Ruth kelly send her child to private school because of SN

[PeachyClair]

part story here

Now I haev no problems with private schools as such, just seems this woman is partlyr esponsible for completely effing up the chances of SN kids (such as mine) in mainstream, then she opts out.

Most parentscaring for sn kids don't have £15k a year to make that decision.

Wonder if she realised what she was planning when she was the Minister? Coz that would explain the state of Sn in aminstream schools frankly.

And on the same day I geta letter stating mys ion can't have any occupational therapy because his Teacher ahsn't had the time to fill in the forms by their deadline.

I know Mamazon, we are in same boat. They don't get a statement unless they are FIVE years behind their peers. WTF?

dinosaur ..pray tell, how are they different?

God I detest Ruth Kelly

ok I appreciate that doesn't add anything to the conversation but it had to be said

Vixen,

Re your comment:-
"They don't get a statement unless they are FIVE years behind their peers".

The LEA here are acting illegally in this regard. The Dfes told LEA's that they are not allowed to do this. IPSEA could advise you further. www.ipsea.org.uk.

The duty to undertake statutory assessment falls on an Authority when it is 'necessary'. Neither the law in s323 EA1996 nor the Code of Practice in paragraph 7:34 provide as a justification for refusing assessment the fact that a child may not be within the 1% of the least able children. Nor is refusal to assess permissible in law on the grounds that a child' reading age falls below that of a 7year old.

Oh having had a quick skim could i just point out that i have degree ( not that you would know from my typing) and i had a career as a social worker.

unfortunatly SW have very long hours and the local authority take a very dim view on those of us who have to go home 3-4 times a week because their child has been expelled from nursary, or they need to be taken to a SALT appointment.

I chose to do a job i loved and gave me great self worth but even had i trained and found a job paying £100k a year, i would have soon been sacked given the amount of care my child needs.

Somethings just aren't as black and white as "get a better job"

How can she afford £15K a year in school fees to get her son the specialist help he needs? Because of her salary as a minister in a government which has closed hundreds of specialist schools. Oh the irony

Dyslexia can affect mroe thanr eading skills, my friends son has related memory and organisational difficulties, and the like, which in turn affects confidence (although as she is an excellent mother she ahs managed to minimise this). It can be a bit wider ranging in its affects than some realise.

Wouled I mind paying a bit extra on my tax? well, equipment for Sam, funding for BIBIC therapy (currently sponsored but not much longer) etc comes to a few thousand a year, so if I could do away with those it wold be well worth my while paying the extra taxes wouldn't it?

I DON'T have a degree, however I had an excellent job- but again within the helping professions (manager for HomeStart, before that fundraiser for another charity) both at degree level, and I am doing a degree; despite not having then immense brain power of JimJams and not being anywhere near Ofxford, I was getting a First until Sam's needs intensified and now I am likely to only get a 2:1, which will affect earning power somewhat. But then I'd like (if childcare is available) to go back into the helping professions (teaching) so will be self limiting my earning potential I guess.

fatymama- you think YOUR typing belies your educational level LOL- what does mine say about me then???? LOL

Sam ahs no chance in MS, not really, however as CT says places outside MS don't exist for children like him.

I am very surprised that she is sending her child away to boarding school at 9/10. I am also amazed there are numerous specialist boarding schools for children with dyslexia.
I think it is risible to think her LEA would have paid the fees. It's almost impossible to get basic help via your LEA, let alone £20K a year in fees paid.
However, I have trawled her comments and she is very quiet about special needs inclusion, and she said this a little while ago:

"There could, she thinks, be a greater role for boarding schools in the state system. "There are certain children who thrive in a boarding situation. It would give them a different world experience."

HOwever, she also said this: Tim Brighouse, the London Schools Commissioner, called this week for parents to be given vouchers for private tutors. She does not agree. "We need to tailor the curriculum more towards each individual child but it should be done within the state system." Hmmm.

I can't stand the woman either Twiglett!

'HOwever, she also said this: Tim Brighouse, the London Schools Commissioner, called this week for parents to be given vouchers for private tutors. She does not agree. "We need to tailor the curriculum more towards each individual child but it should be done within the state system." Hmmm. '

hilarious

I think it's a day school but I may be wrong.

No, a boarding school in 'the home counties'.

I see. I read also it was a school that prepares children for entrance to public boarding schools presumably at 13+ so is that going to be good for him - all his new friends going to all those places and he gets shipped back to his local London state comp?

Zenia just what planet is it you live on? ?everyone has the freedom to earn? ? maybe you earn that kind of money and could therefore afford to send your child/ren to private schools if you so choose, but you?re talking people having £15k disposable income ? just how many people do you think earn that kind of money? Yes the lucky ones might be able to afford to send their children to private schools, but reality is, they shouldn?t have to. The state system should be adequate enough to cope with the needs of all children.

IMO Ruth Kelly does not have to make public that her child attends a private school. As a parent she has made the best choice for her child, however, as a former minister for education, she should now state publically that, in her opinion, the state education system is not good enough to cope with all needs.

I don?t know what the answer is, I can?t see the taxpayers agreeing to a tax rise to fund sn education, after all most of them are nimbys who have no idea because they?ve never been there.

LOLOLOL at the thought of Leas forking our £15,000 a year for children with dylexia. We have numerous children coming into secondary, unstatemented, with no extra finacial support with Dxs of ASD, ADHD, Dyslexia and dysprxia.

To get a statement for dyslexia we need 5 years behind chronological age in out LEA.

We have an 18 month wait for anger management for children with EBD.

Pay £15,000? My arse!

Fio, I agree, special schools should never have been closed

also what about those parents who have more than one child with sn? do you think it's as easy to earn an extra £30/45 k as well? or could one only afford to put one child into a private school and what about the others then?

Agree about the NIMBY brigade, shame reallya the overall quality of education for ALL wouldn improve if the teachers didn't have to spend all their time just coping (iykwim) because there was adequate provision. By no means does it affect just SN famillies, it affects anyone whose kids attend a state school imo.

(waanabe good pint- if DS3 gets a dx of Sn as we expect, then we will ahve to consider cancelling Sam's therapya s we cannot afford both, and to give one and not the other would be awful)

But it's something to think about when you're advising your children on careers in their teens though isn't it - if you do X career you can if you need to afford private school fees and help your children. If you do nursing or work in Tesco then you can't. Just something people need to think about when they pick a career. An awful lot of mothers go back to work full time to pay private schools fees and use 100% of their salaries for that (I mean in general not special needs parents). An awful lot of women choose to marry richer men again for these types of reasons, not that I approve of that of course.

xenia, you do bang on don't you.

Actually a general manager for tescos earns about 100k along with a posh car. I think they could afford it....

Xenia what happens to those children that are not academically able to go into a profession with a £100k a year earning potential?

Anyway as i say, my job was quite well paid but i couldn't possibly stay no matter how much they offered me.

Not sure. Some people without any qualifications build up businesses, don't they? But may be you're telling me they're all clever but didn't work at school.
Agree on Tescos and in fact some people work their way up there.
Some people take second jobs to pay schools fees. Others move to countries with better state provision IF they're allowed to go there. But if you're looking after a special needs child all those things are much harder.