to keep him off school some days at the moment

https://www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare/check-if-youre-eligible

You may be eligible for tax free childcare. Perhaps find childminder who would do pickup and drop off for you? Or a TA from the school you could pay

Is there an early school breakfast club your partner can drop off at? Speak to the school and see if they have any suggestions or can signpost you to someone who can help. Or Could you learn to drive perhaps? You are at the start of school runs which you will be doing for years so need a suitable
long term solution as school attendance is so important.

This is clearly not sustainable so you need to find a solution. Keeping your child off school is not the way forward.

What about next year when you are back at work after maternity leave? Will the younger two be in nursery? Could the middle one do some nursery now?

You either need to walk or get the bus but you can't not take a child to school. In 2 years time you will have two to get to school and yourself to go work. It's going to get harder not easier. You need a longer term plan.

It sounds really hard. Are there any school parents who could help? Perhaps your partner could drop your eldest off early at a school friend's a few mornings a week and they take him to school? Ask the school for help, maybe they could help put you in touch with families that live near you?

You need to get your child to school.

https://www.disability-grants.org/grants-for-disabled-parents.html.
Have a look at this website.

Perhaps ask for a care needs assessment yourself to see if they can provide help with transporting kids to school

If the school is more than two miles away, apply for home to school transport when your child is about to reach the age of 5. You will be entitled to it as he goes to the nearest suitable school.

Has your partner made a flexible working request so he can do at least one of the school runs?

Hi @tinyyturtle . I expect you knew in your heart of hearts what people were going to say so not sure what you were hoping for.

You really do need to find a way to deal with this. It is no use feeling guilty, this is not a case of not being able to get him the best toy where it doesn’t really matter, schooling is vital and patterns set early influence the rest of their lives.

Put baby in a sling and presumably it’s just then the same as it was before baby arrived, just with a weight vest. Where do your problems come from, are they new? If not how did you manage them before?

Lots of other good advice about contacting the local authority but could you cycle and get one of those Dutch trolleys that can sit a couple of kids. I know it might sound a bit scary but you’d soon get the hang of it and might be easier in you that n walking.

Good luck.

Please speak to your child's school on Monday morning. He needs to be in school - This year is fundamental in setting him up to be successful.

I agree with others who say the situation isn't going to get easier any time soon, but I disagree that that means you should suck it up. It's exhausting and stressful. You can't carry on like this.

You've taken up the offer of an optional early start to school. Your child doesn't reach "Compulsory School Age" until the term after his fifth birthday. Unless he turns five by the end of March, he'll reach CSA in the autumn. Reception is meant to be a gentle start to school. He doesn't have to go every day to get the benefit of it. And you cannot yet be fined over his attendance. Take it easy for now. Would it work better to go into school a bit later, once the buses are less full? Children who are below CSA have the absolute right to attend school part time - see the School Admissions Code.

You will need to come up with a viable plan for the autumn. Maybe look into having a childminder do the school run, or moving closer to the school, or home educating. There has to be a better solution than continuing indefinitely with an arrangement which isn't working for your family.

@ScarlettSarah none of that is the child’s problem. You don’t keep having kids when you can’t even get them to school! Poor kids. My post is blunt but it is not nasty. I genuinely can’t believe what I’ve read.

What happens next year when he is in Year 1?

This.

It’s not reasonable just to say DP leaves early and “can’t” - a way has to be found.

A breakfast club so DP can drop the eldest, a nursery or childminder for DC2 for a couple of hours that DP can get him to, a change in hours so that DP can help in the mornings. A change in job if needs be. Or as a last resort, move house!

The load that you are left with in the current situation is too much for one person, clearly.

A “treat as wheelchair” sign for the buggy might help, as pps have suggested, but it sounds like it’ll still be hard.

Or speak to the LA about transport to school.

I agree that you ideally need support but if you can’t get it then I’m afraid you’re going to have to push through and get your child to school. It just isn’t optional because it feels hard.

Speak with school. There was a single mum with 3 kids (4,2,1) with disability at our school. Staff was volunteering to help her with school runs for almost 2 years.

Mobility allowances don't happen before the age of 3 and @tinyyturtle doesn't drive.

If the school is more than 2 miles you may get transport. Even if not, it's possible that the LA will provide it if it's necessary to facilitate attendance. Speak to your HT.

If this is the nearest school to you and it is more than 2 miles away you may be able to get some help for school transport. Ask the school for help and they may be able to request support from the council

Nasty post. It isn't always so simple to just move, just find another job, etc.

OP, have a look on the gov.uk website about school transport for your eldest- it sounds like he would be eligible?

Did you had your health issues before you had these children?

School is not optional. You had to get your child to school. Did you not think about the logistics of this?

Could you get a mobility scooter?

I thought this was going to be about a child struggling to adjust at school and needing a a flexi-schooling arrangement but this is not about him but about his siblings which isn't fair. I doubt you're able to do much (or any) learning with him at home either with a disabled 2 yo and a newborn.

The options are:

• Dad drops off 2.5 yo at nursery on his way to work.
• You enrol DS in an early morning breakfast club and Dad drops him off there before school.
• You enrol DS in a different school closer to your home

Just not taking him to school isn't an option.

If Dad is leaving too early to help with the other two options and you can't cope with all 3 children, he needs to change jobs to make it work.

DS will not only be missing the building blocks of learning to read, write and maths but also a lot of the social side of things and bonding, and if you can't manage it now, it won't get easier in Y1.

Or is there someone you could pay to look after the 2 year old for some school runs?

Have you always had mobility issues or has this happened since having your youngest? Were you managing to get him to school before you had the baby? I feel you must’ve known what you had in store with the school run. I’m not saying it’s not difficult but what did you think would happen with 3 children under the age of 4 and living 2 miles away from school plus the added issues you have. I feel for you I do, but you must’ve known it was going to be tricky!

Do you receive PIP (for either yourself or your child)? Might be worth applying? (I appreciate it's hard to get)

Or speak to the school or social services. There might be something they can do... You never know until you ask