Denise Van Outen has revealed that her seven-year-old daughter Betsy has learning difficulties. In a new interview with Fabulous magazine, the 43-year-old shared that Betsy has been diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia, and said she enrolled her little girl in a specialist school in September – a move which has changed Betsy's academic life. "We've known since she was quite little, but I had a bit of a battle at the school because she was having SEN (special educational needs classes and being taken out of her group," Denise said. "I could see it was affecting her.
"The kids were all pushed to be the same and if you weren't getting high grades, you got forgotten about. She's only seven, but I could see it could be an issue with her confidence, so [changing schools] was more pre-empting what could become a problem later. There were situations where she was knocked by it. She was getting frustrated and when you're little you don't understand those emotions."
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© Photo: Getty ImagesDenise Van Outen with her seven-year-old daughter Betsy
Denise said that Betsy now jumps out of bed every morning, excited to go to school. "She's so much happier. It's all about visual learning, and giving them the time to process everything," she revealed. "Betsy can't retain information, she has to keep processing it and going over it because otherwise whatever she's been taught is out of her head by the time she's home. Those big schools, they just want grades and everything to look great on paper. Whereas this new school is more about nurturing and recognising if a child is creative and working with that."
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© Photo: Getty ImagesDenise and Lee Mead have remained on good terms since their split in 2013
Denise welcomed Betsy in 2010, one year after she married Lee Mead in a romantic Seychelles ceremony. The couple split in June 2013, and divorced in 2015, but remain on very good terms. The TV star is now in a relationship with long-term boyfriend Eddie Boxshall – and just last month, she revealed they have considered having a baby together. "I go through waves if I'm honest," she said, during an appearance on Loose Women. "I've got one child Betsy, who is seven, but I think, I am so lucky to have her but for me it's that thing of thinking I have to go through it all again, the sleepless nights and everything. Whereas for him, he will do it at the drop of a hat, if he could. He would share it. But don't get me wrong, if I fell pregnant I would be over the moon but I can't overthink it because I just don't know."
