New starts: Year 2 and Beavers

It has been an exiting week for Number One Son with his first day with a new teacher in Year 2, starting in the Beavers in the village and attending his first political event. The last actually was a village fête where it was noticable that the Green stall had persons with children meeting the public. The age profile could not have been more different from the parish council as a whole as a glance to the parish council stand could prove.

We were first a little bit doubtful about the Beavers, since Number One Son could not fit to the Thursday group that would have included a leader with SEN experience. However, it turned out that there are a number of children who know Number One Son from the after school club. There were also several children from now-former NCT coffee group in the village. He will require some nudging into team work, but he seemed to have fun. And he was ready to go straight away back the following day (as his sense of time is not as fine as that of his peers).

A magician made the favorite toy for the kids

The Beavers would have performed in the fête as well. There were some children without the full uniform we assumed was the requirement, but by the time they started, Number One Son had been in the grounds already for three hours and had green face paint, so it would not have been very appropriate. He was also right in the middle of playing with his friends, so it would have been pointless to drag him anywhere. He will have time to do it next year.

The Ratby brass band in the fête

The current spending review however is bringing some worries to my mind. The Leicestershire County Council has already made noises that they may cut services to vulnerable adults and children. With Number One Son's speech improving, but clearly behind in communication and general maturity from his class mates and some new signs of potential reading trouble looming, will his problems be serious enough to merit proper support in the future? Will government see behind their policies and realise what it actually means if they cut local government spending? The suggestion to give all 8-year-olds a library card - potentially to a library that does not exist any more, is (wo)manned by non-professionals doing free what is a statutory service or have a library that is not buying in any books actually - shows that they do not understand the consequences of their own policies. One starts to wonder why we actually pay the government, if it does not want to serve the people with services.

The medieval corner in the fête