Ruth Kelly

[Sooty]

As far as I am aware, this New Labour government has never made any criticism of private education, or at any point threatened its future. Many MPs from all parties choose to have their children educated at their own expense. So why is Ruth Kelly copping so much flak for sending her dyslexic and dyspraxic son to a private boarding school? I do not like Ruth Kelly, I distrust her religious zeal and think she is bad at her job, but surely the choices she makes in her private life should be her own? Anyway, if she can afford to have her child educated privately she should, thus freeing up a state place for a less well off family. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

 

[jacks_mum]

AGREED

 

[spike123]

speaking as a parent of a child with special needs who attends a special needs school I can say that the help offered in a normal mainstream school is usually not sufficient for children who have more than a minor problem with learning.It has taken me more than 4 years to get my child statemented and into a suitable school.The reason for this is that the system lets kids down who have problems and places in special needs schools are very very limited.My son now has to travel over 40 miles each way to get to school but finally he is happier and starting to reach his potential.If Ruth Kelly feels she has to pay for private education in order for her son to do the same then good for her.She is lucky to be able to afford it and not have to struggle like the majority of us to get what her child needs.

 

[Sooty]

The sad fact is that New Labour have not lived up to their promises to improve education - things can obviously not only get better because they have clearly got worse. That is a different issue though. There are some areas where state schools are amazing, and every bit as good as private ones. Other areas seem to be totally overlooked. I hope your son gets the care and education he deserves.

 

[spike123]

[ QUOTE ]
The sad fact is that New Labour have not lived up to their promises to improve education - things can obviously not only get better because they have clearly got worse. That is a different issue though. There are some areas where state schools are amazing, and every bit as good as private ones. Other areas seem to be totally overlooked. I hope your son gets the care and education he deserves.

[/ QUOTE ]

I completely agree there.Things have definitely got worse with education.I have had to fight hard to get what my son needs and there are many others out there doing the same.Its a sad thing that the current education system seems to concentrate on getting good results overall while neglecting those who need far more help.Schools will often leave children out of SAT's rather than risk failing results.

 

[Sooty]

It's all about league tables and cost. *sigh*

 

[hairycob]

This was one of the rare occasions I actually felt sorry for a politician. I have no doubt that if she had decided to go through the state system there would have been cries that she had pulled strings etc - because let's face it nobody would have let her kids statement sit on their desk for long - and calls for her to resign. It probably seemed better to go private & avoid that kind of accusation. Didn't work though, still got the flack.
The whole issue of special needs kids is really bad though, even if you manage to get a statement. A friends little boy has a helper for cerebral palsy, but she ends up being a general class room helper & not helping him.

 

[xxcharlottexx]

Shes our local MP, and she did a visited out school a few years ago... she was egged

Sorry its completely of topic, just thought it was an interesting fact

i think its a better idea to send her son to a private school then for it to get bullied at a public one, and its non ones business what she chooses

 

[Sooty]

Another very good reason why she should choose private education.

 

[Rambo]

Sooty, I couldn't agree more with your sentiments.

Our youngest son is currently being badly let down by a lack of funding in the state sector. We will probably have to pay private fees to give him the chance he deserves.

As you very eloquently put it...all Ruth Kelly is doing is freeing up a space in the state system...........

P.S. I HATE labour and everything it stands for

 

[eahotson]

I think its not really because she is sending her son to a private school but because labour has closed down and reduced services for children with special needs so if you can afford to pay fine, if you can't forget it.

 

[suestowford]

I think the main reason why she is getting flak is because 'inclusion' (making children with special needs attend a regular school rather than a specialist school) was such a high priority Labour idea. The fact that she has found it necessary to send her son to a private school surely proves that inclusion doesn't always work. I think the flak should really be directed at Labour as a whole rather than one person but as she once was Education Minister she is getting it in the neck.

 

[Sooty]

I thought she still was! Really should keep up...

 

[spike123]

'inclusion' is a joke.My son was on the school register but not allowed to attend school because they couldn't meet his needs.For him that meant he spent 15 months out of the school system while he was statemented and a place was found for him. This meant that he was registered as a pupil at his old school until he got his place at the new school but had 4 hours of home tuition a week for the last month before he went to school and nothing in between.

 

[Sooty]

Ministers dress up inclusion as a good thing, both socially and educationally, but it's no more than a cost cutting exercise. Children with educational needs outside the mainstream need to be educated at designated schools, which is better for them and for the mainstream schools. Labour MPs must drink a lot of Horlicks...

 

[Mid]

Our school is one of the best state schools in the city... And, pardon the language, it's rather sh*t, and has not improved at all in recent years. But all the bad behaviour is because of the parents. I'd NEVER be as disrespectful as some of the kids in my year x____X

 

[ThomasTank]

Inclusion is a complete joke. My daughter (no special needs ) was bullied and intimidated by a child with special needs and the school didnt know how to handle the situation. Thankfully for my daughter , said child has moved areas, unfortunately for said child, her parents are in complete denial that she has special needs at all !!
All children are missing out on their education because special needs children are not getting the specialist attention they need or just being ignored and 'normal' children are not being educated because the teacher is spending her time calming down the class and trying to dealwith all the special needs. It is such a shame that they dreamped up inclusion.

 

[icklechlo]

its daft, my friend has just come out of school, with bad grades, because she was dyslexic, and the school tested her and told her so, but told her they couldnt give her the extra time she needed in the exams because they didnt have the manpower to supervise her, because they already had a full room of extra time people, and she couldnt fit in, and they wouldnt provide another examiner.