Email #45

Dear Ms New-caseworker

Thank you!

My understanding was that, for most schools, some staff would be on site for part or all of the 'holiday', particularly admin staff and usually also 'main players' like the Head. The delay this would involve was not made clear when we spoke, or, grateful as I am, I would have reiterated my request for the statement to be issued during the Easter break, irrespective of these new developments. I rather thought I had done just that in any case.

Are we near to the eight weeks yet? I am having trouble finding the cover letter that went with the note in lieu, which does not, in itself, have any date on it. Could you remind me, please?

Yes you are correct, I was at one time panicking that we would settle things in time for a proper period of transition, now I worry that we may not have this settled before schools break at year end. Given that the application for assessment went in to County in July of last year, it has been a long time to be so fraught.

Given the situation could I please have either another 'interim' proposed statement (if that's what systems require) or simply (preferably) copies of the altered pages, following our meeting on March 24th. I would be grateful - even by email.

For your information, I sent copies of the initial proposed statement and the advices that were attached to the previous note in lieu to N-H School. I have received acknowledgment and am waiting to hear from them to see whether we will be invited up for interview. You know I have to repeat for the record that I requested P for its layout, as the only school I was aware of which provided the national curriculum and yet was designed in a way that would significantly reduce danger spots and triggers. It was a 'best of' situation. Now that I am aware of the Priory schools, ie aware that there are facilities which offer the full national curriculum in a setting specifically designed to allow accessibility to students with aspergers, without there being a mix of syndromes and conditions (which would have done nothing for his self esteem), I may yet request that N-H be the named school.

Son will not willingly consider any local school other than P, yet when I told him he had a better chance of going there than to N-H, he was very disdainful, saying that even if the teachers were nice and the building was quiet, he would still be the weirdo and the geek and the one who got kicked at breaktime just for being there; so you see, I am in a bit of a spot.

On that note however, someone outside of all this recently told me that Son could and should have been invited to attend the last review meeting; that he has a voice in this and that his opinions should be taken into consideration by the system directly, rather than second hand via me. I imagine it is too late to arrange this now without slowing things down considerably, besides, he currently has his heart set on a school which he hasnt even visited or been invited to view. I simply wonder, ought I to have been bringing him along to the meetings all this time?

Thank you again

Best Regards

Cheryl Baggage