Why structured intervention often gets lost in even the most well-resourced classrooms.

If your child has dyslexia, you probably started out thinking your choice of independent school would take care of things.

After all, prestigious schools have excellent reputations, skilled teachers, and well-funded SEN departments. But what we’ve seen time and again, working closely with families across the world, surprised even us: independent schools, despite their resources, often struggle with truly effective dyslexia support.

The hidden struggle at independent schools

You might assume your child’s fee-paying school, with smaller classes, better resources, and dedicated SEN staff, has all the necessary support in place for dyslexic students. But surprisingly, even prestigious fee-paying schools have serious gaps.

1. Why teacher training still falls short

Many teachers, even experienced SEN staff, lack specialist, deep-level training in evidence-based dyslexia methods like Orton-Gillingham. In the US, it was found that 57% of teacher training programs dedicate fewer than 2 hours to the support of struggling readers.

Heidi, a specialist SEN tutor with Tutors International, explains: “Schools may have great intentions, but not every SEN teacher has the in-depth dyslexia training necessary. Without intensive training, even dedicated staff find it challenging to deliver effective intervention.”

2. When the timetable undermines the method

The Rose Review (2009), which shaped current UK dyslexia recommendations, emphasises intensive, structured literacy sessions of around 45 minutes daily, five days weekly.³ Heidi notes, “The reality is, schools can rarely fit this schedule into a busy timetable consistently. Intervention ends up diluted, and so does progress.”

3. How schools lean on group work and extra time

Adam Caller, our CEO and a specialist in complex educational placements points out:

“Group interventions, even when small, often aren’t quite small enough. Individual needs slip through unnoticed. And extra exam time, while helpful, doesn’t build underlying skills, it just treats symptoms.”

Ofqual data for 2023–24 backs up Adam’s insight: 41.8% of students in UK independent schools were granted 25% extra time in exams, compared to just 26.5% in non-selective state schools.This type of access arrangement is most commonly used for students with specific learning difficulties, including dyslexia, and the widening gap between sectors has prompted Ofqual to launch a formal review into fairness and consistency across schools.

While exam accommodations like extra time can be helpful, they don’t replace high-quality intervention. In fact, this disparity may reflect a broader trend in some independent schools, relying on access arrangements to manage the symptoms of dyslexia, rather than delivering the structured, intensive teaching that actually addresses its root causes.

Why proven methods matter (and what they look like)

So if even top schools struggle, what methods actually make a difference?

Heidi has clear recommendations from years of frontline experience:

"I strongly recommend structured phonics-based programmes following the Orton-Gillingham approach, such as Wilson, Alphabetic Phonics, and Barton Reading. They all explicitly teach the critical skills dyslexic learners need: phonemic awareness, decoding, and spelling."

Let's clarify what these methods actually involve. Here are some evidence-backed interventions recommended by our own specialist dyslexia tutors:

Orton-Gillingham (OG)
A multisensory structured literacy method in which tutors explicitly teach letter-sound connections by engaging sight, sound, and touch simultaneously. Research consistently shows that OG significantly improves reading fluency and accuracy.

Wilson Reading System
An OG-based structured phonics programme, particularly effective for older learners or teenagers⁶. It follows a highly structured approach, teaching reading skills clearly and sequentially, step by step.

Alphabetic Phonics
Also based on OG, it’s ideal for younger children starting out with literacy⁷, using multisensory instruction to firmly establish decoding skills.

Barton Reading Program
A user-friendly OG-based programme often preferred by private tutors and parents teaching at home. It is most effective when delivered consistently one-to-one or in very small groups⁸.

Take Flight
Designed specifically for small groups (around six students), this structured literacy programme shows proven results when groups are small, stable, and well-managed⁹.

These methods are all rooted in structured phonics - an approach with strong evidence for improving reading outcomes in dyslexic learners.

But as Adam explains in this article on phonics teaching and dyslexia, teaching phonics alone isn’t always enough. “It’s essential to match methods to the learner,” he says. “Sometimes phonics needs to be blended with whole-word approaches or tailored further to suit each child’s unique cognitive profile.”

Why one-to-one private tuition works better, every time

Many assume that private tutoring is simply supplemental. It’s useful, but surely not essential. The truth, backed by research and real-world experience, is different.

Private tutor, Nathaniel, says: 

"Each child is unique, and there is no one way to help every student understand a concept. My job is to think outside the box and determine the best approach for each child."

In Nassau, a 15-year-old with a highly visual learning style thrived when the tutor we hired for her reimagined academic content into visual-spatial formats. With consistent one-to-one support, she developed the tools to succeed in a mainstream classroom setting.

This difference matters profoundly. Adam explains:

“When intervention is genuinely individualised, progress isn’t just incremental, it’s transformative. Confidence returns. Anxiety fades. Children realise they aren’t ‘bad’ at school, they simply need a different style of teaching.”

We've seen this repeatedly: children who struggled for years flourish when support shifts to intensive, tailored one-to-one sessions.

For example, in one Costa Mesa placement, our tutor quickly identified that one of two cousins was dyslexic, which was missed in school. With personalised teaching and tailored strategies, both boys re-engaged with learning and successfully transitioned back into mainstream education within a year.

Practical next steps

Of course, private tuition is an investment of money, time, and emotional energy. You need realistic advice, grounded in practical constraints, even if your resources are significant.

Here’s what we suggest, based on our experience and industry research:

Question your school:
How frequently is intervention delivered? Who exactly teaches it, and what’s their training? Are sessions truly small-group (max four to six students)? How do they track progress? There are specialist SEN schools that may be a better fit than their current school.

Check intervention intensity:
Compare your school’s provision against recommended best practice (ideally 45 minutes daily or at least three times weekly).

Try private tutoring, even short-term:
Consider an initial intensive period with a specialist tutor that has experience with dyslexia and is a good personality fit for your child. “Even short, intensive blocks of individualised tutoring can deliver clear, measurable improvements,” Heidi confirms.

We worked with one US family during a travelling sabbatical in Europe, homeschooling their three children - two of whom were dyslexic. Impressed by the children’s progress, they continued with private tutoring for two more years after returning home.

Even prestigious independent schools find genuinely individualised dyslexia intervention challenging - not through lack of effort, but structural limitations inherent in any school timetable. It's not a matter of competence, but logistics.

One-to-one tutoring simply doesn't face these hurdles. Tutors adjust on the spot, schedule intensively, and target precise needs without compromise. Yes, your independent school provides significant resources. But for consistent, intensive, transformative dyslexia intervention, individual tutoring remains unmatched.

Read more about hiring a specialist SEN tutor.