Fairley House School

About Fairley House School

Location and history

The school is located in central London on two sites, the Senior Department (Years 8 to 11) in SW1 and the Junior Department (Years 3 to 7) in SE1, either side of the Thames (just 15 minutes’ walk between the two sites).

Daphne Hamilton-Fairley established the school in 1982. Mrs Hamilton-Fairley was a speech and language therapist who had been providing therapy for dyslexic children at home. As a parent with four children of whom two were dyslexic, she knew how poor provision was for dyslexia in London and in the UK generally. She resolved to set up a school for dyslexic children as a memorial to her husband (who was killed by an IRA bomb in 1975), hence the name Fairley House. She aimed to combine a medical focus: speech and language therapy and occupational therapy, then mainly delivered in hospital clinics, with education. In this respect, she was a pioneer and although provision of therapy within school is now commonplace we stay true to her vision by pushing forward the boundaries of integrating therapy and education.

Currently the school is thriving with 210 pupils. In response to demand and to enable our 10-year Strategy Plan we aim to provide help for more children and families affected by specific learning difficulties, through offering an Assessment Clinic, Training via our own Diploma onsite courses and blended learning, Outreach to local schools and Research into effective teaching methods. The school is a charity and has a Board of Governors.

Distinctive features of the school and its governing structure.

We are registered with the DCSF as an independent special school for specific learning difficulties.  We have children from a range of socio-economic backgrounds and from a wide geographical area (central and greater London)).  The majority of pupils are private placements and parents manage to afford the fees, which are high due to the favourable staff: pupil ratio and expertise available, 60% of children are statemented; the vast majority paid for by local authorities (LAs) with some coming from the poorest London boroughs. It is a tribute to our children that this diversity is embraced and friendships are forged by children from very different backgrounds and circumstances. Children do not arrive in Year 1 and stay until Year 11 because the aim is to provide intensive help for their difficulties and return them to mainstream schooling as soon as possible.  We aim to return children to mainstream education after an average stay of 2 to 3 years. Although due to lack of provision in London, we have now expanded to KS4 and pupils are staying longer if they want to undertake qualifications with us.

The specific learning differences we cater for are dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, specific language impairment, attention difficulties and mild social and communication difficulties. Teachers and Therapy staff  work together in the classrooms.

Why I work at Fairley House School

Comments from current staff

“What I love most about working at FHS is the team approach to helping our pupils. I believe that this holistic approach of looking at the whole child is what makes us so successful at achieving our ultimate aim, which is to get them back into mainstream schooling, equipped with all the strategies they need to flourish. I find it very insightful to work with a child across different contexts (such as within a speech and language therapy session, a Writing lesson, a Reading lesson or within lunchtime clubs) and this is what enables me, as a speech and language therapist, to be able to ensure that the skills that I am working on are functional to the child within all of their lessons, throughout the school day. I love working collaboratively with the very talented and creative teachers here to plan and co-teach lessons together, where we are both working towards the same common goals.

The children here are also inspirational. Often they have had very difficult experiences of education prior to coming here, where learning has been such a challenge and they sometimes have a very low opinion of themselves. However, they are very brave and resilient and willing to give learning another go, and it is amazing to see them succeed and recognise their achievements for themselves. We quickly see their self-esteem soar as they realise what they are capable of and this gives them the confidence to take more risks with their learning”.

Alex

“I was on my way home from a parents evening and was yet again reminded how fortunate I am to be working at Fairley House. After a particularly emotional meeting, I left close to tears when a mother described how much her daughter had flourished since being at the school. On a daily basis I know that I am contributing to unlocking the potential of children who previously have seen themselves as a failure. I work alongside a fantastic team and together I know we make such a difference to our students and their families, giving them a safe haven in which they can achieve their potential”.

Miriam

PAY AND PROGRESSION

Fairley House School recognises and rewards leadership and teaching excellence.We have in place our own pay structure.

Fairley House School offers attractive salaries and pay progression, when compared to the education sector generally.

We have taken into account our location in Central London, our SEN status and the excellence we strive too at inspection.

This is reviewed annually via our People Committee.

In most cases, teaching staff are placed in a band that reflects their experience within schools. Teaching staff are eligible to move up through the bands to the maximum point, provided that they are performing to our high standards and have a successful appraisal each year.

Teachers that take on extra responsibility before they get to the Leadership scale will be rewarded via our management point systems, which allows for fixed period increase to cover for example being a subject leader.

Benefits of working in the Fairley House Community include:

• Access to a Standard Life Pension Scheme

• Free lunch during term time and INSETs

• Access to training and development including the Fairley House Certificate, Level  5 and Level 7 Diploma.

• Access to wide range of online training

• Enhanced sickness benefit

• End of term staff social events

o Cycle to work scheme

o Employee assistance