Steiner/Montessori + Dyslexia

[indigox]

My son is currently in S1, has dyslexia and issues with his current school with bullying and lack of support for learning. Recently applied to all Edinburgh private schools to repeat S1 and got completely rejected, assuming it was test day nerves as he had uncharacteristically low scores in Maths and Verbal Reasoning tests so at a loss at what our next options could be.

Has anyone else been in this situation?

I've been looking at Edinburgh Steiner School and the Montessori school but information regarding support for learning seems limited - I have no idea whether these learning styles are actually better or worse than a normal school for dyslexia? I feel like the Steiner school may be an issue as he relies on tech for dictation/reading?

Ultimately at the point where I really need him out of his current school ASAP and I'm running out of options.

What about transferring to another local authority school? I would absolutely steer clear of Steiner schools, they have some worrying practises and ethos that I wouldn't want my child exposed to.
Google 'issues with Steiner schools' there are lots of articles explaining the issues.

For now, I'd agree transfer to a state school that looks as though it might be better, and see if you can find a tutor. 1:1 instruction can make a huge difference and I'd even consider taking some time out of school hours to do the tutoring if they struggle to do any extra hours, as mine do.

I'm sorry to hear this, it's so hard to get adequate support.

I had a colleague whose child had SEN so the kids were sent to Steiner. For them it seemed to be a positive experience (kids went straight to good unis).

Hi @indigox

The situation you've described in your post is exactly what I'm experiencing with my son whose also in S1 at an Edinburgh state school. The Educational Psychologist who carried out my sons assessment made 2 pages of recommendations to his school and all they've offered him is a reading group for 2 periods a week. Their response to my comment about supporting his Dyscalculia as he has this along with Dyslexia was, well there's 2 teaching assistants in his maths class so that should be sufficient. There's 34 kids in his maths class.

Due to this I turned to private schools and unfortunately l've tried the usual ones and was told that there was full capacity and if he did pass the assessment he would be put on a waiting list...which isn't helpful. The only one who did have spaces was Merchiston and it's more than the average. I didn't even contact Fettes or Loretto after seeing what their fees were 😬.

I'm looking at Steiner however I'm now not sure as there seems to be a lot of negativity however their exam results are quire good. Did you get any further with Steiner?

I've also contacted a couple of private tutor companies as well but it seems that the majority of those available in Edinburgh are over subscribed and I'm not sure he would take to it online.

I hope you get something sorted for your son, we just want the best for our kids 🙂

Aware this is an old post but wondered if you changed your son's school? I'm in a similar position and would welcome any advice.