If your child has special needs, choosing a school can be particularly difficult. Mainstream schools do not always have the resources to offer the additional support they need, but choosing between different special needs independent schools also presents challenges. How do you evaluate the features and provisions to decide which will be best for your child’s unique needs?
Identify their needs
No two children with disabilities are the same. To ensure that every child has their support needs met, first there needs to be an assessment of how their disabilities manifest, including the areas where they experience particular difficulties, along with their strengths and coping mechanisms. This will allow for the development of an individual educational plan designed to work with their specific talents and weaknesses to improve not just their academic performance, but also their skills in other areas of life.
Small classes and personalized attention
To provide the kind of unique and tailored support that each child with disabilities needs, the school needs to have adequate staffing. If classes are too large, the approach has to be more general and some children will inevitably be lost. In some cases, making one-on-one instruction available is the best way to ensure the child has all the attention and support they need.
Non-academic provision in special needs independent schools
Children with autism, intellectual disabilities, learning difficulties and similar concerns do not just find academic learning more difficult; they often also struggle with communication, organization, social interaction and other common aspects of daily life. If you want your child to have the maximum degree of independence as an adult – and to be able to manage a household, build relationships and hold down a job – they also need to master the skills of independent living. Good special needs schools will cover these additional skills, in addition to providing non-classroom opportunities for learning such as sports, arts, other clubs and, in the case of older children, work experience. This will also make it easier for the child to identify their own unique strengths.
Modern technology
Some places have been slow to embrace modern technology, but it can be invaluable when helping children with speech, language or writing difficulties find alternative ways to communicate, for assisting those with organizational difficulties in planning and managing their time, and for providing new ways for children to engage with their lessons. Special needs schools should integrate modern technology into their classrooms.
Regulation and inspection
Even independent schools have rules they must follow and inspections to ensure they are providing an adequate education and facilities. Look at official reports on the school and accounts from other students and their parents to find out if their actual provisions matches the claims in their prospectus and on their website. Do they follow a recognized curriculum? Is their approach evidence-based?
Conclusion
Not every school can provide for every student, especially in cases where they have particularly unusual or complex support needs. To find the best school, you need to be sure that they have the resources and flexibility to give your child the individualized attention and tailored support they need, including in non-academic contexts.