http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/ The Good Schools Guide to choosing a school. 120 en-gb Articles@DirectoryM.com Articles@DirectoryM.com http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/ The Good Schools Guide to choosing a school. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Images/Image.aspx?Site=customDarkBlueWAdSense_en-GB Local resource for all girls schools in London. Includes detailed information on local all-girls schools, including all-girls boarding schools, all-girls private schools and all-girls Catholic schools, that give access to single sex classes, as well as advice and content on single-gender education and co-education. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/All_Girls_Schools_London-p1560675-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/All_Girls_Schools_London-p1560675-London_EN.html Local resource for special needs education in London. Includes detailed information on local businesses that provides access to learning disability schools, speech & language therapy, occupational therapy, and individual education programs, as well as advice and content on special needs education approaches, physical disabilities, and developmental disorders. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Special_Needs_Education_London-p1560671-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Special_Needs_Education_London-p1560671-London_EN.html See below to find local ADD specialists in London that give access to information on psychotherapy interventions, ADD medication treatments, ADD drug side-effects, and cognitive-behavioral therapy, as well as advice and content on ADD symptoms. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/ADD_Specialists_London-p1560668-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/ADD_Specialists_London-p1560668-London_EN.html The Good Schools Guide has visited and reviewed the tutor agencies in this section, all know their tutors personally. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Tutors_London-r1449719-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Tutors_London-r1449719-London_EN.html With mounting pressure to find the right school and jump through seemingly endless hoops it's little wonder parents are keen to tick all the boxes from day one. When it comes to 'first-day nerves' we explain what's normal and what's not... http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Starting_School_London-r1449716-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Starting_School_London-r1449716-London_EN.html School and ADD/ADHD, educational support such as special help from a trained teacher outside the child’s class plus extra help within the class can enable a child with ADD or ADHD to remain in mainstream school. Sometimes a statement of SEN will be issued. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/ADHD_London-r1449715-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/ADHD_London-r1449715-London_EN.html Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are used in many schools, and some preschools, for children who have identified special educational needs, learning difficulties or disabilities or who are having greater difficulty than most in following the curriculum. An IEP contains targets designed to help children who require extra support. They are only used where a child needs something extra or different from others in the class. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Individual_Education_Plans_IEPs_London-r1407059-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Individual_Education_Plans_IEPs_London-r1407059-London_EN.html Prep schools may be more-or-less tied to a senior school and may specialise in helping children gain entry to grammar schools, public schools or other independent schools via common entrance or other school entry examination. Preparatory schools mostly publish no examination data, many do not take KS2 examinations and those that do, do not have a duty to make their results public. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Preparatory_Schools_London-r1407058-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Preparatory_Schools_London-r1407058-London_EN.html Behavioural emotional and social difficulties (BESD) describes a wide range of conditions including: withdrawn, depressive or suicidal attitudes; an obsessive preoccupation with eating habits; school phobia; substance misuse; disruptive, antisocial and uncooperative behaviour; and frustration, anger and threat of or actual violence. All affect a child’s own learning and can impact significantly on the education of peers. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Behavioural_Difficulties_BESD_London-r1407055-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Behavioural_Difficulties_BESD_London-r1407055-London_EN.html Children with severe learning difficulties have acute global development delay, such that intellectual or cognitive impairment, coupled with possible sensory, physical, emotional and social difficulties, will make it difficult for the child to follow the curriculum without substantial help and support. These difficulties may be further compounded by poor co-ordination, and they may use symbols, or signing such as Makaton, to help with communication. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Severe_Learning_Difficulties_SLD_London-r1407053-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Severe_Learning_Difficulties_SLD_London-r1407053-London_EN.html A number of organisations provide training, consultancy and resources to promote understanding of difficulties such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, attention difficulties, autistic spectrum disorders and other ‘hidden’ disabilities. By increasing awareness of these differences within education and employment, individuals have the opportunity to unlock their true potential. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Key_4_Learning_London-r1407051-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Key_4_Learning_London-r1407051-London_EN.html As a result of muscle weakness and spasticity, a child with cerebral palsy will often appear clumsy when walking, talking, using their hands or carrying out everyday tasks and activities such as using scissors, jumping, painting, with resultant health and safety implications. Pupils with cerebral palsy may tire faster than their peers as motor impairment means they may have to try much harder and use more energy performing tasks. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Cerebral_Palsy_London-r1407050-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Cerebral_Palsy_London-r1407050-London_EN.html Sending a child to boarding school at any age isn't a decision to be taken lightly. If the family is highly mobile and the situation is unlikely to change, boarding school can provide stability and life-long friends often from a young-age. Beware though if you're considering boarding as a way of removing a child from a stressful family situation, this isn't always a good idea - family stability has a huge part to play. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/The_Best_Age_to_Go_to_Boarding_School_London-r1407049-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/The_Best_Age_to_Go_to_Boarding_School_London-r1407049-London_EN.html As school admission battles hot-up parents have been warned that if a child gains a place on the basis of false information, their child may be removed from the school. Poole in Dorset made headlines when it used anti-terrorist legislation to spy on three families suspected of catchment cheating. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/The_Catchment_Area_Cheat_London-r1407047-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/The_Catchment_Area_Cheat_London-r1407047-London_EN.html Boarding houses are run by a housemaster or housemistress, chosen from senior staff within the school. Today many fee-paying schools offer a choice of boarding options ranging from 'Day Boarding' to 'Full Boarding' with some, if not all, pupils staying in communal 'houses' within the school grounds. With so many options how do you choose? http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Boarding_Schools_Explained_London-r1407046-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Boarding_Schools_Explained_London-r1407046-London_EN.html Is it just prestige and reputation that constitutes a good university or something else? With the advent of league tables, departmental inspections and rankings of all shape and sizes it is debatable which universities are ahead of their game. Few however, would argue the prowess on the world stage of Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Yale in arguable order. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Choosing_a_University_London-r1407045-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Choosing_a_University_London-r1407045-London_EN.html Children with Fragile X may be developmentally delayed and experience learning and emotional difficulties. Gross and fine motor skills are often poor; children may appear ‘floppy'. Adults often show strengths in domestic daily living skills, relative to their communication and socialisation abilities. Nevertheless, many need a degree of supported living. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Genetic_Disorders_Fragile_X_London-r1407044-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Genetic_Disorders_Fragile_X_London-r1407044-London_EN.html That change should have been to give parents and children more rights in law and not, as was put forward, that 'the legislation was too bureaucratic and the term "Special Educational Needs" was not politically correct'. We would certainly agree that the old system was bureaucratic but, there again, we believe it was intended so to be. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/SEN_and_Scottish_Law_London-r1407043-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/SEN_and_Scottish_Law_London-r1407043-London_EN.html Some children cannot make sense of what they hear, yet they do not have a hearing loss. Sounds, words and sentences take longer than expected to take shape into meaningful patterns so, when other babies are looking, listening and learning from what they see and hear, children with APD are surrounded by meaningless noises that can be frustrating and sometimes frightening. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Sensory_Difficulties_Auditory_Processing_Difficulties_London-r1407042-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Sensory_Difficulties_Auditory_Processing_Difficulties_London-r1407042-London_EN.html If you are prepared to do some research and feel confident about making your own investment decisions, instead of following the recommendations of an independent financial advisor (IFA) there are various ways to buy Unit Trusts, OEICs and ISAs for your children's future. Read on for more. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Fund_Supermarkets_London-r1407041-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Fund_Supermarkets_London-r1407041-London_EN.html Tourette syndrome is a recognised medical condition, which is often inherited, but the cause is not yet understood. There are treatments, but there is no cure. It is a very complex condition and can be described, with equal accuracy, as a movement disorder, and neurological condition, or a neuro-psychiatric condition. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Tourette_Syndrome_London-r1407040-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Tourette_Syndrome_London-r1407040-London_EN.html When a child is noticeably behind their peers in acquiring speech and/or language skills, communication is considered delayed. Sometimes a child will have greater receptive (understanding) than expressive (speaking) language skills, but this is not always the case. Read on for more. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Sensory_Difficulties_SpLD_London-r1407039-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Sensory_Difficulties_SpLD_London-r1407039-London_EN.html Statements are unusual in law in that, if properly drafted, they provide for the most comprehensive rights for disabled people in any area of social welfare law. A statement should be drafted by reference to a child's needs and not directly by reference to resources, though the necessary provision to meet those needs should be set out in the statement. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Statutory_Assessments_and_Statements_of_SEN_London-r1407038-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Statutory_Assessments_and_Statements_of_SEN_London-r1407038-London_EN.html As UK youngsters venture overseas, so a good number of overseas students choose to spend their gap-year in the UK. Companies vary in their competency and expertise and naturally, much depends on how you want to spend the year. Several of the sites listed on Gap Year Links may help but two organisations in particular will help with placing overseas students in UK schools - as 'gappies' - for their gap year. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Gap_in_the_UK_for_Overseas_Students_London-r1407037-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Gap_in_the_UK_for_Overseas_Students_London-r1407037-London_EN.html They were there any time for you – whenever you needed them they were there. I started working to my ability again. I was pleased. My favourite subject was maths. I was good, wanted to improve even more. My teacher, who also loved maths, showed me how to improve and taught me new stuff, stuff I didn’t already know. I started to enjoy school more and loved going there every day. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Educated_in_a_Pupil_Referral_Unit_London-r1407036-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Educated_in_a_Pupil_Referral_Unit_London-r1407036-London_EN.html Informing the code are the fundamental principles that children with SEN should have their needs met, ordinarily in a mainstream school (or early years settings), and that the curriculum offered should be broad, balanced and relevant. Furthermore it recognises that parents play a vital role in supporting their child's education and that the views of the child should be sought and taken into account. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/SEN_Code_of_Practice_London-r1407035-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/SEN_Code_of_Practice_London-r1407035-London_EN.html Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes are rare genetic conditions both caused by irregularities in chromosome 15. They aren’t diseases, but are neurological disorders which can cause severe learning difficulties. Williams syndrome is a non-hereditary chromosone disorder. Read on for more. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Rare_Chromosome_Disorders_London-r1407034-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Rare_Chromosome_Disorders_London-r1407034-London_EN.html Connexions is the government’s support service for all young people aged 13–19 in England. It offers support through personal advisers, who can provide not only careers advice but advice on health, housing, relationships, money, travel, disability and legal rights. It can also be a gateway to more specialist support, for example on drug abuse, sexual health and homelessness. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Connexions_London-r1407033-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Connexions_London-r1407033-London_EN.html This is a measure of how well individual pupils do at Key Stage 2 / GCSE relative to their academic attainment when they began that stage of their education (ie at Key Stage 1 for Key Stage 2, and Key Stage 2 for GCSE). This way of assessing pupils' performance takes into account factors such as ethnic and social background. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/School_League_Tables_London-r1407031-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/School_League_Tables_London-r1407031-London_EN.html A large number of primary schools (or their equivalents) are good, even in areas that are a disaster for senior schools. Children in primary schools have (mostly) not reached the age of serious disruption, teaching is more child-centred than it will be later, and catchment areas are smaller. Our results analysis system, Qlikview will give you (if you are a subscriber ) an insight into state primary schools which is available nowhere else. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Primary_Schools_in_the_UK_London-r1407030-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Primary_Schools_in_the_UK_London-r1407030-London_EN.html Another type of dyspraxia is developmental verbal dyspraxia (DVD). This is a speech condition resulting from an immaturity of the speech-production area of the brain. The child has difficulty making consistent speech sounds or producing words because the speech area does not send out consistent messages to the tongue, lips and larynx. Read on for more. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Developmental_Verbal_Dyspraxia_DVD_London-r1407029-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Developmental_Verbal_Dyspraxia_DVD_London-r1407029-London_EN.html A lot will depend on how well funded the school is: it is worth investigating this before you go any further. A few well-funded, rich schools will pick up the tab until further notice if you fall on hard times and your child is a good egg. Most of them will do their very best to see you through exam periods, but most poor schools simply cannot afford to do this for long, however much they may wish to. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Credit_Crunch_Crisis_London-r1407028-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Credit_Crunch_Crisis_London-r1407028-London_EN.html Occasional boarding is not without its detractors. It can be expensive, it can be hard for your child and regular boarders to establish a routine, and can compound problems of home-sickness. On the other hand it gets a child used to being away from home, gives opportunities for extended activities at school and saves having to leave school late and get up early. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Types_of_Boarding_London-r1407027-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Types_of_Boarding_London-r1407027-London_EN.html ADHD/ADD children often have other problems such as dyspraxia or dyslexia and if you treat the whole child, then Ritalin use is certainly lower and can often be stopped much sooner. Undoubtedly, prescribing drugs for children is a delicate and, at times, contentious issue. Parents shouldn't be given false hope, but they can transform a child's (and by extension) a family's life, especially in the early phases of treatment. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Co_Morbidity_London-r1407026-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Co_Morbidity_London-r1407026-London_EN.html Private Schools in the UK are generally known as Independent Schools , because of their freedom to operate outside of government regulations. These fee-charging institutions are favoured by many parents due to their academic standards (which are more-or-less better than in the state sector) and the extra-curricular activities they offer. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Private_Schools_London-r1407022-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Private_Schools_London-r1407022-London_EN.html Relative Popularity measures the popularity of a subject in ‘your’ schools relative to its popularity in comparable schools. Relative Success measures how well pupils do in this subject relative to their performance in other subjects. Weighted AB % is a measure of the raw results achieved and WOW Factor is a combination of the previous three, ie a summing up of overall success. On all measures higher is better. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Comparing_Performance_in_Individual_Subjects_London-r1407021-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Comparing_Performance_in_Individual_Subjects_London-r1407021-London_EN.html When children have learning difficulties that are more generalised and don’t relate to a specific neural problem or immaturity, they can be described as having moderate, severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties, depending on their degree of difficulty. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Global_Learning_Difficulties_London-r1407020-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Global_Learning_Difficulties_London-r1407020-London_EN.html Uni in the USA is a guide to US universities for British students from The Good Schools Guide. Uni in the USA explains how to apply to American unversities. Look at the USA, not only does this give you an extra chance of getting to a top-ranking university, but once you start looking at what is on offer over the Atlantic you will realise how much damage years of financial deprivation have done to UK undergraduate courses. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Uni_in_the_USA_London-r1407019-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Uni_in_the_USA_London-r1407019-London_EN.html Prospectuses abound with girls dancing, boys scrumming and children generally doing everything but think. It has become unfashionable for heads to care about the stretching of minds. Or at least to admit to caring. There is a powerful misconception, in the minds of many, that caring about learning and acting upon that conviction will undermine the other, equally important, elements of an education: the extra-curricular, the social and the spiritual. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Scholarships_and_Bursaries_London-r1407018-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Scholarships_and_Bursaries_London-r1407018-London_EN.html The umbrella term DCD (developmental co-ordination difficulty) is often preferred by medical experts and is in common usage in some other countries (bear this in mind if you are searching the web) and dyspraxia specifically means a motor-planning difficulty. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Dyspraxia_Introduction_London-r1407017-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Dyspraxia_Introduction_London-r1407017-London_EN.html Four categories of hearing impairment are generally used: mild, moderate, severe and profound. Some pupils with a significant loss communicate through sign language (British Sign Language (BSL) is in widespread use) instead of, or as well as, speech. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Sensory_Difficulties_Hearing_Impairments_London-r1407015-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Sensory_Difficulties_Hearing_Impairments_London-r1407015-London_EN.html There are signs you can read to give you an idea of what the chances are of your chosen school going under. Read on and know more. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/School_Obituaries_London-r1407014-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/School_Obituaries_London-r1407014-London_EN.html There are lots of different routes into education, training and employment and there is no right or wrong way to go about it. On top of choosing what course they are interested in and organising appropriate support for their needs, there are many issues that young people and their parents or carers will need to work through. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Help_on_Leaving_School_for_Children_with_SEN_London-r1407011-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Help_on_Leaving_School_for_Children_with_SEN_London-r1407011-London_EN.html Tax and saving for school fees. Children have their own tax allowance, which in theory should cover investment income savings interest. Grandparents may also be able to help. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Tax_and_School_Fees_London-r1407010-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Tax_and_School_Fees_London-r1407010-London_EN.html Stealing ranges from 'borrowing' others' possessions to shoplifting, forgery, car theft and burglary. Children with this disorder often lie, are truants, cheat at schoolwork and display callous behaviour. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Behavioural_Difficulties_OCD_ODD_CD_London-r1407009-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Behavioural_Difficulties_OCD_ODD_CD_London-r1407009-London_EN.html Typically, parents contact us soon after finding out that their child has a disability. The need for straightforward medical information is often the first thing that we can help with. We have information on thousands of medical conditions that affect children, including many very rare disorders. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Contact_a_Family_London-r1407008-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Contact_a_Family_London-r1407008-London_EN.html Strategies and help for children with spina bifida/hydrocephalus in school will vary according to individual need and should be pertinent to the child. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Spina_Bifida_and_Hydrocephalus_London-r1407007-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Spina_Bifida_and_Hydrocephalus_London-r1407007-London_EN.html Most English faith schools are run by the Church of England, an organisation that seems to an outsider to be somewhat fuzzy in its beliefs and self-belief. As a result most 'C of E' schools don't hit you over the head with religion and will look favourably on applications for places from adherents of various other faiths (often quite loosely defined). http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Faith_Religious_Schools_London-r1407006-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Faith_Religious_Schools_London-r1407006-London_EN.html Children described as having moderate learning difficulties, or global learning difficulties, experience great difficulty following the curriculum, despite receiving suitable help and intervention. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Moderate_Learning_Difficulties_MLD_London-r1407005-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Moderate_Learning_Difficulties_MLD_London-r1407005-London_EN.html Provision for a child's SEN may be of overwhelming importance but try to consider your child's needs holistically. For a few severe and complex SENs, school choice may be extremely limited but, for most, choice does exist. http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Finding_SEN_Schools_London-r1407004-London_EN.html http://local.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/Finding_SEN_Schools_London-r1407004-London_EN.html