Gatekeeper

Went to visit a school for the boy. But no assessment, no school.

Saw a nice nursery on Friday. Looked good for the boy. It's small. Plenty of teachers and assistants. hey have a Partially Hearing Unit attached, so would be able to deal with his signing and language issues.

But... isn't there always a but. But, we live too far away to stand any chance of getting in by normal routes. The only way in would be with an assessment of special needs. This would bump him up the queue. Like any school, they won't want him unless he comes with a carer (for the trachy) and funding. We have in principle funding for the carer (precise terms to be defined) from the health authority (I think).

I thought there was a way through if we didn't get the assessment. The school has fee paying places. Although we could pay the fees, then the health authority won't provide the funding for the carer and we would have to pay for that as well. We could afford the fees but I doubt we we could also afford the cost of the carer. Seems a bit mad to me but the health people insist this is how it is. I'm sure there is a rationale but it escapes me.