Attendance worries for my son with cp.

myjakeys

Hello, i have a six year old with spastic diplegia cp. He can walk thank god and he will be getting his splints on the 4th feb. My son goes to a special school and has quite a lot of appointment seeing various professionals. Most of theses appoinments have to be in school time but i do try to see if i can get them from 4 pm onwards after school although this is almost impossible. Also as well my son does get ill from time to time ie . colds, viral infections etc Today i had a knock on my front door and got the shock of my life when the man standing there told me he was a attendance officer and he was here about my sons attendance. He asked me various questions about why my son has had time off school . I explained that my son did get sick from time to time and that if i felt he was too ill to go to school then me as his mum would keep him off . He was very nice about it and just explained that i needed to keep an eye on his attendance. I immediately rang my sons school and explained who had been out and i was told that even when my son has appoinments at the hospital/clinic this was classed as an unauthorised absense. I cannot get my head around this as my son is A.disabled.B. has various appoinments. C only six years old but his learning is at 4 and a half. I just need some advice really. Is there anyone who has had this problem before and also shall i complain to the education. Even though the attendance officer was really nice, it really shook me up and i am now worried sick about my son having any future appointments/ illness. Can anyone advise at all. Sorry this post is so long.

libbyt

I think that's disgusting! I would be furious if anyone came around to my house. He obviously did not have any info on your son otherwise he would have realised that a child with cp would obviously have hospital appts.

It's stressful enough having a child with cp without feeling like you're being checked upon.

I would ring up your local education authority, they will have a special needs section, and speak to someone - just to put the record straight.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

Libby
x

hilsflynn

That's awful! Not only the last thing you need, but I'm surprised a special school doesn't deal with this issue on a regular basis. I'm sure common sense will prevail and put an end to this. However, my son's statement specifically states that his needs will require him to attend medical and therapy appointments within school time and this ensures that they are not recorded as unauthorised absences. Could you get your son's statement amended to the effect at this next review? Best of luck.

b8s

I have no advice as my daughter is still of nursery age, but this is something I have thought about a lot recently as she starts reception in September. Please let me know how you get on and if there is anything that can be put in place before starting school to avoid this situation arising.
Thank-you Charlotte