Hi,
Can anyone advise on their experience of any of the 10 schools in Basel Stadt.
Our oldest will be going to the Secondary school next year (August 23) and he has very strong dyslexia and will have only been learning German for 2 years in the local school (previously we were in the UK).
He is very bright but needs a lot of support for his dyslexia (writing, spelling, process etc even in his native tongue of English) and his progress at learning German has been slow (steady but slow.)
We would prefer to keep him in the local system but are also considering private german speaking schools (such as Rudolf Steiner) that may be more suitable to him.
Any experience or advice would be gratefully received.
Thanks
BritInBasel
You're looking for help early, that's good, so you can take your time.
Talk to his teachers, especially if there is someone responsible for his language needs (DaZ or someone working with him because of his dyslexia).
IDK if there's a huge difference between various secondary schools re: supporting children, but I seriously doubt it. I'd chose a school close to where you live (or again, ask is teachers for recommendations). Once you're down to two or three schools, contact the headmasters and tell them about your son's problems and what you're worried about etc. (An email asking them to call you or for an informal talk in person should do. Most schools should have at least one headmaster fluent enough in English to talk to you.) You should be able to gauge from their reaction whether or not you want to send you child to their school. Go there asking for help, not demanding it, the outcome will be much more positive.
They will want to know whether he'll be in A, E or P, so again, ask his teachers.
Rudolf Steiner Schule Basel may not offer the support you're looking for, you'd have to talk to them. They seem to have less ressources for "special needs" than state schools.
Also, some additional German tuition now or having someone work with him on his problems (spelling, reading comprehension, writing, whatever) would probably be significantly cheaper than paying for a private school.
Thanks for your response, much appreciated!
Generally speaking the Swiss state schools do tend to struggle when it comes to intervention and support for SEN students.
Diagnostically they are good but intervention wise less so for many reasons.
The Swiss matura track is tough and there are little to no provisions for SEN students.
(Speaking as someone with a Special Educational needs background with 30+ years in education and strong connections to Swiss schools and psychological services)
Your son would probably benefit from an Individual Learning Plan and guaranteed accommodations (25% extra time in all assessments) and those accommodations need to be in place for all classes. Just as important will be the ethos and 'feeling' in a school. Self esteem through acceptance and a focus on strengths is important for SEN students.
The private German speaking schools tend to have little provision for SEN students - I would avoid them.
In my experience the public schools have more provision than private schools (German speaking)
If you are in a public school and it's not working then your best bet will probably be one of the English private schools (but be sure to ask about their SEN provision).
Good Luck!