School Transport For Tommy

Hi I’m Paul and I am fundraising for my son Tommy.

Tommy was born with a rare condition known as Charge Syndrome, which is a genetic disorder that can affect various functions throughout the body. One way this condition has affected Tommy is that it has made him profoundly deaf, and without hearing aids can hear almost nothing.

As a result we have had support from multiple specialists and an Education and Healthcare Plan (EHCP) has been put in place to get Tommy into a school for deaf children. This school is based 11.7 miles from his home. A journey which in rush hour can take as long as an hour to drive.

Birmingham City Council has approved that the school he is going to is the only school in Birmingham fit to meet his needs, but unfortunately have not granted transport for Tommy to get to this school. Despite the fact he has two older sisters who also need dropping at school within 5 mins.

Although Tommy is not of compulsory school age his vocabulary is severely lacking for a child of his age. Whereas most two year olds would be able to speak 50-100 words Tommy (almost 3 years old) can only clearly say ‘mama’ and ‘dada’ as well as mumble several other words. The school he has been approved for teaches both English and British Sign Language (BSL) side by side. And at present Tommy needs that support to enable him to communicate using sign language. This means any normal nursery setting would be unsuitable for his needs also.

So that is why I am here, I am Tommy’s Father and Carer, as such I do not work and only receive minimal Universal Credit payments, to care for my son, this has put a massive strain on family finances as it is costing an additional £80-£160 a month just to drive him to school depending on whether I drive home after dropping him or not, which most of the time I don’t because I am conscious of the cost. In addition to having to spend additional money on fuel, paying for things like food, cleaning products, and other things such as nappies has been much harder over the past few months before the summer holidays.

We thought the council would have reversed their decision by now after we appealed, however, they have not contacted us in two months despite us calling and emailing them throughout that period.

Please help us through this difficult time to ensure Tommy gets the same opportunities as any other child and can get to school every day.

Thank You