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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

private to primary yes i know its been done before but please read!

17 replies

Redwood · 20/08/2010 20:33

hi, we may be looking at moving dd from private to state school in yr3. He may be dyslexic and needs support. We do get this at present for extra fees and im very pleased with his present school but not sure if we can pay more but to put it bluntly, perhaps he would do just as well at a state school. Some of you may not like what I'm saying but paying to privide opportuniies to develop academically may be lost on a non-academic child. Any thoughts are welcome even if argumentative!....

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traceybath · 20/08/2010 20:35

Well I would guess it totally depends on the child and the schools and what you can afford.

I don't educate privately just for academic results though - its the all round experience, sport, drama etc.

maktaitai · 20/08/2010 20:38

I would want to look pretty closely at the school you are transferring to, and to hear from a parent of a dyslexic child exactly what support they were getting.

The two people I am closest to who have children at private school have sent them there in one case because they have a very sporty child who was doing no organised sport at all, and in the other because they were bullied in year 1, which the school ignored. In neither case are they super-academic children but I can completely see why they changed over.

activate · 20/08/2010 20:38

private school you pay for what you believe is the best education

state school you don't pay for what you believe is the best education - specialist support is provided (sometimes on appeal and after fighting)

depends on the schools in your catchment - go and talk to them about their approach

don't get paying for primary personally if you have a decent state school - unless it's to secure a secondary place

ivykaty44 · 20/08/2010 20:40

You can provide the al round experience outside of private schooling, you just have to go and look for it a litle more.

the advantage of outside experiance - drama sports etc is that the dc make plenty more friends outside of school by taking part in outside activities

firnd of mine took her dd out of private at end of junior and she flourished with help as she is dyslexic

veritythebrave · 20/08/2010 20:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

traceybath · 20/08/2010 20:43

Oh I know you can ivy - I just find it easier when its all provided under one umbrella so to speak.

But as with all this private v state stuff - it just so depends on the schools in question, the child and finances.

Bonsoir · 20/08/2010 20:43

I don't think that thinking of this issue in terms of private vs. state is very useful. If your DS is dyslexic you need to look at the school that will best support him in this challenge and that will provide the best opportunities suited to all his other talents. What are they?

Original poster

Redwood · 20/08/2010 21:37

thankyou for all the positive feedback. i agree looking at every school in detail is the key. As to what are his talents - they are yet to be seen, but possibly sport. time will tell....

OP posts:

realitychick · 20/08/2010 22:20

Just want to second what Verity said that dyslexic by no means suggests non-academic. It often goes hand in hand with very high intelligence. The important thing is to find a school that recognises the complexity of the condition and tries various methods to discover what works best for him.

cansu · 22/08/2010 07:36

I am not convinced that a state school would necessarily equal better support for your son. I am a parent of two children with SEN and am a teacher in the state sector so have experience of both sides. In order to get help (ie 1:1 support) your needs have to be quite significant in the state sector and generally that means a statement. Yes, some help will be given but I would question whether it is what you are expecting. I would be very careful about choosing the school and would try very hard to make sure that the school tells you exactly what support (in terms of time and 1:1 help) would be available to your son. You might find they are very woolly and non specific.

BalloonSlayer · 22/08/2010 07:48

If it's "he may be" dyslexic, ie you have not got a diagnosis I would worry about what support he will get in a State School, especially in Year 3, where they are expected to need less help. You might find it's precious little.

My gut reaction is that if I was in your position with a DC in state school I would be scrimping and scraping to send them to a private school. But that is based on no knowledge of the private sector, only on State Schools.

I guess my recommendation (know you were not asking for one! ) is to get him assessed privately so that you have a diagnosis to go armed with when you talk to school.s

mummytime · 22/08/2010 08:09

My advice as a parent of State school kids is: look for the best state school you can find. Then use excess money for extra tutoring as and when necessary. As well as using your money to top up where you think the state school maybe lacking eg. membership of sports clubs etc.

But it really does depend on what schools are available to you. Which state schools can you get him into? What are they like? Can you find local tutors if you need them? What other facitlities are available locally? Why did you send him private in the first place? Which secondaries are you considering?

I have known people send their child private for infants, then swapped to State for junior (DD was dyslexic), she did lots of sport and got extra tuition to help with dyslexia. Then she went private for secondary.

But it really depends on what your area is like. Which we can't tell here.

Good luck.

IndigoBell · 22/08/2010 09:11

You don't need a dx of dyslexia - and it won't help at all. The school will give no more or less help with a dx.

What you need is his KS1 SATS results. If you got a handful of 1s than all state schools should provide extra help for him. For example my DD is going to get 1 hour a day literacy in a small group because she got straight 1s in her SATS.

If he got 2s in his SAT results, then you really don't need to worry nearly so much, and would be unlikely (I think) to get extra help at school.

I have swapped my DD from a smaller school to a bigger school (both state) because of her dyslexia, and found that the bigger school was able to offer far more help. For starters they could do group work with her because they had a group of kids getting 1s in their SATS.

IMO small group work is often better than 1:1
because 1:1 is very demanding, so they can't do it as long, and they don't like being singled out as the one who needs help.

So, go and talk to some state schools, armed with your SAT results and then find out what help they will offer.

MollieO · 22/08/2010 09:21

Ds is probably dsylexic but at 6 it is too early to diagnose. He has extra support at school, which I pay for. I know for a fact that had he been in our local state school no support would have been offered until year 3. By then it would be a bigger problem than it is now and affect more of his school work. He has had two terms of support so far and the SENCO thinks at current progress he will have caught up in another couple of terms.

Academically he is bright but without the support in reading he would struggle once reading becomes important in other subjects.

IndigoBell · 22/08/2010 13:09

Mollie - all state schools offer different levels of support. So, yes your local school might not have offered extra support till year 3 - but many, many do. My DD has had a lot of extra support all the way through since reception. Totally depends on the school.

MadameSin · 22/08/2010 21:13

It would depend on the special needs provosion at the private school. I know you pay dearly for it, but it's only worth it if the SN teacher is qualified to help with his dyslexia. My ds1 is in the private system and although he is not SEN, I know many boys that have been taken out and put into State schools where their parents feel they would be better 'served', for want of a better word. Be aware also, that you may also have to fight to get him extra help in the state provosion without an SEN .... how old is he? I didn't think they properly diagnosed 'till around 8/9yrs, or is that completely wrong? Look at the alternative school in great detail and be honest about your expectations. The HT will make a huge difference as will the local LEA and where they tend to allocate funding.

IndigoBell · 22/08/2010 21:56

Madame - You don't need a dx to be put on the special needs register in the state system, all you need is to be behind your peers. However being on the special needs register also doesn't necessarily give you much... All though it should if he is significantly behind.

I know I'm not a huge fan of private schools, but I really don't get it. Mollie says she gets extra support at school, but she has to pay for it (on top of school fees). How is that different to going to a state school and using a private dyslexia tutor?

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