The Adoration of the Christ Child

The Adoration of the Christ Child
See if you can spot why I like this image

Everything in its Right Place

A blog about disability, life, parenting, and learning what it means to live well in this world.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

What was I saying about Rambo?

Is this pregnancy hormones, or something in the water I'm drinking? After the scene the other day at Ramboland, which I have only just begun to recover from and stop analysing, I have now begun another fight.

This time, it's against Aberdeen City Council, who are proposing a series of drastic cuts to educational services for children with Additional Support Needs. Not only are they suggesting that 50%, or possibly even 100%, of Pupil Support Assistants (PSA's) should be cut from ASN classrooms, they are also proposing to raise class sizes from a teacher:pupil ratio of 1:7 to 1:10. Among other ludicrous suggestions, the impact of these cuts have not been explored, nor have they fully consulted with the groups of people likely to be affected most: parents, teachers, support staff and most of all the children with special needs in question.

But they wouldn't get much from the children, would they? No, because many of them can't speak for themselves, let alone speak at all. And their parents are often so involved in looking after them and surviving day to day that they have no energy to fight this subtle attack from the city council.

So I guess that's why I've dug out my cammos, machete and war paint. Here I go again, and if you care to join us, look for Save Aberdeen ASN Services on facebook, or sign the petition here. Thanks.