girls private senior schools guildford and surrounding area - sen support

[hellenback]

dd has mild sen - IQ amazing - working memory below average - where to go to reach her best potential and get support she needs? In other words an SEN dept that delivers? Anyone any feedback or personal experience please? Looking at - in no particular order Priorsfield St Catz GH Tormead Farnborough Hill and St Teresas

I am not sure how useful indicator it is in measuring the quality of the SEN dept but I have found this website useful in showing how many pupils have identified needs but not on register.

www.education.gov.uk/edubase/search.xhtml?clear=true

Most of the schools you list have approx 10%, apart from St Teresa's which is nearer 30%. Many of my dd's friends with additional needs have chosen this school, although I suspect not always first choice. I am not sure how well some of the schools you have listed can account for your dd's mild sen at entrance test time. If in indie is current head/sendco not providing guidance?

I would add Manor House, I've known friends DD do very well there.
Tormead has accepted a friends DD with suspected ASD, and seemed quite open and welcoming of her. I have known girls with some form of SEN at Priorsfield. Farnborough Hill is good too.

GHS I don't know personally but it you are the right type to get in there then they seem to do their best, it is pressurised though (it can't help but be with so many high achieving girls and their parents).

I would recommend Priors Field, it is excellent on 'value added'. It is a very 'with the times' school mixing both tradition and recognising the reality of modern teenage girls' lives. Having said that, the senco is a bit scatty and old fashioned. They do cater for SEN well though with extra support lessons for those who need it and teachers who are very good at catering for SEN. They are pretty much non-selective and so there is a big range of abilities. Good for girls who want the confidence boost of not being bottom of a more selective school like GHS or St Cats, or for those who want a generally less pressurised environment.

Can recommend GHS if your DD is highly academic, it is not pressurised in the sense that the school are pushy. It just has year groups of 100 very bright girls who all want to work hard and do well. I know lots of girls who went there and speak incredibly highly of the school. The pastoral care is said to be incredible especially for the girls who really need care above and beyond day-to-day issues. They all turn out to be very lovely, down-to-earth and ambitious girls. Might not be good if your DD scrapes a place and is 'bottom' of the year group and with SEN unless she is quite self-assured. The school have a SEN teacher but it is rare for girls there to have needs beyond dyslexia.
St Cats is good if you want a country traditional school (plus boarding). It is quite love or hate though and will either suit your DD or be completely the wrong place so worth a look.
Tormead has a new head and is undergoing major building works - look at what date they are completed as I have heard the school will be a building site for quite some time. I was put off Tormead because of the site, it is very crammed in, the new build may change the feel though. The new head was not popular at first (I suspect she was changing the school ethos quite a bit as it had a rocky reputation before). Like St Cats, Tormead is also a love or hate place. It is an 'in between' school - has a similar atmosphere and style to GHS but less 'powerhouse' and (very slightly) more mixed intake. Their sixth form is very very small which, to me, says something. At GHS and St Cats the majority of girls stay on for sixth form but Tormead only has about 30 stay.
St T's had a new head a few years ago who completely changed the school and is trying to improve the reputation as the school had become a bit flat and not that popular.

I agree Manor House is another to add, very small and supportive. There is also The Royal in Haslemere.

Notre Dame cobham, excellent senco

Not familar with these schools but I have two dyslexic daughters who went to a very academic school like GHS with what I would describe as pretty bog standard SEN provision ie reasonable SENCO who can organise extra time etc. pretty ineffectual study skills support with " old fashioned scatty" teacher, mixed understanding amongst other staff ("she seems to have got over it") . One thrived on the intellectual challenge, one though above average academically, struggled in a confidence sapping dysfunctional year with a lot of challenging exclusive alpha girls. Thankfully at another less selective co ed school (though still top 50, just not top ten) with very similar SEN provision she had a very happy sixth form and got A*AA, including English Lit.

I suppose what I am saying is that there are a lot of factors in finding the right school for your DD and you cannot even anticipate things like dysfunctional cohorts (though the effect is amplified in an all girl environment) . So I would focus on what school feels right to you and your DD unless the SEN support is truly best practise ie fully resourced drop in centres and a team big enough to provide ongoing one to one mentoring as at Hampton, Latymer Upper Westminster, you are probably going to be taking up the slack yourself wherever they go.

By the way you mention below average working memory and processing, is that in the below average range? Below the 14th percentile I think. Because extra time is now dependent on being in that below average range. With the current exam board focus on reducing the numbers getting special consideration it is vital to have a school that is really on the ball in terms of the bureaucracy and keeping appropriate evidence of need and usual working etc to get that vital extra time.

Sorry hijacked this thread . I have a DD within SEN we thought dyslexia but we have been advised it looks like fairly severe working memory problems. She is 8 at primary school not hugely helpful other than this looks like the problem lets set her a target. Can you offer me any advice or guidance as to how to get her properly diagnosed

head we are in the fortunate position of being able to afford a private assessment by an Educational Psychologist but it is expensive £400+ But worth every penny in that it enabled my DDs and I, and their schools to understand their strengths and weaknesses and develop coping strategies. Local Authorities employ Ed Psychs but they are scarce resources and you have to fight to get an assessment. Some school SENCOs can also do an assessment . However your experience of being fobbed off is common. I would suggest you start with one of the charity websites such as Dyslexia action www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk to prepare yourself to be tactfully cussed to get your child the support to enable them to achieve their potential. Sadly there is a lot of ignorance in the teaching profession.

Specific Learning Difficulties are actually a range of issues with learning, and every individual is affected differently with a different profile of issues. Dyslexia is the label that applies if literacy is affected but Working memory and processing problems are usually at the root of the issues experienced by Dyslexics.

There is a SEN topic and if you start a thread you might get some local feedback on access to support.

Thanks Poison will do

Thanks so much everyone - will speak to SENCO's armed with EP report and suck up the vibe - agree with view on Tormead and will defo look up other suggestions.