Independent dyslexia school

[Scottishdancer]

Ds4(9) just gone back to school in yr 5 had hoped things would be better this year now he has diagnosis of Asd , but no such luck. After 3 days he is telling me he can't possibly go to school tomorrow, nobody understands how he is feeling, and nobody listens to him! He has spent every evening rolling around the floor with tummy ache and most of the weekend lying on the floor and doesn't want to do anything.we have decided we can't go on like this and are going to have to try and get him in to an independent dyslexia school. The one we have looked at is Cenre Academy in Suffolk. Does anyone have any experience of this school, or Northese Manor in Sussex.

Why the dyslexia when he is asd. Do you want day or boarding?

He is severely dyslexic as well, and because he is now so far behind his peers his anxieties are getting worse. He also has sensory processing disorder and dyspraxia and a large mainstream school is too much or him to cope with. We have looked at smaller school but they didn't have the resources to help him. We are looking at day, not boarding

Does he have a Statement of special needs?. If not I would apply for this from your LEA asap. Trying to get him into such a place without a statement is going to be expensive to say the least (and it may require a statement as a prerequisite of entry). Have you actually spoken to the schools you mentioned?.

Where are you based?. This will have some bearing re Northese Manor:-

"Many parents can only consider sending their children to Northease Manor if their Local Authority will fund their placement. We are fortunate that we have Local Authorities who will fund placements at Northease and these currently include:

Brighton & Hove
Bromley
Buckinghamshire
Cambridgeshire
Camden
East Sussex
Essex
Hertfordshire
Hounslow
Kensington & Chelsea
Kent
Medway
Royal Kingston
Surrey
Thurrock
Wandsworth
West Sussex"

He does have a statement and we have been to look at Center Academy which we were very impressed ith. We live in Essex but both schools are too far to commute to and we don't want him to board. We would consider moving house, but would we have to do that before applying to Lea to fund a place. Presumably in we apply to Essex to fund a place and then move to Sussex funding would stop and we would have the battle again with Sussex? Don't know what to do first?

Frewern College in East Sussex is meant to be excellent.

It's too far for you to commute, but if you are moving?...

DS is starting his evaluation at Frewen today. It will mean him boarding (if he gets in and if Suffolk fund). We also checked out Centre Academy but were put off because if would not be right for DS - they don't 'do' ASD (whereas Frewen does ASD and SpLD and has around 40 DC with AS), they focus on literacy and numeracy and have a policy of aiming to return to ms. They also don't seem to have therapists on site (SALT and OT). I have been unable to find a school locally in either Essex or Sussex that would be suitable (state or independent).

Your DS will need 'extra' evidence to have specialist school funding to prove that he cannot attend mainstream (eg history of extreme anxiety, inability to attend school etc). Even with such a history and with DS unable to attend his new ms secondary school and with written reports from both Margo Sharp and Daphne Keen that recommend specialist provision we anticipate a battle ending in Tribunal. According to DK, there are very few places that can meet the needs of a child with complex communication difficulties, SpLD as well as a host of related difficulties that are also average or above average intelligence so some DC (around the magic 2%) are funded at independent specialist schools because the LEA is unable to offer state placement that will both meet the child's needs and which they will attend. You need to make the case that it would be expensive in the ms to provide recommended SALT, OT, specialist teachers with SpLD qualifications and experience and the amount of 1:1 support required would increase dependency and it helps if this is all irrelvant because you are unable to get him over the threshold!

If you think that DS will need specialist placement do it now - things take time, the LEA will argue that ms secondary will be much better but I know from experience that the transition between primary and secondary often marks the point where the child is no longer able to cope.

PM me if you want more info.

Northease are wonderful, and we are in East Sussex, but sorry, they make you go to tribunal to get there....... we have this delight waiting for us, but if you live in West Sussex you're alright........... and the school is in East Sussex, in fact only 7 minutes from County Hall.... who didn't tell us it existed....... who also didn't tell us that 83% of the children are there via a Statement so don't pay the 5,635K a term fees...... and they still make you go to tribunal........FFS!!!

.......SORRY, caught up my rant, by 'they' I don't mean the school - they help you fight the crappy system, by 'they' I mean the LA!!

Do you mean to say if you live in West Sussex you wouldnt have to go to tribunal?

Yep, 'fraid so! Maybe theres a case that it'd be cheaper to move!

............ have a chat with the deputy head of NE as he is excellent with all the Tribunal/No Tribunal stuff, see if you can secure a place [we have done this, but as yet have no idea how we'll pay unless County cough up]. The school is the best we could ask for and are able to cope not just with our sons dyslexia/dyspraxia but also his fairly complex medical needs too. They have OT,Physio and an onsite Matron as well as adapted curriculum AND they love children.... pretty rare in our local experience. All this and sited on the south downs and in the National Park - our dreams came true when we found this place, but now the battle will start. PM me if you need to xx

Hi, I know this is quite and old topic but thought I would post. I went to Northease Manor School and thoroughly recommend it. It changed my life. I'm also from essex and my parents took the LEA to tribunal and thankful won.

I ended up being a weekly broader and enjoyed this aspect of school life along with the after schools activities. I used to share a taxi home every Friday and Sunday with 4 other people from essex.

It's such a lovely school and whilst I was the my self esteem and confidence grew and grew. For the first time in my life I actually had friends who like me for who I was and i stated to enjoy learning through doing things I enjoyed. It's such a nice feeling knowing you are the same as all your peers. The class sizes are small and this really helps with learning.

I left Northease with 5 GCSEs at C grade, lots of confidence and the stepping stones for my future. It also gave me the skills to survive in a mainstream collage.

Sorry if I've rambled on a bit but wanted to share my experiences of a truly fantastic school.

Egerton rothesay in berkhamstead , they say they are specialist dyslexia, dyspraxia , dyscalcula school, but definately have children who are ASD, we decided not to send DS there - but he is younger than you DS. We thought they were very impressive , and are keeping it in mind.....also have in house OT who is apparently one of the top Sensory OT's in the country - not sure if this is correct or not.

One of the schools mentioned in this thread we had an unfavorable experience with and our child has had to repeat the year elsewhere. The fact is school management and peer groups change and it takes time for Ofsted to catch up with that. Here are some good questions: Are their financials up to date and are they running at a profit? Are published academic results up to date? What is staff, student and governor turnover? Does boarding act like parents or entertainers? Schools are geting ever sharper at their marketing pitch so be as fact focused as you can. Finally be aware that a school can be a member of the independant schools association and opt out of their usual boarding inspections in favor of Ofsted who may not have the same authority or experience.

Do any of you who’ve had experience of Frewen still recommend it now? My Ds has just had evaluation there, we’re awaiting the outcome. He loved the evaluation and we have been so impressed with the school so far. Any thoughts on the school from more experienced parents would be great