Because of the threatened closure of the school my son
attends, it was decided that he should attend a mainstream school for one morning
a week. I didn't think he was ready for mainstream education, but I was keen
to see how he would get on. The plan was that he should attend a mainstream
school for ½ day a week and then a full day a week with support for ½
day. After seeing him in class and despite the support he had, it was obvious
he couldn't cope with the larger class.
Because he has special educational needs I felt that
there was not enough support given to my son within the mainstream educational
system. This is no reflection on the teaching staff at the mainstream school
as they are already busy with the children they already teach and obviously
cannot spend all their time with one child. After I attended just one session
at the mainstream school I told my son's current support workers that I wasn't
happy with the situation and that I felt he should stay at the school for special
educational needs until absolutely necessary. I hope and pray that the final
decision on the inclusion programme is to keep them open. There is need for
the children who attend them and surely that need must be met.
An extremely concerned parent.
