When we chose Noah's SEN school, its fair to say I had a series of expectations.
I expected that he would get close 1-1 support.
I expected that he would be in a class of similar children.
I expected that he would learn differently, with teachers who thought outside the box.
I expected him to be happy there.
But what I didn't expect, was how that choice would affect me.
I have spent the last two years stood alone in the preschool queue, with a happy, flappy noisy little boy, whilst the other mums looked the other way, chatting to eachother in their own exclusive groups. We didn't fit in. We were the odd family. No matter how brilliant the preschool were with him, that was our reality.
It has been 5 days. Just 5 short days at the new school, and already instead of being the odd family... we are the norm!
I'm struggling to find the words to explain just how validating it feels to stand amongst a group of parents who have all walked the same path as us, with children who are all so similar with such wildly different characters. There is conversation! There is kindness, and there is this invisible thread that links us all. We have all been the odd family in a nursery queue.
Everyone is welcome, everyone is seen. Everyone is on the look out for one of the kids to do a sudden runner out of the school gates, and trust me they've all had a try!
It's not just those parents who are at the gates, it's also the mums who aren't present as their children use SEN transport, who are constantly reassuring and supporting eachother on the class WhatsApp group. The bus collects several of the children on the same route, and parents share the simple kindness of letting one parent know that their child is happy and comfortable on the bus, as they load up their own child as the bus arrives with them. It's such a thoughtful and kind thing to do, and that attitude spans across all of the parents I've met so far.
I love my mornings dropping Noah into school. It just feels so normal. We fit. He fits. I fit.
