumatic transition to a new school. As I said schools around us are struggling with numbers of children so most are quite squashed in their existing sites. They also like freeflow for reception which makes for quite noisy environment. I am thinking that we might apply for a state school with a unit for deaf children because they might be more understanding of challenges. There is Oakfield prep in Dulwich which seems to be more inclusive but they will be full probably as it's not selective.

He is at a lovely nursery, they haven't got a clue what to do but are very willing to learn and to help.

Oakfield has very, very limited provision for any form of SEN, whatever they might tell you They routinely fail to spot even dyslexia. Even when diagnosed there is a very disjointed effort to provide any support . I would even go so far to say that they fail at every level to provide any kind if support for SEN I would steer well clear.

Getmeout, my opinion was based on words of a parent who has a child there. According to him the support they gave him is amazing.

Have you looked at the Roche school in putney- although may be a bit far?

Don't want to give false hope but also wouldn't assume you've missed the boat with those preps. Many people accept a place and then drop out when the state places are allocated. It's well worth getting on the reserve lists.

Have also heard that Oakfield's not great for SEN support. Seem to recall St Dunstan's might be better but I might be wrong. Maybe someone else knows?

The Hall in Wimbledon is non-selective not sure about SEN provision though.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I might try some non-selectives and hopefully we can sort something out. It's not just the question of not being here to register DS's name at birth but I had no idea what he would be like at pre-school age to choose a suitable school.