The education minister will be back on the programme tonight, and as part of our live interview, I will put to him some of the criticisms made by listeners on this topic. If you want to read them for yourself, or hear the original interview with Lord Adonis, click on the link on the right.
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Posted this on another thread - very much looking forward to hearing this. Will have done his homework? Does he actually care - I'm not sure he does.
Excellent work, Eddie. I hope this is one of the items I'll be able to listen to live. Plus, I trust this is going to be an item lasting a good 15 minutes. I think there's enough evidence from the comments that warrants this item to take up a large chunk of tonight's programme.
FFred;
I'm with you on that one. I'll be glued to the wireless receiver from 17:00 onwards.
Eddie;
Don't take any prevarication from the man. Straight questions from you demand straight answers from him with no dissembling, obfuscation, inveigling or diversion.
**Rubs hands in mental glee**
Si.
Eddie....jus' remember...jug-u-lair....
Good! Any chance of letting us know roughly when it will be broadcast so I can make sure I am fully attentive for it? thank you
Fiona
Fantastic. Good work. Ask him about what feedback he relies on to see if the system is actually delivering. Bet it's not from parents or kids. I'll be listening.
Um, we reckon between 1715 and 1730.
I can't wait to hear how he justifies that those who make the assessments and also hold the purse strings are able to make unbiased judgements based solely on the educational needs of the child. Working on the border of 2 educational authorities I am constantly fascinated to see how those unbiased judgements change depending on the authority making the decision!
I can't wait to hear how he justifies that those who make the assessments and also hold the purse strings are able to make unbiased judgements based solely on the educational needs of the child. Working on the border of 2 educational authorities I am constantly fascinated to see how those unbiased judgements change depending on the authority making the decision!
thanks for the update Eddie - are your journalistic teeth in terrier mode?
How can an LEA assess, fund and provide. There is a terrible conflict of interest with the child being the ultimate loser in a system that has become purely driven by funding.
Thanks for the estimate, Eddie. That's probably the ideal time, as people will have left work by that point and be in their cars; on the bus/train; walking home by that point, so I would guess it would be the time when the audience is reaching full numbers. (I never manage to leave on the dot of 5pm myself, so I often miss the first 5 to 10 minutes)....
If it is the case that the lack of respite provision is due to resources, how is it that when we lived in Sheffield (up until) 18 months ago we got 3 nights respite per fortnight - a total of 75 nights per year - for our profoundly disabled daughter and now living in Newcastle upon Tyne we get 24 nights per year.
It's a post code lottery and it's not to do with need, different local authorities CHOOSE different priorities.
Surely the problem is with the whole idea that a child either has no special needs or has a statement and therefore has access to significantly greater help and assistance?
Isn't it time that we stopped having statements as they are now used and have a more flexible and fine grained solution that provides aid and assistance to all children.
Just to be controversial -parents of statemented children do have a vested interest and are not always reliable reporters of what has happened to them...
Eddie,
He seems to have got off fairly lightly by blaming his 'professional advisers', who've been paid to tell him what he wants to hear. I'll await his 'participation' on the frog, or will he delegate that to his advisers as well?
A man with an empty desk, and a mind to match it.
Yours Aye,
ed
Eddie to Lord A: 'Will you be replying to any comments on the blog?'
Lord A to Eddie: 'I'll look forward to reading the entries.'
I think that was a 'no'.
Brian (16),
He clearly hadn't bothered before coming to the interview. What sort of Minister is that? What sort of advisers couldn't be bothered to brief him? I'm sorry to say, I think the answer is 'typical' these days. Whither democracy in the Southern Kingdom?
I suspect the responsible Minister in Scotland might make an interesting comparison, and may be worth an interview. Ask Alex?
xx
ed
Dear Lord Adonis,
Just in case you bother to follow up any of this, you should read my comment no.9 in 'Your thoughts on Lord Adonis'.
I would be delighted to hear your response!
It is said that one's school days should be the happiest days of one's life. Ironic pause here. In the case of many children with special educational needs, the reverse is true. They are often very deeply unhappy years.
I feel that the Government, including Tony Blair, Lord-Adonis-of-Camden, and Gordon Brown etc, and LEAs, have carried out a type of theft.
They have in effect stolen our children's potentially most innocent carefree and happy years. They have stolen from us parents happy memories of our children at school, and of some sort of a home and family life. Our children's chances at happiness, education, fun, innocence are stolen from them, and from us their parents.
We only pass this way once, we only have one bite at the apple of life, one shot etc....
I often found myself wishing the school / education years by, as they were so agonising for my child and myself. It has been something to endure, survive.
Should a parent have to wish their child's years away?
As my Mum, in her late 70s and rarely one to swear, but who so keenly observed to me the other day "Your life has been s t".
Ask any politician, ask any citizen, ask yourself these two questions:
1. Do you think the provision of public services (quantity and quality) should be determined by where a person lives?;
2. Do you think somebody (or some body) based in London should decide the quantity and quality each individual citizen receives from public services?
This is an intractable problem and forms the basis of a large part of political discussion making most of it pointless.
To add to Pat's comment (no.19) -
When my autistic son was told that 'schooldays are the happiest days of your life', he was suicidal for months. It was terrifying and took a near-death experience to make him realise that life was worth living.
For most of our SEN children school is an horrendous experience and absolutely no preparation for adult life.