Prep school for child who missed school

[hanna007]

Hi all,

Our middle child (6yo) has had quite a bad start to education so far.
He started preschool for a few months, aged just before 4. He setled well and loved it. He developed a severe fever in March 2020 and was VERY exhausted (had to have several sleeps a day/woke up exhausted etc) from it till last month. He also had loss of hearing in one ear for a year. He also recently got glasses as had headaches when trying to read/write.
We have sent him to prep school from Sep 2020 but then lockdown happened and he didn't really get on with online learning.
Went back after lockdown but due to exhaustion only did half days (and struggled to stay awake after).
We pulled him out and home educated for a year.
He has now made a miraculous recovery and is keen to go back.

Question is.. how difficult will it be for him to 'catch up' in a school? When home ed, we did a lot of trips to museums/history/geography.
He picked up math naturally and is meeting Y1 level in state school. He is behind in reading and writing mostly because of eye issues. He learns easily and perseveres with it.

Our hunch is that he will need very small school with tiny classes anyway due to hearing (he has now recovered but still struggles to hear in a large group).

Will the schools look down on the fact he is behind and has no previous school reports?
He doesn't want to go back to his old prep.
I guess I'm after reassurance that everything will be ok. We have child 1 who has SEN and has missed all of his scholl bc nothing suitable, so not anxious mum.

Thanks

Just dont worry, and make some practises at hone, reading, writing and maths etc. Make sure he does some work after school- not too much to put pressure. My daughters friends start to read and write when she was 7 because English was her 2nd language. She is doing fine right now. Age 6 is still young, don’t worry just keep an eye on him and if you can afford I recommend private education (small size of pupil will help him to learn quicker)

I'd take a look at your local state primary to begin with. They have a stronger remit to deal with SEN in terms of assessment and documentation which will make things easier.... you will have to push for it but as a new to school he will get some help. Clearly the choice of school is crucial here. State schools at that age are more likely to have the variety of levels in a class which means your son won't be overwhelmed at the work level.

If he is keen to learn and picks things up quickly he is not too late/ too far behind to catch up his peers quite easily.

Alternatively consider a tutor for a short time - say a term - who will get him up to speed in Maths/English. But I kind of think he'd be better just thrown in and see where he ends up..

I'd save the private for later in junior / secondary once he has settled back into school life and you know where he is at.

I disagree, smaller class sizes are often better and some prep schools are significantly better for dealing with SEN issues. My daughter (for example) is in a class of 6 for comprehension and maths. My son's school - a different one, was very good with the children who had learning difficulties as well.

I think you need to go around your local prep schools and see what they have to offer and consider moving him down a year to catch up.

Your child will definitely be fine if you get a good after school tutor and do the daily homework that tutor gives.

Nessy and Doodle Maths/White Rose videos will also be helpful.

You can do in a fraction of the time what is covered in school. With a bit of specialist help to direct you, it won't matter what school he's in. If you don't give the help, he could struggle in whole class teaching if it's not at his level no matter where you put him.

Thanks all. He has NO SEN per se (either ADHS/ASD/dyslexia etc). He has had medical issues though.
i disagree with state schools. Our local ones are all 30+ per class and obsessed with attendance, which if child isn't well is a problem.
We also like to gove him a broad education, rather than focus on SATS.
I have found a small pre-prep with classes of 8-10, which I'm off to see. They have teacher and TA. My local state school has a teacher and part time TA for 30 kids. It's no brainer for us.

Thanks again

Investigate more than one school and ask questions; be prepared to listen to your instincts as well. You have some advantage in that you know some of the things your child specifically needs from education at this moment, and can rule out places that seem unlikely to meet those needs.

Good luck finding a good fit for your son, and I hope his health stays good now.

To hop on my favourite hobby horse, please get him involved in music as an enrichment activity to maximise his hearing development!