How to choose a school when your child has learning differences
For most families navigating school selection, the process is complex but navigable. For families with children who have learning differences — dyslexia, ADHD, anxiety, autism spectrum profiles, processing difficulties, or any combination — the process is more complex, the stakes feel higher, and the information available is considerably less useful.
School brochures do not mention inclusive education in meaningful terms. Open day presentations are designed for the median prospective student. And the question "how does your school support students with learning needs?" will produce a polished answer at almost every school you visit, regardless of whether the reality matches the message.
This guide is for parents who need to cut through the general presentation and understand, specifically, whether a school will genuinely support their child.
The landscape has changed — and the range is wide
The good news: most of Brisbane and the Gold Coast's leading private schools have invested substantially in learning support over the past decade. Dedicated learning support centres, learning enhancement teachers, occupational therapists, and speech pathologists on staff (or on retained contract) are now common in the mid-to-top tier of the market.
The important qualification: the quality and philosophy of that support varies enormously. A school that has a learning support team does not necessarily have a learning support culture. The difference matters more than the staffing ratio.
A learning support infrastructure means: trained staff, appropriate facilities, identified processes for assessment and intervention, and systems for sharing information across the teaching team.
A learning support culture means: classroom teachers who understand differentiation and actually practise it, a pastoral system that tracks individual students proactively, an assessment and reporting approach that acknowledges diverse modes of demonstrating learning, and — perhaps most importantly — a school community where having a learning support need does not carry social stigma.
The second is harder to evaluate from the outside, but it is the more important variable for your child's actual experience.
First: be clear about what your child needs
Before you can evaluate schools, you need a clear picture of your child's specific profile. This means:
Having current documentation. A psychoeducational assessment from a registered psychologist, ideally within the past two to three years, is the foundation. It gives you specific data on your child's cognitive profile — processing speeds, working memory, phonological awareness, attention — that will be directly relevant to school discussions. Without it, you are operating on impressions.
Understanding the diagnosis in practical terms. A diagnosis of dyslexia means something specific for classroom learning — difficulty with phonological processing, spelling, reading fluency — that translates into specific accommodation needs. A diagnosis of ADHD with inattentive presentation means something different. Know specifically what your child needs, not just the label.
Knowing the difference between adjustments and support. Adjustments are changes to assessment conditions — extra time, reader/scribe access, separate examination rooms. These are provided under the Disability Discrimination Act and Queensland's education legislation. Schools with appropriate documentation are legally required to provide them. Support is different: proactive teaching assistance, differentiated curriculum, regular check-ins. This is what varies.
The questions that actually reveal a school's approach
"Can you walk me through how a student with [my child's specific profile] would be supported from the moment they arrive in Year 7?"
The operative word is "walk me through." You want a specific, procedural answer: who meets with the family in the transition period, how the learning profile is shared with classroom teachers, what the adjustment plan looks like, how it is reviewed, and who owns the relationship.
A school with robust systems will answer this specifically. A school that responds with generalities ("we take a holistic approach" or "our teachers are all trained in differentiation") probably does not have the systems to back it up.
"How many students currently access learning support, and what does that look like in practice?"
The percentage of students accessing support is a useful baseline. At a well-supported school, it is typically 15–25% of the student population in some form, from minor adjustments through to intensive daily support. A very low number (under 5%) may indicate under-identification, poor take-up due to stigma, or a school that defines learning support narrowly.
Ask also what the support looks like day-to-day: Is it withdrawal from class (which can stigmatise)? In-class support? Small group work? What is the balance, and what is the philosophy?
"How does information about a student's learning needs get to classroom teachers, and how do you know it's being acted on?"
This is the implementation question. Many schools have excellent documentation systems that teachers do not consistently use. The answer you want: a clear, described process by which adjustment plans are communicated at the start of each year, followed up mid-term, and reviewed regularly. Bonus points if the school can describe what happens when a classroom teacher's practice does not match what has been agreed.
"What does QCAA assessment provision look like for your students, and how do you support the application process?"
Queensland's senior assessment is managed through QCAA, and students with documented learning needs can access formal provisions — extra time, rest breaks, use of technology. The application process requires current documentation and school endorsement. Ask specifically: who manages this process, how far in advance do families need to engage, and what has the school's track record been in securing appropriate provisions for students?
"Can you tell me about a student with a profile similar to my child's who did well here?"
You are not asking for a case study by name. You are asking whether the school can articulate what success looks like for a student with your child's profile. A school that has genuinely done this well can describe it.
The co-curricular dimension
This is often overlooked in conversations about learning differences, and it matters significantly.
Children with learning differences frequently find their confidence, social connection, and sense of identity in co-curricular activities — sport, music, drama, visual arts — where their academic challenges are irrelevant. A school with a rich, well-supported co-curricular program is providing your child with daily experiences of competence and belonging that buffer against the difficulty of academic learning.
When evaluating schools for a child with learning differences, give genuine weight to this. A school where your child can develop a real identity around something they love is doing something important for them, regardless of what the learning support staffing ratio looks like on paper.
The social environment question
Learning differences can carry social risk in adolescent peer environments. A child who reads slowly, who processes verbal instructions differently, or whose attention profile makes them seem disruptive, can become a social target in unkind peer cultures.
When you visit schools, look at the student culture. Is difference — of any kind — tolerated or celebrated? How do students respond to each other when someone makes a mistake? Is the culture competitive in ways that might inadvertently marginalise students who are not academic stars?
These observations are necessarily impressionistic, but they are real. A school where every student ambassador you meet is a high-achieving, conventional learner is a different social environment from one where the diversity of the student population is genuinely reflected in who the school puts forward.
The documentation conversation with the school
When you find a school that feels promising, have an honest conversation with the learning support team — not the registrar or admissions coordinator, the actual learning support staff — about your child's profile.
Bring the psychoeducational report. Walk through the specific recommendations. Ask how the school would respond to each one in practice. This conversation will tell you more than any amount of general assurance about the school's inclusive philosophy.
If the learning support team is unable to meet with you during the admissions process, or if you are repeatedly redirected to general admissions staff, that is itself informative.
The honest reality
Not every school in Brisbane or on the Gold Coast is the right environment for every child with learning differences. Some schools have cultures that are genuinely difficult for students whose learning profile does not fit the academic mainstream. Identifying those schools and steering away from them is a legitimate outcome of this process.
The goal is not to find a school that will tolerate your child's learning needs. It is to find a school that will see your child's specific strengths and challenges clearly, put genuine structures in place to support their development, and provide an environment where they can spend six years building the foundations of a confident, capable adult life.
That school exists. Finding it requires asking better questions than most families ask.