A young boy from Falmouth with severe and life-limiting disabilities has started mainstream primary schooling at St Mary's while fundraising to build a sensory room at the school gathers pace.

Josef Stasiak, who has cerebral palsy with microcephaly and epilepsy, and is registered blind, joined the school with this year's reception class, and is already settling in and making friends.

Meanwhile his mother Heidi is continuing with her campaign, Jozef's Dream of Mainstream, to raise the money to build a sensory room to help with his studies, which can also be used by other pupils and will serve as a memorial to Jozef once he has gone.

Since starting the appeal in June, Heidi has raised £1,792 of the £10,000 needed, and said: "I think it's been really lovely. There's been lots of people doing stuff and saying they want to do something to get involved."

Since he joined the school, where Heidi works at lunchtimes and his older sister Izabella is a pupil, Jozef has made lots of new friends as well as making strides in his development.

Heidi said: "He was up at 4am this morning, excited to go to school. We put his school uniform on and he dozed off for 10 or 15 minutes before being excited again.

"I think he really likes it here, he seems to have settled in."

Teaching assistant Sue Marshall added: "He's settled really well with the children, and they've settled well with him.

"He's making lots of new friends and the children really love having him as part of the school."

Heidi added: "When we walk in the front he changes, yesterday he heard one of his friends say 'mum, that's Jozef,' and he tried to sit straight up."

"He does seem to have become more communicative at his own level, with the number of sounds he can make, sounds I've never heard him make before."

Heidi, with a small group of friends and family, has already organised a pyjama night, two fun days and an evening at Miss Peapods in Penryn, all to raise funds for the sensory room, as well as appearing in the carnival during Falmouth week.

She said: "I think it's going really well, lots of people that want to support it, and I'm hoping that people might want to do something of their own to help."

She said with the amount of care that Jozef requires, especially at the moment as he is about to return to hospital for another operation, it can be difficult to find the time to organise events and to write to people for fundraising.

She added: "It's not just about raising the money, it's about getting kids out and enjoying themselves, and getting them to be around Jozef. Getting him accepted for who he is - and other children [like him] as well. It's getting the community together, and not just raising money."

If you would like to support Josef's Dream of Mainstream, there is a GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/rcxatr98