Evening Gazette news
Clacton: Jordan in limbo over school
THE parents of an autistic boy have taken him out of school after a battle with the county council.
Mark and Heidi Welstead, of Maldon Way, Clacton, discovered that son Jordan, six, had the condition two years ago.
He has since started his education at the mainstream Ravenscroft Primary School in Clacton, but his father says his son needs to be in a special school.
Mr and Mrs Welstead have asked the county council to place their son in Market Field special school, Elmstead Market, but their request was turned down.
"They've said he can go to Shorefields in Clacton, but we don't want him to go there," said Mr Welstead.
"I think he'd feel isolated because they don't have that many autistic pupils."
A spokesman for Essex County Council said Jordan would be well looked after at the Clacton school.
"Shorefields is the right placement for children with more severe learning difficulties, including autism."
5:52pm Thursday 22nd May 2008
Print 
Email this 
CommentPosted by: mr welstead, clacton on 7:18pm Thu 22 May 08
just to update this story ,shorefields have actually said our son jordan is to able for there school and would benefit more in a school like market fields where they specific austistic bases to cater for jordan
just to update this story ,shorefields have actually said our son jordan is to able for there school and would benefit more in a school like market fields where they specific austistic bases to cater for jordan
Posted by: heidi welstead, clacton on 7:44pm Thu 22 May 08
also we DIDN'T take him out of school ourselves, but because his current mainstream school keeps 'experiencing problems' with Jordan, we see little need to 'stress him out' for 1 hrs education per day!!
also we DIDN'T take him out of school ourselves, but because his current mainstream school keeps 'experiencing problems' with Jordan, we see little need to 'stress him out' for 1 hrs education per day!!
Posted by: John Bentley, Clacton on sea on 8:49pm Thu 22 May 08
As Jordans Grandfather,I feel that Jordans case is not fully represented in this article....I also feel that the school he attends is not meeting his needs as his condition is not understood ..example Jordans has attended school,but after an hour or so jordan tends to become agitated,irritable..
aslo he is not able to cope with class size (two or three children) is enough for Jordan to deal with...Ravenscroft does not have the facility to take Jordan to one side and deal with his misgivings...as soon as Jordan stresses out at school,a phone call is made to his home in order for his parents to pick him up and take him out of school.(perhaps Jordan cannot handle more than a couple of hours at school,who knows ? Jordan is not capable of telling anyone how he feels or what the problem is)....As for a spokesperson for the education authority saying that Jordan would be well looked after at the school in Clacton..could someone explain to me how a person in Chelmsford who has never met Jordan and seen first hand how he is,say that his needs would be met ?
As Jordans Grandfather,I feel that Jordans case is not fully represented in this article....I also feel that the school he attends is not meeting his needs as his condition is not understood ..example Jordans has attended school,but after an hour or so jordan tends to become agitated,irritable..
aslo he is not able to cope with class size (two or three children) is enough for Jordan to deal with...Ravenscroft does not have the facility to take Jordan to one side and deal with his misgivings...as soon as Jordan stresses out at school,a phone call is made to his home in order for his parents to pick him up and take him out of school.(perhaps Jordan cannot handle more than a couple of hours at school,who knows ? Jordan is not capable of telling anyone how he feels or what the problem is)....As for a spokesperson for the education authority saying that Jordan would be well looked after at the school in Clacton..could someone explain to me how a person in Chelmsford who has never met Jordan and seen first hand how he is,say that his needs would be met ?
Posted by: sammie engleby, liverpool on 12:02am Fri 23 May 08
This article does not cover the entire story .
Jordans parents have been fighting the lea and the mainstream school politics for quite some time .
He has had limited education and the mainstream school could not meet Jordans needs .
Shorefield is for severve learning difficulties and will not provide the care he requires .He requires a placement in a school where they cater for autistic kids .
The as spectrum is vast and the lea are failing Jordan .He is autistic therefore he should be placed in a school for autism .It makes sense .
Jordan may well be looked after at Clacton school but i doubt all his needs will be met .
The lea need to look at this again and assess Jordans needs rather than looking at the cheapest option
A child has the right to education and in the case of Jordan it should be in the right environment for him ,his needs and his autism.
Good luck to the parents
This article does not cover the entire story .
Jordans parents have been fighting the lea and the mainstream school politics for quite some time .
He has had limited education and the mainstream school could not meet Jordans needs .
Shorefield is for severve learning difficulties and will not provide the care he requires .He requires a placement in a school where they cater for autistic kids .
The as spectrum is vast and the lea are failing Jordan .He is autistic therefore he should be placed in a school for autism .It makes sense .
Jordan may well be looked after at Clacton school but i doubt all his needs will be met .
The lea need to look at this again and assess Jordans needs rather than looking at the cheapest option
A child has the right to education and in the case of Jordan it should be in the right environment for him ,his needs and his autism.
Good luck to the parents
Posted by: Little Tinker on 10:40am Fri 23 May 08
what is this in english please??
You probably don't want to know.
If an 18-year old says you are a parasite for having Downs Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy you've heard all you want to hear to validate his views.
I think he may have som degree of autism but obviously does not see himself as a parasite.
Disgraceful posting.
what is this in english please??
You probably don't want to know.
If an 18-year old says you are a parasite for having Downs Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy you've heard all you want to hear to validate his views.
I think he may have som degree of autism but obviously does not see himself as a parasite.
Disgraceful posting.
Posted by: LKittle Tinker on 10:55am Fri 23 May 08
Silly me.
I've just realised that "Martin 18" is probably not 18 years old.
Letters 1 and 8 of the alphabet are A and H, the initials of Adolf Hitler. Now the motive behind the comment becomes clearer even though it is generally unintelligible.
Did the local BNP (or whoever) choose their most literate member as their spokesman?
Little Tinker 6 21.
Silly me.
I've just realised that "Martin 18" is probably not 18 years old.
Letters 1 and 8 of the alphabet are A and H, the initials of Adolf Hitler. Now the motive behind the comment becomes clearer even though it is generally unintelligible.
Did the local BNP (or whoever) choose their most literate member as their spokesman?
Little Tinker 6 21.
Posted by: julieee, colchester on 11:56am Fri 23 May 08
stick with it, you will eventually win out, I did in a similar situation
stick with it, you will eventually win out, I did in a similar situation
Posted by: sss on 12:09pm Fri 23 May 08
[quote][bold]LKittle Tinker[/bold] wrote:
Silly me. I've just realised that "Martin 18" is probably not 18 years old. Letters 1 and 8 of the alphabet are A and H, the initials of Adolf Hitler. Now the motive behind the comment becomes clearer even though it is generally unintelligible. Did the local BNP (or whoever) choose their most literate member as their spokesman? Little Tinker 6 21.[/quote] Evidently they did.If Martin18 is the best they can muster, then I would hate to think what the litreacy levels are like with the rest of them. Mind you thats why the Nazis burned books, to limit the access of the public to knowledge
However would it not be better for Jordanto be recieving some formal education rather than being kept out of school while his parents fight with the LEA?
LKittle Tinker wrote:
Silly me. I've just realised that "Martin 18" is probably not 18 years old. Letters 1 and 8 of the alphabet are A and H, the initials of Adolf Hitler. Now the motive behind the comment becomes clearer even though it is generally unintelligible. Did the local BNP (or whoever) choose their most literate member as their spokesman? Little Tinker 6 21.
Evidently they did.If Martin18 is the best they can muster, then I would hate to think what the litreacy levels are like with the rest of them. Mind you thats why the Nazis burned books, to limit the access of the public to knowledge
However would it not be better for Jordanto be recieving some formal education rather than being kept out of school while his parents fight with the LEA?
Posted by: sarah campbell, newcastle on 4:07pm Sun 25 May 08
i think its great that your willing to stand up in the beliefs you have for your sons education. If more parents done this then the children of today and time gone by may have turned in to well educated young individuals instead of the way some have turned into today, myself included. I turned to drugs and crime as i was so easily lead because of my condition I wish you the best for the future, I am 4 yrs clean now and crime free for the same but it should not have happened in the first place. Well done for your efforts.
i think its great that your willing to stand up in the beliefs you have for your sons education. If more parents done this then the children of today and time gone by may have turned in to well educated young individuals instead of the way some have turned into today, myself included. I turned to drugs and crime as i was so easily lead because of my condition I wish you the best for the future, I am 4 yrs clean now and crime free for the same but it should not have happened in the first place. Well done for your efforts.
Posted by: heidi, clacton on 5:21pm Wed 28 May 08
Just to update again.
just had 'verbal confirmation' by phone from Mike McDonald at the LEA that Jordan has now been 'nominated' to Marketfields School HOORAY FINALLY its the best news in two years & thanks to all who showed interest in our story
Just to update again.
just had 'verbal confirmation' by phone from Mike McDonald at the LEA that Jordan has now been 'nominated' to Marketfields School HOORAY FINALLY its the best news in two years & thanks to all who showed interest in our story
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
