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Anyone know a solicitor who will act on Equality issues for a child?

Ken1414

Hi all. Sorry my first post on here is a bit negative but my son has only recently been formallly diagnosed and there is a strict time limit on me taking action over my son's discrimination by scouting.

My son was excluded from his local beaver scout colony(as they call it). This arose just days after he had been given an award by the local District for overcoming his autism traits to participate! He was excluded in June but the award came from a recommendation in February and his unusual behaviour had become more troublesome to the leadership since then.

The scout leader claims that she objected to some emails from my myself, and my wife, asking for some reasonable adjustments to help my son attend a sleepover, ensure any award didn't mention autism or make him more likely to be bullied as result of receiving it, and to offer better support to him during meetings.

Clearly his exclusion may be covered in the Equality Act as they can't(?) simply exclude him for what were minor changes to accommodate his needs. Any extra work was to be done by myself or my wife to support our son. 

My son was being left curled up in a corner when it all became too much for him, i.e. a meltdown. If I was there I could deal with it but if I wasn't there no one bothered to check on his welfare or inform me there was a problem!

I recently became aware of an article regarding a very similar case in 2014 which resulted in a £5,000 settlement out of court. See www.lawcentres.org.uk/.../law-centre-wants-scout-association-to-learn-from-autistic-boy-s-discrimination

The law centre involved no longer exists and I have contacted the Chambers for the barrister involved to see if she could help but no response yet. Other than that I can't seem to find a solicitor interested in Equality Act cases. They must exist but my google searches aren't finding anyone interested. 

Clearly the [removed] know about autism and have a whole section on their website. 

My son's scout group, and the District, seem to be in denial about the Equality Act and the 2014 case, even when presented with links to the previous case.

Does anyone know of a solicitor who would look at such a case? Ideally one that accepts legal aid if my son qualifies for that, but I may well be prepared to fund this using my savings or possibly some of his DLA/tax credit money.

I am not just trying to rip the [removed] off. The attitude of the local scout group and district has been appalling. The District claim they are sorting out a place for him but 4 months later it is yet to be formalised and will involve an 8 mile drive each way whilst the local group is 0.5 miles away! There are other closer groups but they don't want to know.

If the local group had to pay significant compensation it may well focus their minds on the problems in future and prevent another child being discriminated against.

I won't name the pack or district on here. However, I will say they are in affluent area and have significant funds, receive MoD support with facilities, so £5,000 compensation would be a mere annoyance rather then put the whole group at risk of folding. 

 

  • Hi Ken,

    I have listed below some information which may be of use to you: Education Rights Service and the Autism Directory.

     


    For advice and information the Education Rights Service is available to offer you confidential information and advice, help you explore your options so that you can make informal decisions about your child's school education, and explain education law and your rights.  Please see below:

     

    http://www.autism.org.uk/services/helplines/education-rights/legal.aspx

     


    To use our Education Rights Service, you'll need leave a message on our answering service and we will call you back, which you can do on by telephone (0808 800 4102 and press 1 for our Education Advice Line), by emailing your details to: educationrights@nas.org.uk or by filling in our online enquiry form: http://bit.ly/1P3j0Xr.



    Please include your name, number, brief details of why you are contacting us and the best times to call you back. We aim to reply within 10 working days.



    The Autism Services Directory is also another valuable source and can assist you in finding different types of support in your local area: www.autism.org.uk/directory.aspx

     
    *Please note I have removed the organisation name you mentioned as per community forum rules.
     
    Regena-Mod
     
     
     

  • I'm sorry but I think you're making a mistake.

    We live in Wokingham, which is an affluent area. But that has nothing to do with scout funding. If it was ask yourself why they still need funding donations on top of your child's term fees & membership.

    My daughter goes to cubs. The organisation is run by volunteers who don't get paid. And thus also can't really be blamed for not having proper training or facilities. The main focus is child protection & having checks. They can go on basic SEN courses if they pay themselves, but that's probably it in most cases. Our cubs is run by a teaching assistant. So she probably has more experience of SEN than most.

    My daughters cubs fees are about £40 per term + annual membership. I understand this goes on rent, equipment, admin & upkeep. And they still need extra charitable donations too. As well as having to source volunteer leaders & parent help.

    I personally had to accept a pay-out of £5,000 by children's services in 2013. The LGO ordered the council to offer it. Along with other action such as deletion of a protection plan & records. Due to the council fabricating concern to obtain a 3 month protection plan & stalling my complaints. I had never asked for any money. I'd spent 5 years trying to get them to change. It actually changed nothing. In fact they later spent 2014 taking me to court, to try to remove my child & parental rights. By fabricating even worse multi-agency concern. And awarded a child protection plan for 30 months. Ironically claiming that I needed to make lots of changes. I didn't, but they were persistent in punishing me for daring to complain prior & still trying to.

    You could hope for better training for the leaders. But unless you're going to offer to pay for this, I don't see it going anywhere.

  • Have you tried consulting your Citizen's Advice Bureau?  Even if you do need to see a solicitor, they can give you advice from one of their advisors or they may direct you to a local law advice centre.  They may also be able to give you addresses of appropriate solicitors in your area but I don't think they could recommend one, just tell you those with the Equality Act Specialism.

    I hope that you can get a satisfactory resolution.