My husband and I are thinking of settling down in Dubai. However I have a child with learning disabilities, he’s aged 11 so will be starting secondary in September, 2012. I would very much appreciate it if you could let me know what level of support is available there in schools, as I will be moving from the UK. We have been offered free accommodation in our chosen area, car, flights, medical and school fees. Salary 25,000 DHS per month. Any advice would be good, thanks.

Year 7 is a very difficult year group to get children into school in Dubai whether they have learning disabilities or not. Schools in Dubai are very limited in the amount and extent of learning disabilities they can cope with (usually Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, processing problems). They do not get any support from the government and each schools learning support department is relatively small. It would also be dependent on what his learning disabilities are. You would have to contact each school individually and discuss the matter with them.

Please see our directory of schools which list the schools, curriculum followed and whether they are primary, secondary or both. I suggest you start with Dubai British School, English College, Dubai English Speaking College, & Repton to see initially if they have any Year 7 spaces available and then discuss fully the learning support available in each school but this will be limited.

For a list of clinics offering services for children with learning difficulties click here