Care2 says: "A special educational needs school has been built for primary school children, but there are not enough suitable secondary school spaces locally for all these children to attend as they get older! Care2 member Cherie is the parent of Grace, a child who will soon be ready for secondary school. She doesn't want to send her daughter to a far-away residential school, only seeing her at weekends. Join Cherie's campaign to tell the council to build the expanded secondary school these children need and deserve."
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So just want to let you all know how our evening has gone.... apologies in advance as this will be a long read, but if you do read this then I'm sure you will appreciate how important it is and the severity of it!!!
Paul and I had a governors meeting this evening along with other year 5 parents at Graces school, as you are all aware she attends abbey court. A school for children with profound special needs and disabilities...
We were blessed with a brand new primary school site for our children with all the equipment and facilities they NEED and DESERVE! With provisions for a secondary school site also. HOWEVER the secondary school site was not built even though the architects plans and land are all ready and waiting, because OUR LOCAL COUNCIL WOULD NOT RELEASE THE NECESSARY MEANS TO FUND THIS!!!!!!
Part of the proviso to fund the primary site was that Abbey Court could take more children than ever before, which is fantastic as waiting lists were long. HOWEVER what the council fail to recognise (choose to ignore) is that now this has become a reality the numbers of children in primary education to the secondary placement ratio is not even half!
This can result in our children being sent all over the South East including residency placements (boarding schools) because the council fail to recognise that WHILST THEY HAVE GIVEN US A LOVELY NEW PRIMARY SCHOOL IT IS INFACT THIS "GIFT" - WITH NOT BUILDING THE SECONDARY SCHOOL - THAT HAS CAUSED THIS PROBLEM!!!!
I do not want to send my daughter away and only see her during the holidays because my local school hasn't the places because the council won't source the money!
So this is as brief as I could manage so again apologies!
All I'm asking is that all family, friends, friends of friends please please please share the hell out of anything you see (including this!!) whether it be me or shares from other parents because we won't stand for this and the council have a fight on their hands.
Any parent fighting for their child's rights is a force to be reckoned with BUT can they withstand the tenacity of that of a parent of a child with special needs!
Please feel free to email the local councillors airing your disgust over this situation as this will happen every year and may well affect someone you know until the secondary school site is built.
