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Indirect exclusion/discrimination

NAS6817

I was wondering whether anyone has had any experience of issuing a formal complaint about a head teacher in a mainstream school to the governors, LEA and/or OFSTED?

Our 5 year old who was diagnosed with autism last summer (aged 4 and a half) and started mainstream infant school in September.  On his first day at school the head teacher summoned my husband and I to see her at 8 a.m. the following morning and proceeded to say that she thought he ought be educated in special school - this was a complete and utter shock to both of us as he had managed very well for 3 years at a mainstream, busy nursery despite being non verbal.  She went on to list various issues that had occurred that first day ranging from the dangerous (trying to get out of the door and putting things in his mouth) to the mundane (he wanted to take his shoes off when inside as that's what all the children had to do at his mainstream nursery). She went on and on about health and safety but didn't seem to appreciate that the fact she had failed to stagger an intake of nearly 90 new pupils on the first day or the unfortunate accident involving a staff member of the Foundation Unit which required the calling of paramedics might have had anything to do with a stressful first day back at school for all concerned.  Instead she blamed a 4 and a half year old boy.

Despite some valiant efforts by his class teacher, the school SENCO, the CSA's who work with our son under the Statement which was implemented in January and some of the external professionals who advise on the IEP and his progress generally, the head teacher has continued her efforts at indirect exclusion which culminated in her today having persuaded some of the external professionals that there is nowhere in school for our son to have his quiet one-to-one time except the library and he can't go on using the library indefinitely because the other children need to use the library.  She chose to ignore our comments about the fact that our son goes into the playground at breaktime and a sensory outside area for breaks in between his work at the one-to-one station ie there are plenty of opportunities for other children to use the library. 

She has ignored our letter of last December when we raised our concerns about her attitude to special needs (ie in direct opposition to the policy of inclusion), she refuses to allow our own SALT into school to observe him in school and make suggestions to the staff regarding speech, language and communication and basically adopts the "I know best and I don't have to listen to anything I don't want to" approach.  Having shown herself up at the last IEP in February when she acted like a petulant child who would not even look at my husband and I when we spoke to her, she has continued with her relentless efforts to force our son out of the school.

We are now at the point where we cannot keep our son at the school much longer.  Effectively, the head teacher has driven our son out after months of behind the scenes scheming and putting up as many obstacles as she can possibly think of.

Our son has never demonstrated any particular anxiety about going to school.  The general day to day reports have been largely good and his class teacher is a very positive individual.  Having said that, he is completely non verbal and his behavour/anxiety/stimming have noticeably regressed over the time he has been at school which has been heart-breaking for us.  My husband was shown his work station today which was in the most confined, oppresive, claustrophobic area you can imagine - hardly conducive to learning.

My question is whether it is worth making, in my view, a necessary complaint to the governors about her appalling conduct.  My husband thinks they're all in each other's pockets and won't do anything which is probably right.  Also we have decided to remove him at the end of term so the cynic/realist might say, "why bother"?  My view is that we have a duty to report people like the head teacher for the sake of not only our children but other special needs children who may have the misfortune of encountering the hideous old bag and others like her!  All comments gratefully received.

Parents

  • This is a difficult question to answer for someone on the outside of the situation. It is clear you are very upset and frustrated with your situation and at times like this it is easy to make a decision based on emotion rather than rational thought.

    Whilst I agree with standing up against discrimination in society I would be careful that the way you are feeling does not distract you from the bigger issue, i.e. getting the best education for your child.

    To do this I think you need to temporarily disregard your recent negative experiences and try look at the bigger picture. Is it possible that the head may have a valid point when she says the school cannot provide what your child needs? Have you considered that your child may actually be better off with dedicated support in a special needs environment?

    I have had three children with varying degrees of ASD, two of which went to mainstream and the youngest (11) is in a special unit within a mainstream school. He is highly intelligent and sometimes other people do not realise he is autistic because of the progress he has made over the last 5 years.

    A couple of years ago it was suggested that he be moved into mainstream but my partner and I insisted he stay in the dedicated unit. Our decision was based on the belief and evidence that focused support was (and still is) resulting in amazing progress which will pay dividends later. I strongly believe that my two adult sons, who have Aspergers, would have benefitted from non-mainstream education at some point but we where not given the opportunity at the time nor had the foresight to push for it. 

    I know each family has a different set of very different individual circumstances but my point is that it can only be beneficial to stop and think outside the box for a while.

    Perhaps try to back up a bit to question your current views before you progress along your current path. Ask yourself honestly why you are making the choices that you are. For example do you believe that special education is stigmatizing and will impact on your relationships with others? I know my partner and I did experience these feelings initially but feeling his way may sometimes cloud judgements.

    The bottom line is it doesn't matter how many rights our children are supposed to have to an inclusive education in mainstream, in reality it will always be a lesser education provision because of its very mainstream nature.

    Although, I agree with government spin, inclusive practice in mainstream education is a PC, ethical approach, its biggest benefit is no doubt as a cost saving exercise.

    As a teacher I apply inclusive practice at every appropriate opportunity as society dictates and this is generally a good thing. In practice both at work and on a personal level I have concluded that this appraoch has its limitations and for many with special needs it is more appropriate to choose specialist (more expensive) care to provide more effective long term benefits to the learner.

    I hope that I have not offended you in any way as this is not my intention. It is always difficult making decisions relating to our children and I believe that it can only be a good thing if we look at as many poissibilities, view points as possible.

    Best of luck

Reply

  • This is a difficult question to answer for someone on the outside of the situation. It is clear you are very upset and frustrated with your situation and at times like this it is easy to make a decision based on emotion rather than rational thought.

    Whilst I agree with standing up against discrimination in society I would be careful that the way you are feeling does not distract you from the bigger issue, i.e. getting the best education for your child.

    To do this I think you need to temporarily disregard your recent negative experiences and try look at the bigger picture. Is it possible that the head may have a valid point when she says the school cannot provide what your child needs? Have you considered that your child may actually be better off with dedicated support in a special needs environment?

    I have had three children with varying degrees of ASD, two of which went to mainstream and the youngest (11) is in a special unit within a mainstream school. He is highly intelligent and sometimes other people do not realise he is autistic because of the progress he has made over the last 5 years.

    A couple of years ago it was suggested that he be moved into mainstream but my partner and I insisted he stay in the dedicated unit. Our decision was based on the belief and evidence that focused support was (and still is) resulting in amazing progress which will pay dividends later. I strongly believe that my two adult sons, who have Aspergers, would have benefitted from non-mainstream education at some point but we where not given the opportunity at the time nor had the foresight to push for it. 

    I know each family has a different set of very different individual circumstances but my point is that it can only be beneficial to stop and think outside the box for a while.

    Perhaps try to back up a bit to question your current views before you progress along your current path. Ask yourself honestly why you are making the choices that you are. For example do you believe that special education is stigmatizing and will impact on your relationships with others? I know my partner and I did experience these feelings initially but feeling his way may sometimes cloud judgements.

    The bottom line is it doesn't matter how many rights our children are supposed to have to an inclusive education in mainstream, in reality it will always be a lesser education provision because of its very mainstream nature.

    Although, I agree with government spin, inclusive practice in mainstream education is a PC, ethical approach, its biggest benefit is no doubt as a cost saving exercise.

    As a teacher I apply inclusive practice at every appropriate opportunity as society dictates and this is generally a good thing. In practice both at work and on a personal level I have concluded that this appraoch has its limitations and for many with special needs it is more appropriate to choose specialist (more expensive) care to provide more effective long term benefits to the learner.

    I hope that I have not offended you in any way as this is not my intention. It is always difficult making decisions relating to our children and I believe that it can only be a good thing if we look at as many poissibilities, view points as possible.

    Best of luck

Children
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