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Governor backs mum’s fight
A CHAIR of governors has put her weight behind a mum’s fight to get the best possible education for her son.
Patricia Wheway claims county bosses are falling short when it comes to providing post-16 education for her son George, a pupil at Hemel Hempstead’s Collett School.
But when his school education comes to an end this summer, the teenager, who is on the autistic spectrum, is being offered a full time college course, which would mean a rush hour journey to Welwyn Garden City or a part-time course in St Albans.
Chair of governors at The Collett School in Lockers Park Lane, Sue Povey, is aware of Patricia’s concerns – also shared by other parents.
Sue said: “What I hear from parents of children in Year 11 is that they spend a very long, confusing and frustrating time trying to find out exactly what the options are for their child when they leave school. No one solution will fit all our children but the college courses for which most information is available, described as full-time and entry level, are not appropriate for most of our pupils for several reasons.
“Our students need five days a week education. These college courses which have contact hours only on three days a week are inadequate. Our students still need some pastoral care and guidance when learning and unlike non-disabled students, they are unable to study, or indeed socialise, by themselves on the other two days.”
She said this could lead to parents being forced to give up work to look after their children on the days when they are not at college.
“It seems very discriminatory against children with moderate learning disability that in both mainstream schools. In schools for severe learning disability there is a right to full-time school from 16 to 18 but this is not the case for children in mild learning difficulty schools.”
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Weather for Hemel Hempstead
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
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Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
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