A specialist independent school that offers children with dyslexia and dyspraxia the support needed to help them re-enter mainstream education.

Fairley House is a central London day school for children with learning difficulties that is praised by parents for helping to develop their child’s potential, giving them confidence, and “turning them around”. Students typically attend the school for two to three years before they return to mainstream education.

Founded in 1982 to become a centre of excellence for children with dyslexia or language problems, this day school has become one of the city’s leading specialist schools. With over 35 years’ experience of identifying and teaching children with dyslexia and dyspraxia, Fairley House has a reputation for helping children return to mainstream education with the confidence they need to succeed.

It’s a co-ed school for around 160 six to 16-year-olds spread across two sites in central London about a mile apart from each other. The senior school in Westminster is for Years 6 -11, and the junior school in Lambeth for Years 2-5. 

There’s certainly no traditional ‘one size fits all’ approach to learning at the school, and an education balances the academic with behavioural and counselling support, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and social skills training.

Parents coming to Fairley House may be considering moving their child from a mainstream state or independent school into a specialist school because they want to move them to an environment in which they can feel confident and comfortable. In a mainstream school, where teachers may not have the time or expertise to teach SEN students effectively, children can lack confidence and self-worth. 

At Fairley House, where all students have some form of learning difficulty, there is no stigma of being labelled the ‘special needs’ child; they will not be taken out of class to receive extra help or publicly given easier work than their classmates. Instead, all children have their own individual education plan and timetable.

As Headmaster Michael Taylor says:

“At Fairley House, we believe the solution is to give your child a level playing field; a school where all the children experience similar difficulties.”

Curriculum

Teaching follows the National Curriculum for England but, as a school that is fully authorised to teach children with dyslexia, it focuses on the subject areas where these students can thrive. There is a greater emphasis on literacy and numeracy skills, as well as subjects including art, design and technology, food technology, computing and media, performing arts and PE.

You should expect plenty of creativity in the classroom as teachers replace a chalk and talk approach with multi-sensory methods that can help children overcome various challenges to learning. As the school says, “from chucking tennis balls around to learn maths or doing press-ups to understand Shakespeare”, lessons are adapted for these children’s needs. Students are grouped for English and Maths lessons according to their ability, and teaching for all other subjects is done in tutor groups. 

Class sizes are small so that teachers can focus on individual needs, and occupational and speech and language therapist work closely alongside teaching staff; in a Motor Maths class, for example, OTs work with teachers in the gym to use PE equipment when learning about numeracy.

“It allows children to use their bodies whilst learning a maths concept and in doing so, they develop a greater number of memory hooks to help them retain and recall that knowledge.”

Most students return to mainstream education after two or three years, but some stay on for longer. There is an option to study GCSEs at the school, sometimes over three years rather than the normal two year period. Students would typically take GCSE English, maths and science, and two additional subjects such as humanities, design technology, citizenship and media studies.

Fairley House is approved by CReSTeD (Council for the Registration of Schools Teaching Dyslexic Children) and is a member of the BDA (British Dyslexic Association), which both recognise the school’s excellence in teaching and supporting children with dyslexia.

Beyond the classroom

The school champions the arts. There’s a range of arts and skill-based clubs and activities, at both lunchtimes and after-school, as well as individual music lessons in drums, guitar, flute, clarinet, saxophone, recorder, voice, piano and violin. There are also weekly timetabled music and drama lessons, and several productions are staged every year.

While Fairley House may not be the sportiest school (the focus needs to be on numeracy and literacy), it does teach PE and games as part of the curriculum and as an extra-curricular activity. The main sports are football, netball, rugby, cricket, athletics, swimming and dance, and as students move up through the school, they can try less traditional sports such as bouldering, boxing, kayaking, powerboating and sailing. 

Admission and fees

Students can join the school at any time – it has a flexible admissions policy that is all about giving children access to a specialist education, when they need it.

Most children have either dyslexia or dyspraxia, and they need to demonstrate at least average ability (IQ) on testing by an educational psychologist. As part of the admissions process, students spend three days at the school for a multi-disciplinary assessment.

Annual fees are £35,808.

Our view

Good for: The school has three decades of experience teaching children with dyslexia and dyspraxia, so if you are looking for an inclusive school where your child can benefit from the right specialist teaching, support and encouragement – Fairley House has both the reputation and the expertise.

This specialist independent school is focused on helping children with dyslexia and dyspraxia to re-enter mainstream education, and the average stay is two to three years. Its central London location is also a huge plus for city families.

Not for: Due to the nature of the school there can be a high turnover of students as they stay for three years and then return to mainstream education; this can mean friends come and go, which can be unsettling for some children.

Fairley House is not a mainstream school so enrolment is for children with dyslexia and other learning difficulties only. There's also no boarding option available.

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