Me disabled, can I get ds into a close school?

[DoubleLifeIsALifeHalved]

Just a quick question, as haven't a clue about schools:

I can't walk more than a few meters, ds is 2, but when it comes to schools for him, is there anything I can do to get him into a school very near me, so I can go sometimes, (although carer would do most days... As long as the council keep paying that is)

I've heard of some little ones not getting into closest schools & having 40 min bus rides/ multiple changes etc and that would mean I could never take him or talk to the teachers, be involved in any part of his school life at all etc

Any ideas/ info?

I'm sorry to hear of this, but from what I gather each Local Authority has their own rules about whether medical condition of parent/carer can be taken into consideration for school placement.

In my area, it is only the medical condition of the child that is taken under consideration, and parents have to make their own arrangements to get child there, which they don't concern themselves with (which is hard when you have a medical condition and you can't access the school offered etc).

It is a while off for you, but since it sounds like your medical condition won't be different, maybe contact the local authority and ask them about their policy. Given that it's a while off, maybe wait a few months until the current batch of reception crises children are dealt with, LOL.

If you look on your local authority website there should be info about admissions and the criteria for each school. These can change but would give you a good idea of the type of criteria.

My nieces have got into secondary school under category 2 - special social or medical needs. Their mum has the health isuues but it impacts upon them - application needs to be supported by a letter from a professional. I know young carers group were one of the ones that supported the application.

My local authority does have a category of special medical need which goes below siblings but above distance. The medical need can be either the child's or the parent's so you probably would qualify here. You have to provide evidence of the medical need (eg doctor's note) with the application form. Have a look at your Local Authority's Admissions Procedure to see if they have something similar.

as the others have said it depends on the criteria for the allocations, its rare but some do take into account the parents medical condition, but usually its the childs medical condition, is you nearest school your catchment school?...the best thing you can do is check the admissions criteria, and get as much medical evidence, from doctor, hospital and make sure it goes with you school admission also there is space on the admissions form for you to write on make sure you list all the relevant paperwork you have sent....my dh who takes dd to school is disabled (i work) we didnt not get into any of our closest schools, our LEA (cambridgeshire) did not take into account parents medical or disability and we were basically told its our responsibility as parents to get our dd to and from school...but very good luck and just get every thing well prepared prior to applying for school place.

My friend has MS and cannot walk unaided. This was taken into consideration when she applied to schools and she was allocated her nearest school as a result.

Thanks for all responses, looks like I'll have to do some research, although sounds more hopeful than I first thought...

The nearest school is a CofE school attached to s church, which I'd hoped to send ds to, but as they refused to help me get to the church when asked several times, & didn't even offer to do a communion visit or something... Slight problem. Ir

Drat pressed post too soon!

Ironic cos A. Interesting Christian ethos, b. need to attend church to stand chance of getting into school, which they've effectively stopped me doing, & c. If this is a taste of their attitude, I doubt they'd care that I could t get ds to school, as they don't care I can't get to their church... Grrrrrr...

So have had a quick look at other schools & there is another one quite close, but not sure if in the catchment area (how do you find out?), & all others are not only v far for me, but also difficult routes by public transport.

Am hoping that the council can't say it's not their problem I can't get him to school, as they've assessed me as critical need for most things on their scoring criteria, so would be contradicting selves rather.... Mind you who knows what will happen in a couple of years...