Home education & SEN · Dubai & the UAE
Homeschooling a child with SEN, with a specialist at the table.
When your child is learning at home, by choice or for now, a SEN governess carries the learning plan and the routine through the day.
SEN homeschooling support, at a glance
Updated
- Who it is for
- Children with additional needs who are home-educated, between school places, not yet in school, or on a reduced timetable.
- What the governess does
- Carries the learning plan, the routine and the behaviour strategies through the day at home, to goals a clinical lead sets.
- What we are not
- Special Minds is not a homeschool provider or curriculum body, and does not register children for home education.
- Your first check
- Home-education rules are set by the UAE authorities and can change, so confirm the current position for your child yourself.
Learning at home
When school is not where the learning happens.
Some children with additional needs are educated at home by choice. Others are at home for now: waiting for a school place, between schools after a placement broke down, not yet ready for a classroom, or on a reduced timetable that sends them home part-way through the day. In each case a parent ends up trying to be teacher, therapist and parent at once, often on top of everything else.
A SEN governess can carry that day. The specialist works one-to-one with your child at home, running the learning plan in short, structured sessions, holding the routine together, and following the behaviour and communication strategies the clinical lead has written. If your child is on a reduced timetable, the same person can take over at the point school stops, so the rest of the day is not lost.
It is worth being clear about what we are not. Special Minds is not a homeschool provider or a curriculum body, we do not register children for home education, and a governess is not a substitute for a qualified teacher delivering a full curriculum. Whether and how your child can be educated at home is a question for the UAE education authorities, so check the current rules before you plan around them.
Where the learning plan comes from
Someone has to set the goals before anyone delivers them.
The programme you have chosen
If you follow a curriculum, an online school or another programme, the governess works through it with your child at a pace and in a format they can manage. Choosing it, and registering for it, stays with you.
An assessment, where there is no plan yet
Where nobody has set clear goals, a standalone assessment (AED 499) with our Education and Program Director gives the plan its starting point.
The school, if there is one
For a child on a reduced timetable the school's own targets come first, and with the school's agreement we coordinate with the SENCO so home and school pull the same way.
Your child's therapists
Speech, occupational or behaviour therapy goals are carried into the day by the governess, who uses them but does not design them.
A tutor, for subject teaching
Where your child needs subject teaching beyond what a governess covers, one-to-one tutoring for learning differences can sit alongside the placement.
A day at home, structured
What a home-education placement looks like.
A visible timetable
The day has a shape your child can see: learning blocks, breaks, meals, movement and an end point, kept the same from one day to the next.
Learning in short, planned sessions
Reading, writing, number work and the targets in the plan, broken into pieces your child can finish, with a record of what was done.
Life skills as learning
Dressing, preparing a snack, getting ready to go out: independence goals taught in the real moments they belong to.
Time with other children
Learning at home can mean fewer chances to play and share, so the plan can include practising social skills with siblings or at activities you arrange.
Progress you can see
Records against real goals, reviewed by the clinical lead on a managed placement, so you know whether learning at home is working rather than guessing.
Ready for what comes next
If the aim is a return to school, the plan can include classroom skills such as sitting for a group activity and following an instruction given to everyone.
How it starts
From a first message to the first session.
- Step 1
Check your position on home education
First, confirm the current UAE rules that apply to your child. We cannot do this for you or register your child.
- Step 2
Tell us about your child and the day
Why your child is at home, how long you expect that to last, what is already in place, and the hours you need covered.
- Step 3
Set the goals
From your chosen programme, any school or therapy targets and, where needed, a standalone assessment (AED 499).
- Step 4
Match, brief and start
A specialist matched to your child, the hours and the languages at home, who reads the plan and speaks to the clinical lead before day one.
Two ways to arrange it
We employ her, or you do.
We employ and supervise her
The specialist stays on our books. A clinical lead writes the plan, reviews it, and changes it as your child progresses — and if the placement stops working, we replace her.
AED 15,000–30,000/mo, plus AED 1,999 to start the search
Families who want the plan and the accountability carried for them.
You employ her
We run the search, screen, interview and reference the candidates, and you hire the one you choose onto your own arrangement. One fee, once, and no ongoing relationship with us unless you want one.
AED 1,499 to open the search; the placement fee is one month of the candidate's agreed gross salary
Families who are happy to manage the role themselves.
More on SEN governess support
Related pages.
SEN governess
A trained specialist for your child at home, to a written plan.
Read moreHome tutoring
One-to-one tutoring for learning differences.
Read moreAssessment
A behavioural and educational assessment, then a clear recommendation.
Read moreHome shadow teacher in Dubai
One-to-one support at home, or one specialist across the classroom and the afternoon.
Read moreDevelopmental delay
Support for young children behind on several milestones at once.
Read moreTherapy services
ABA, speech and language, and occupational therapy from one clinical team.
Read moreFrequently asked
Questions families ask.
- Does Special Minds provide homeschooling?
- No. We are not a homeschool provider or a curriculum body, and we do not register children for home education. What we provide is a SEN governess who carries your child's learning plan, routine and behaviour strategies at home, while the education arrangement itself remains yours.
- Is homeschooling allowed for a child with SEN in the UAE?
- It depends on your child's circumstances and on rules set by the UAE authorities, which change from time to time, so we will not give you a yes or no. Check the current position with the relevant authority before you take your child out of school or plan around home education. Once you know where you stand, we can talk about support at home.
- Can a SEN governess teach the curriculum?
- A governess runs learning at home: reading, writing, number work and the targets in your child's plan, in a way your child can manage. Many specialists come from special education, but a teaching degree is not required for the role, so a governess is not a substitute for a qualified teacher delivering a full curriculum. Where subject teaching is needed, a tutor alongside the placement is often the honest answer.
- My child is on a reduced timetable. Can a governess cover the rest of the day?
- Yes, it is a common arrangement. The specialist takes over when school ends early, keeps the learning going for the rest of the day and works on the targets the school has set. With the school's agreement, we coordinate with the SENCO so the targets at home match the ones in class.
- Our child is waiting for a school place. Is a governess worth it in the meantime?
- Often, because time at home without structure can be hard to come back from, and the placement can work on the skills a classroom will ask for. The hours are agreed in writing, and if a place comes through the arrangement can change, to after-school support or to school-plus-home with the new school's agreement.
- Who decides what my child learns at home?
- You do, with the clinical lead. You choose any curriculum or programme and remain responsible for the education arrangement; on a managed placement the clinical lead sets the goals the governess works to, drawing on that programme, any school targets and an assessment where one helps. The governess delivers the plan and records progress, but does not decide it alone.
- How many hours does a home-education placement need?
- Usually more than an after-school placement, because the specialist carries the learning day rather than the end of it. The exact hours depend on your child's stamina, the plan and what your family can sustain, and they are agreed in writing before the placement starts. Longer days are reflected in the fee: managed placements are AED 15,000–30,000/mo, and the hours are one of the things that decide where a placement sits in that range.
- Does a governess at home replace the social side of school?
- No, and it is worth planning for that gap rather than ignoring it. The plan can include practising social skills with siblings, at clubs or activities you arrange, or with other children you know, with the specialist supporting your child through them. If contact with other children is a large part of what your child needs, that may also be a reason to look again at school options.
Further reading
Guides for this decision.
Guides
Home education for a child with SEN in the UAE: where to start
Home education or a reduced timetable for a child with SEN in the UAE: the questions to settle first, the rules to check, and where a governess fits.
Guides
SEN governess or ABA therapist: which does my child need?
What an ABA therapist does, what a SEN governess does, when a child needs one, the other or both, and how the two should work together day to day.
Guides
Choosing between home, school and centre-based therapy
How to decide which setting works best for your child's therapy — home, school, or a dedicated centre.
Guides
A day in the life of a SEN governess
An hour-by-hour picture of what one-to-one home support actually looks like, and what should be written down by the end of it.
Guides
What is a SEN governess, and does your child need one?
The role behind the job title — what a SEN governess does, how it differs from childcare, and the children it actually suits.
Guides
The first month with a SEN governess: what to expect, week by week
Week by week through the first month of a SEN governess placement: the briefing, settling in, building the routine and the first review of the plan.
Tell us about your child.
A conversation first, on WhatsApp or by phone. No obligation, and a straight answer if we are not the right fit.