I haven't yet quite decided. On Saturday we got our appeal hearing date (appealing the LEA's decision not to give Destructo Boy a place in the same school as his sister).It turns out that this is the same day that I have an appointment to see a gynaecologist about something that's been rumbling on for a while; an appointment that's been scheduled for a month and a half. Therefore the kids for the afternoon are already sorted out, playdates at friends' houses, as the appointment is at 4:30 pm.
Pay attention to the times here, and remember that my DH is away from home all week.
The first part of the appeal is at 9:30 am in a place about 7 miles away. I have stated in the original school application and again in the appeal paperwork that I do not/cannot drive. To arrive at the 1st part of the hearing on time, I would have to catch a bus in the centre of town at 8:55 am. No hassles, you think. But - what do I do with my two children, one of whom needs to be at school at 8:50 am, and the other at school half an hour in the opposite direction at 9:05 am ? By the way - you are not allowed to bring your children with you.
The first part of the hearing is scheduled to last no longer than 2 hours, making an end time of 11:30 am. If it starts on time. If it finishes on time . Destructo Boy needs to be picked up from school at 11:35 am. The bus is at 11:45 am and does not reach the centre of town until 12:06 pm.
The second part of the appeal process is scheduled to start at 3:30 pm and last for a maximum of 45 minutes, implying a finish time of 4:15 pm. At least the bus' return route to town takes me right past the hospital, and if everything is running EXACTLY on time, I should be maybe only 15 minutes late for my specialist's appointment.
I am seething, barely controlled. I want to scream, throw dishes, unspeakable vituperation and sharp things at the bureaucrats who have obviously not read anything I have written - if they had, there wouldn't be this crazy scheduling for an out of town location. The letter says, if I cannot attend, they will consider my already submitted written case. Yeah, right. I'm full of confidence about that one.
Bearing in mind also, that the school Destructo Boy is in is our catchment school and Mini- Diva should have gone there when we moved; this school still has no space for her. And hers has no space for him. No-one seems to care about the children - Mini-Diva has been walking to school with a friend and his Mum, and has had to be pried away from me howling. On the occasional times where my good neighbor Su has taken Destructo Boy to school for me so I can walk Mini-Diva, he is upset. And I just feel like a crap mother. Certainly way too crap, and too worried about hanging on llike grim death to the remnants of my sanity, to homeschool.
So, is it irony, or am I paranoid ?
Now you listen to me - you are not a crap mother, you are a BRILLIANT mother. You have a crap LED - but that should not surprise you, me or anyone else reading this.
ReplyDeleteSomeone WILL have read everything that you've written, but simply won't have passed on the information to anyone who matters in the scheduling of things. Ironic that LEDs teach joined up writing but can't fecking master joined up thinking themselves.
You must e-mail/phone Panel to re-arrange things. I'd recommend that you do some deep breathing exercises (or just batter feck out of some household items to vent your spleen) before sitting down to type/phone.
Have you contacted the Gyno people to see whether they can help at all? Maybe swap a same day appointment with someone else whose time doesn't suit them either?
Could Destructo Boy's school keep a hold of him until a more convenient later time? ie some out of school hours care? Is there a friend's mummy who can take him home with her little boy for lunch and a movie?
((((hug))))
Ali x
Well, I nearly had a heart attack - DH is taking the day off work, so it all becomes achievable. We don't know anyone well enough at DB's new school yet; various school care 'clubs' are oversubscribed and there are waiting lists ....
ReplyDeleteWow! Hugs to you. So glad everything is working itself out.
ReplyDeletecan't really comment on a lot of this, but was amused by Destructo Boy's name :) hope it all works out.
ReplyDelete