Good schools for dyslexic children - south west (within 2 hours of London)

[changer22]

DS (7) is really struggling and we are looking at specialist schools for dyslexic children within reach of Heathrow airport (for DH's work).

We are willing to move from the south east to find cheaper housing to fund the school fees (and because we like the area!).

We've read about Calder House. Their aim is to return children to mainstream education within a couple of years which appeals as we would like DS to return to regular schooling.

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of the school or any other suggestions?

Thanks.

The only one I know is Edington and Shapwick, which is apaprently 2 hours and 43 minutes away (LOL) so too far.

however, what I can offer is the knowledge that people I know who have used a specialist dyslexia school almost always rave about ti and rarely regret the decision. HTH

Thanks for your reply. It's such a big decision not least because of the money (the couple I've looked at tend to be around 12k a year) but we would be moving our other children too. It just seems such a waste of DS's childhood though to be struggling academically and now socially too.

Hmm, the one I mentioned used to be significantly cheaper- around £7.5k? (I think I only mean last ear or so, friend was considering using). Must be another similarly priced somewhere surely?

Appleford School is in Shrewton, a small village in wiltshire. It is about 1.5 hours from Heathrow.

Do you know anything about Appleford Elk?

I don't know much about it. It is quite close to me and the children there play sports matches against my dd's school. It takes children 7-14 and some board. I think it has had a new headteacher recently. I don't think the fees are too bad.

The fees are 'from' £5,027 a term for day pupils!

Wouldn't it be cheaper, quicker and more effective to look for specialist, evidence-based tuition?

I suggest Oxford's Reading Centre, as they would sort your son's problems out very quickly.
www.ourrighttoread.com/

Specialist dyslexia schools don't necessarily provide the best evidence-based literacy teaching methods. Some I've examined provide very 'quirky' methods to remediate reading.

My ds2 who is 12 is at a specialist dyslexia prep in Suffolk ,but it only takes weekly boarders.It is the most fantastic place,very child cantred and focused.They aim to return children to mainstream and most do,some others go onto other specialist seniors

Others I know of are Bruern Abbey in oxfordshire,The unicorn in Abingdon,Northese manor and Frewen College which is in surrey.My understanding is that Appleford also takes behavioural difficulties.The Good Schools guide is useful also try the Crested site for a list of specialist dyslexia schools and units

There are a few in SW London, so within easy reach of Heathrow; I have heard good things about the Moat school, but only on the grapevine, rather than anything official IYKWIM.

A few schools listed here

Fairley House in Westminster

Why not move close to a dyslexia action centre and pay for extra coaching instead? Egham is v. close to Heathrow. I'd certainly phone them for advice anyway, they do send their tutors into various private schools to do 1 to 1. (Eton is one of my favourite schools with a specialist Dyslexia unit).

You might want to consider Millfield School in Somerset which is 2 hours from London.
There is a prep school and senior school and both have exceptionally good support for dyslexia within a mainstream setting
www.millfieldprep.com

Have a look at Millfield School. It has exceptional specialist support in a mainstream setting.

Have a look at Millfield School. It has exceptional specialist support in a mainstream setting.

Slindon College,Newlands,Moyles Court,Stanbridge Earl,Bethany,More House or Frewen College...my son has a frind at Frewen and they are very pleased with it.

have a look at emerson house... Not a full time school but a tuition centre where he could spend a few mornings a week and attend his school rest of the time. An excellent half way house for someone so young. The centre is in Hammersmith. Can be very effective and if it is nmot enough you can then consider a specialist school.

I didn't realise there were so many of these schools. Has anyone managed to get any funding from LEA by getting this school put on their DCs statement at a tribunal? It seems these schools really benefit some children yet there isn't any state option like it.

Moon Hall in Surrey has by far the best results, apparently. They use a very effective synthetic phonics programme.

Better not to use a BDA tutor - they are very good at providing the confort that children diagnosed with dyslexia need, but their instruction is cumbersome, muddled and lacks focus on the alphabetic code instruction which is so needed. It can be very slow.

OurRighttoRead in Oxford would provide outstanding help.

likewise
Elizabeth Nonweiler www.TeachtoRead in Newbury or
Anna Worthington www.worthingtontutoring in Hertfordshire

Fairley House in Lambeth, South London is supposed to be brilliant.

Hi
My son has dyslexia and semantic-pragmatic language disorder. He has been attending More House school in Frensham Surrey for 3 years and his progress has been phenomenal. It is about 1 hour from Heathrow and is £5k a term. I can't recommend it enough.

Hi - has anyone experience of Anna Worthington - looks like she would be convenient for us location wise. Thanks..

Anna Worthington uses the Sound Reading System (SRS) so she should provide a very effective tutoring service.

In Nov 2010 the Dyslexia-SpLD trust found the SRS programme to be in their top category of effectiveness as an intervention; 'remarkable', in all three areas, for all ages:
-for reading accuracy in Y2-adult
-for comprehension in Y2 -adult
-for spelling in Y2-adult