BBC2.A Special School

[viques]

Feeling a bit jaded? Feel as though the world is going to hell in a hand cart? Fed up with doom and gloom?

Try this series to cheer yourself up. Kids with more issues (and personality) than most of us will face in a lifetime, amazing staff, an inspirational head teacher. I guarantee you will be uplifted and end up smiling .

This morning I read an article on the BBC news page about the struggles that special schools are facing, increased applications, limited funding, every little space however unsuitable having to be used for teaching. I hope the powers that be watch this series and realise what an amazing job good schools do for children whose needs are are so complex.

Ah lovely, think I saw the first series years ago, it’s a fantastic school.

Thanks for the tip-off, OP.
I need some perspective at the moment.

Will watch on iPlayer and report back tomorrow.

Thanks for the recommendation

Thoroughly enjoyed catching up with the second series tonight. A lovely school and fabulous teachers. The head is a gem.
Is it a series this time or a one off?

Disabled people don't exist to make you feel better about your life. If you've been conditioned to think of disabled people as something to make you feel warm and fuzzy and "aw isn't their life awful but they're still cheerful" type sentiments, I'd ask you to think about why that is. Not saying the kids aren't cute.

From what I've seen I do enjoy the programme and also hope powers that be might pay attention and allocate funding accordingly, although I doubt it.

I’m sorry, you have mis understood me. I think this school celebrates achievement . I actually work peripherally with families who have very disabled and life limited members and know how much it means that the schools they attend value their children when in so many situations they are regarded negatively and dismissed as having little to offer. It is a privilege to see how this is achieved through mutual trust and understanding the child’s needs.

Fair enough. I'm multiply disabled and get a lot of comments implying how lucky people feel compared to me, which tbh just makes me feel less than or like my life isn't worth anything. I agree the school is doing a great job, and I'm glad it's being shown on TV. I'm just wary of how disabled people are often portrayed in the media because that affects people's attitudes towards me in real life.

And I bet some people do watch it as "inspiration porn" and think how much better it is not to be disabled, so worth saying.

I think it was the phrase "kids with more issues than any of us..." that bothered me, and then someone else saying it gave them perspective. Maybe not how you meant it, but overall it read as "this makes you feel better because your life is easier", if that makes sense? I realise you probably didn't mean that!

I'm watching it weekly. I like the programme.
And so far the first episode of this series is a bit better than the last series.
Why? Because I thought the first series was sickly sweet to be honest. It was too 'nice'.
I'm going to make what I think is fair assumption about the pupils in saying it's not all easy and happy and amazing. And the first series gave off that impression to me. 'all so lovely and happy all the time'
I'd rather have a more balanced view.
In this episode we briefly saw someone kicking off.
I appreciated that to be fair as I want to see the harder stuff as well as the happy moments

Sorry again, by the more issues comment I meant to imply that sometimes you read posts on here about situations that appear so trivial that you wonder how charmed some peoples lives must be . I think I was probably reading one of those before I wrote my post and assumed that other people would somehow pick up on this - I should know better by now!

I watched the first series a while ago and then started watching the 2nd series but it seemed to disappear after a couple of episodes. Is it back on now then ?

I do agree it shows a flagship of what children with significant needs should be able to access. I do like to watch it, but a large part of me is also that there aren't anywhere near the number of places available that are needed and so many families are deprived of what their dc should be able to access.

@drawingmaps
That was me, re perspective.

Definitely no patronising intended. Just perhaps should have elaborated?

As someone living with challenging disability myself, my antennae is attuned to attitudes such as those you articulate so well.

Wholeheartedly agree: none of us should ever be left feeling we're thought of as being 'lesser than'.

To clarify: I simply meant I needed 'life perspective', from kids and decent teachers, after a recent bereavement hit hard.

Second half to finish tomorrow, but really like what I saw so far.

Didn't realise it was back for a series - I watched the first series - enjoyed it just from a professional viewpoint watching the communication work going on and the kids who were just fantastic kids. I work with adults with learning disabilities, but obviously liase with special schools for those students reaching transition points into adult services a fair amount so it's always good to understand what is going on prior to people arriving in our service.

I'm also a huge defender of the idea that anyone, regardless of how society might want to view them, has the right to be bloody pissed off and let the world know about it! I don't do saintly expectations! I tend to get very very worried when I get told someone is "always happy, very agreeable, always keen to smile at you and understands what you're saying"

I caught some of this. I felt a bit uncomfortable at one bit of it (not sure of the names involved) where it came across that a child who was frightened of another child's behaviour was being persuaded to sort of feel sorry for him and continue to be around him/attend school around him.