Trust and lies

[cuddlepop]

We.re having a really hard time of it in our high school with regards to "additional needs base".
There is a principal teacher who has been in post for little over a year who lets just say "didnt connect with parents".This woman has been on sick leave for a while and parents were told it would be till the end of term.

The parents have now learned that HC knew this woman was not returning to post and indeed her job has been advertised with the closing date of 23rd of june.

Mr Hugh Fraser of the HC knows how unhappy we are and indeed so do the local councillors ,MP and MSP.so why not tell us.:confused

Three families are in the process of moving away because of them being unable to educate their child to the best of their ability on Skye.

Do you think as a parent you could trust HC to "educate" your vunerable child after this behaviour?

[joxville]

We.re having a really hard time of it in our high school with regards to "additional needs base".
There is a principal teacher who has been in post for little over a year who lets just say "didnt connect with parents".This woman has been on sick leave for a while and parents were told it would be till the end of term.

The parents have now learned that HC knew this woman was not returning to post and indeed her job has been advertised with the closing date of 23rd of june.

Mr Hugh Fraser of the HC knows how unhappy we are and indeed so do the local councillors ,MP and MSP.so why not tell us.:confused

Three families are in the process of moving away because of them being unable to educate their child to the best of their ability on Skye.

Do you think as a parent you could trust HC to "educate" your vunerable child after this behaviour?

I'll go a step further and say I couldn't trust any regional council with anything. All over this country they have continually ignored the householder, the small business, parents and council charge payers to further their own agenda. Disband them and go back to local councils.

[chaz]

We.re having a really hard time of it in our high school with regards to "additional needs base".
There is a principal teacher who has been in post for little over a year who lets just say "didnt connect with parents".This woman has been on sick leave for a while and parents were told it would be till the end of term.

The parents have now learned that HC knew this woman was not returning to post and indeed her job has been advertised with the closing date of 23rd of june.

Mr Hugh Fraser of the HC knows how unhappy we are and indeed so do the local councillors ,MP and MSP.so why not tell us.:confused

Three families are in the process of moving away because of them being unable to educate their child to the best of their ability on Skye.

Do you think as a parent you could trust HC to "educate" your vunerable child after this behaviour?

No, im taking my autistic son out of the system after an awful lot of broken promises from THS.And im not the only parent in this area.

[danc1ngwitch]

sometimes people in general just suck. x

[badger]

I agree with Joxville - the more remote these authorities get, the less responsible they feel. If all local decisions were taken at local level councillors would know they have to regularly face the people affected and they would have to take more notice of local opinion.

[joxville]

The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Can I add to your signature the old smokers adage: The third light gets the bullet.:D

[cuddlepop]

What has really disappointed us is that the councillors are still listening to HC and not insisting on an independent investigation over our grievences with the school.[evil]

Even HMIE because the learning support base wasnt under scrutiny they will not investigate and have published a glowing report for this high school.

Under no circumstances would we recommend you send an "Additional needs " to this school.

Brand new it maybe but the people are still the same.[disgust]

[tootler]

Do you think as a parent you could trust HC to "educate" your vunerable child?

No, you certainly can not trust HC to educate your child with additional needs - it's a continual battle to get basic educational needs met and one which most parents in your situation are just too tired to fight. The HC officials will be very pleased if you get worn down & take your child out of school because that costs them less money - they love the "budget savings" that they make with every child with additional needs who leaves school to be educated at home. [evil] Don't give in to them!

I'm in a similar position here in Caithness, but I don't think we can blame the school or even its senior management. When there's not enough money to go around the vulnerable are always the first to suffer, except in a truly civilised society.

The Highland Council, at the moment, has insufficient funds to meet all of our needs and so it is only providing a service to those who shout the loudest and most often. ("Civilised society" is on hold pending further funding from the Scottish Executive and better management within HC....)

You've obviously gone straight to the top & that's a good thing to do - keep on at Hugh Fraser and eventually he may tire of you enough to deliver the results you're looking for. If all you're looking for is an apology, he's particularly good at those (they're cheap!) but if you need a service that costs money, read on...

Get together with other parents locally, Cuddlepop, and make your representations as a group. Acting as a group will help your case and increase your chances of success. One "Parent from Hell" is easy to brush off, but a large group is not so easy (This is how the Caithness Autism Parents' Support Group has got results when things have gone badly wrong with our service locally and this tactic could work for you, too.) Get friendly with your local reporter, use the local media, and don't be afraid to also use the national media to get results. The BBC might be pleased to cover your story - but you have to contact them. Embarass the HC into action - sometimes it's the only way to get them moving.

And if they still don't respond with a suitable education for your child, don't just walk away without threatening legal action first. The state is legally bound to offer your child an appropriate full time education which will enable them to meet their full potential. If the local authority is not providing this, then that is negligence in the eyes of the law. Google an organisation called ENQUIRE and they'll help you to understand your legal rights and help you to fight your case.

Remember that the law is on your side, even if it continually seems HC is not. Your child deserves an education and HC must be made to provide - they won't do it unless you demand it, over and over and over.

I know how you feel. :roll: Don't give in.

("Parent from Hell" rant over!)

[cuddlepop]

("Parent from Hell" rant over!)

Unfortunatly we too are "parents from hell".Like you we have done all the above and last year with the help of HCF we held a meeting with Donny Macdonald and the rest of the "educational specialist".We were assured things would change and that the older childrens "educational wants"not needs;),would be back filled.
Our Head teacher then left his post and we managed to get yet another principal teacher for learning support in place.
Like I've said she lasted a year.:(

It now looks our kids "educational wants" are in free fall and are unlikely to be met in the last year of their education.
Our kids might leave the system but HC are on a hiding to nothing as more and more of these kids are being identified to the extent that nurserys are being asked not to refer,through the system.

Adult services are even worse because there arent any.

[tootler]

Our Head teacher then left his post and we managed to get yet another principal teacher for learning support in place.
Like I've said she lasted a year.:(



I hope you're all listening out there, councillors - this is a serious issue!

Education staff who are willing and good at working with children with additional needs are like gold-dust and, in the long term, they save HC money by enabling young people. These good staff need to be treasured & respected in order to be retained, certainly not lumped in with all the other budget cuts. If you fail to respect your staff by leaving them under-resourced and under-staffed for long periods, then the good ones leave - it's a fact that you've already lost several very good people across Highland and are set to lose more. These people are not easily replaced, like with like.

We were given an agreement by HC that there would be a new teacher's post created for the understaffed CEYAC unit in Wick - that was 15 months ago and they've still not managed to appoint anyone to that post. Plenty of extra auxiliaries smiling with their SVQs, yes, but not the experienced qualified teacher we were promised. That's babysitting, not education.

But then again, Bill, I think you were the councillor quoted in the local press last year as thinking this was a good way of saving money, to hold vacant education posts open for that wee bit longer and avoid paying those nasty salaries for just a few more weeks, or months, or years...?

This HC unwritten policy is ruining lives across Highland & has impact way beyond the classroom - reaching far into the social work budget for years and years to come. Kids with additional needs need consistency, not "reconfigurations".[evil]

Now, Cuddlepop, look what you've gone and done - you've got me started all over again... did you know anger's not good for the soul?!! Keep your chin up and keep smiling - there's no other option. Even if HC is choosing not to aim towards a civilised society, perhaps we can still manage to find a small amount of civilisation in the privacy of our own homes. Good luck!;)

[cuddlepop]

It would appear when you read the threads about the nursery,swimming pool and mine with regards to educational issues,that HC have nothing to be proud of.

Its about time our councillors actually done the job we pay them for and stopped taking advice from HC.

Do the people who vote for you not matter once your in office?[disgust]

[jim shoe]

Tootler well said:roll: