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.

OH exactly Aloha- what it actually means is that the LEA havne't disputed the findings of a private ed psychs report (why would they even try to unless she took them to tribunal). I have 10's of private reports on ds1 that I've submitted to the LEA when we were statementing. They didn't dispute them either - we weren't in dispute so why would they? They took the relevant bits and wrote them into the statement.

yes, I agree Aloha, that's exactly what she wanted everyone to think.

Silly woman - any parent, even those without special needs who've had to fight for help, could tell that there's no way a LEA would fork out £15k for a private school for someone with dyslexia.

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I would rather she resigned - she presided over the education system and yet now feels she needs to buy her way out of it.

Xenia you obviously have no experience in trying to get a LEA ED phy to give a DX of dyslexia.

Yes you can pay for a private DX at £350, but even with a DX you don't always get extra help at MS school.

Also some children have develepmental dyslexia which they overcome by the time they are 8/9, so your child may struggle for quite some time before you know exactly what their problem is.

Anyone remember this from last year does dyslexia exist .

Can't remember if there were any developments since then.

blu, you wouldn't be making remarks about her religious paraphernalia if she were, say, a sikh, would you?

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Interestingly this was governement response at the time \link(news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4510516.stm\here}

apparently, this is the school

bruern abbey

here

Yes, isg, I am certainly not an expert on dyslexia. One of my daughters is mildly dyslexic and had some help, but certainly not in the state system. It must be very hard to know there is good private provision but unable to afford it. That is not the case with schooling in general. That is not the case with most medical health either in the UK. If Blair would give all parents say the £5k a year it costs to put children through state schooling and let parents use that voucher at any school of their choice at least you'd have that to add to the rest of the fees and some parents move near a boarding school so they can send the child as a day pupil to save money.

I also agree if you're looking after a special neesd child full time who is up a lot in the night you can't find a minute to sit down and try to generate extra income at the computer. But I do know a lot of parents with special neesd children who work full time and pay for their care of course, many people do. David Cameron and his wife both work and some nannies are great with some chidlren with special needs, parents get a break at work from the child too which is a form of respite.

fox, thanks for that. I hadn't heard of that school. The educational psychologist mentioned on the site is the one who saw my children and he wrote a really good book on dealing with teenagers. Very good.

Agrred socci- and NT children have a far greater choice of schools so more likely to find something suitable (I know that's not always the case because of oversubscribing etc). We had a choice of 2 SLD schools for ds1 one was dreadful (for him) would have been completely inappropriate- luckily for us the other is excellent and ideal for him. There is apparently talk of combining the 2 schools- not popular with either sets of parents- the schools are very very different, they have a completely different ethos. If they do that then one ethos will be lost, and suitable provision for one group of children lost.

No I agree Socci but at least it would be an admission that the education system doesn't work for SN children. Her carrying on is like saying, 'yes it doesn't work but it's ok, I'll buy my way out of it and just carry on regardless.'

I'm not sure much would change with/without a resignation but the fact that she's been allowed to drop out of the very system, that Labour have been so keen to insist provides for every child, would speak volumes.

I love Aloha

speaks volumes not would speak

BUt Xenia as I said yesterday it depends what provision is available locally and what the child needs. There is no out of school provision available for children like my son. He is home at 3.30, that's it I have to be home. He is probably one of the hardest group to get a nanny for. There are very few SN nannies outside the SE. Most employers do not like you taking frequent time off to attend appointments. I'm not willing to miss them.

pmsl fio

It still wouldn't magic up a nanny who could cope with ds1!

School sounds lovely - but agree, horrible shock to leave there for the local Carpetrite Academy when your friends are off to Winchester and Harrow. But no bloody way would a boy capable of doing well there get the fees paid. Sounds like it might well suit my very clever but dyspraxic and Aspergers son, except I'd never send him to board.

BK - I might if it had become intertwangled to any degree with her role in making decisions about open access state education, and if her actions according to her personal circumstances (as in the current debacle) were at odds with her responsibilities.

But I wouldn't be proud of it.

And it wouldn't be any more or less acceptable as a cheap shot.

It was an unnacceptable cheap shot.

But I do have lingering questions about her conscience, which are slightly connected.

'She would never in a million zillion years got the LEA to fund a posh boarding school for dyslexia and/or dyspraxia. Never, ever. And I think it was profoundly dishonest of her to suggest it was ever a possibility. This is a child who is, apparently, capable enough to go back into a mainstream secondary comp in two years.
she's just chosen to go private. That's fine if she is Mrs Gadd, highly flying mother of four, but the problem is she is the former Education Secretary, the one in the 'education, education, education' party, who told us the schools were fab and great and the private sector had nothing to offer. I think she should resign.'

Well said Aloha.
How can anyone argue with that?

why if your child was destined to go back to Tower Hamlets comprehensive would you send your child to a school whose website states "Bruern Abbey is the only preparatory school in the United Kingdom to have as its main purpose the preparation of dyslexic and/or dyspraxic boys for Common Entrance and other entrance examinations to mainstream independent senior schools." I mean surely that has to be the worst possible place to send someone who has to then go back and survive in Tower Hamlets. Shock isn't the word.