Which school for severely dyslexic son???

[Fromdeepestperu]

Hi, I have a nine year old ds in year 4 at the local primary school.

He has a statement of SEN as he has severe dyslexia, dyslcalculia, ADD and mild speech, language and communication difficulties. His actual cognitive abilities are broadly average for his age, although often 'hidden' beneath his learning difficulties.

Where we live, there is no specialist provision for SPLD - no resource units/bases etc. I cannot for a moment imagine how he would manage in a mainstream secondary school; he is only just about coping academically, socially and emotionally in primary school and that is with as much support as they can give. Our county has an 'inclusion policy' and so trying to get funding for a specialist independent school would - I imagine - be nigh on impossible. This is sad because there is a great independent school 11 miles away which is specifically for children with SPLD. However, even with a bursary, we could not afford it. No way.

So. We're stuck and could use some advice from anyone else who has a severely dyslexic child. How can we get the best education for him? Do we send him to the local comp where is sister (very bright) is doing ok in all the top sets? He would be put in all the bottom sets, I've no doubt, and if he is lucky, he may have some small group/1 to 1 support in the 'pathfinder unit' which is where pupils with behavioural and/or learning difficulties go. I don't want this for him.

This is really getting me down, and I've no idea what to do or where to turn. Even the SENCo and SLT say it would be so great if he could go to this specialist school.

Thanks in advance for any advice/experience!

will the statement not cover it - that is how most of such schools operate
speak to the lea

Hi Our borough does have specialist units for Dyslexia attached to a few of the mainstream schools and yet the Council runs a bus with 20 boys 20 miles down the motorway to a specialist independent that they pay for. I have no idea how that outcome has been achieved but perhaps if you approached your local specialist independent they may have some pupils being funded by the LAs and can advise?

Best of luck, I hope you find the right school for him.

Hi, sadly our LA has never funded any child to go to a specialist independent school. They have a strict inclusion policy so if we did want to go down that route, it would have to be at a tribunal....

Sorry I don't have words to help but could you kindly please talk me through how you got him assessed for dyslcalculia, ADD and mild speech, language and communication difficulties? Also how do you measure the severity of is dyslexia?
I managed to get Dd assessed and she is dyslexic, but I am sure she could suffer from dyscalculia too and I am also worried about behaviour.
Sorry for hijacking your thread. TIA.

Hi Vixxen, his specialist dyslexia teacher diagnosed the dyscalculia as it was part of his dyslexia assessment. The school had him assessed by a SLT at the same time he was seen by an ed psych when he was 6. It was around this time that, as he was on school action plus, that I requested external involvement.

Ok. Thanks.

In my experience from having a child at a specialist private dyslexia school in London, there were children who were being paid for by their council with a full statement in place, but these places were only obtained by going to a full tribunal and being supported by a specialist lawyer.

All very time consuming and expensive but in the long run very worthwhile as the legal fees (only heard this don't know for sure) were in the region of £5000 but as the school fees were £26,000 a year it was worth paying if you had a good chance of winning (could prove severe dyslexia).

In my borough (Barnet) it was very very difficult to get a statement at all for dyslexia even to attend a borough mainstream school.

We never attempted to get a statement for dyslexia and paid for DC to attend the school for 2 years.

I did however get a full statement for my other DC who had an ASD DX and he attended a mainstream school, so It was possible to get a statement from the borough, I'm not sure if its still the case.

Don't give up hope.

So is there a possibility that the council will pay for a child to attend a specialist private dyslexia school? Where is this school? And how to measure dyslexia? At which point it is considered severe??

And is this primary or secondary?

You can do it. You have the hell of tribunal and you have to prove that any state provision cannot meet his needs. Contact SOS SEN who are brilliant.

Hi there, I went to tribunal for an independent placement for my son (ASD) and was successful (well the LA conceded the night before the hearing). You need to prove that what the LA offers cannot meet your sons needs, but what you propose can. You can get free help from IPSEA (I am currently training to be one of their tribunal support workers) or you can go to an advocacy company like Educational Equality for help.
It absolutely CAN be done, and many parents win all the time. It is emotionally draining, I warn you. But very worth it when you see your child flying in the right placement. Good luck

I have a son same age as yours, exactly same profile. He has a statement and we have an independent school exactly the same as you describe named and it is fully funded by LA. It is possible!!!! Do pm if you want x

Ps: the stress of getting the placement nearly killed me and the paperwork, phone calls and time becomes a full time job but don't give up. It can be done and whilst everyone told me we didn't stand a hope in hell and it would be a tribunal case, they named it without

Even areas where there is specialist provision the provision is only for numbers. In Richmond the 3 schools with specialist provision for 6 pupils each! So its no wonder there is a bus with 20 pupils going 20 miles down the motorway.
There is also a direct correlation between parents winning tribunal /numbers going to tribunal and parental ability to pay!
Talk to sossen the know quite a lot about different areas and whether Lea's cave in or insist you go to tribunal.

Forgot to add. Definatly get in touch with the specialist school, look around, the will almost certainly have an assessment process for entry which will give you lots of use full info about the sort of provision your son needs. They will be experienced with going to tribunals too. Having info about what your son needs will help you identify why the local schools won't work. Always remember the LEA only have to provide adequete not the best place for your child. You have to prove why this school is the only school that will be able to provide an education for your child

Agree with Mary. Arrange a visit to the specialist school and take your sons statement. You can find out how many children are placed there by the LA. The school should be able to give you lots of help and advice and may have contacts who can help you. Research and information is key. It also sounds as if your present school will be able to back you up too.

Don't dismiss going to tribunal to fight for the right placement. DD moved to an indi special school last year and is thriving there in comparison to her mainstream previous school. The LA started out refusing to even assess her for a statement and we had to appeal every stage of the way, though LA did back down until the final appeal - that went to hearing and thankfully in our case the tribunal found in our favour and she moved. It is a stress but for us and her totally worth it.