• Replies 26 replies
  • Subscribers 65 subscribers
  • Views 5210 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Barred from Science (Health & Safety reasons)

MulgaBill

Our oldest boy (he's an Aspie) has just moved up to S2 (we're in Scotland) and, as well as all the usual turmoil involved in changing classes, he came home today to tell me that "I was locked out of Science". When I asked what had happened, he said his new science teacher had shut the classroom door in his face and locked it. He didn't know what was happening, so he stood outside the classroom until his guidance teacher eventually showed up. She told him that he wasn't allowed to do science for "health and safety reasons", and he'd have to spend science classes doing "other things" in the special needs area. It's ludicrous as science was his best subject in S1 and the teacher he had throughout never had a safety issue with him.

Has anyone managed to challenge a decision like this? And how?

BTW, I'm on my fourth letter to the school in 10 days to the school, copied to the QIO and Head of Education, not that they ever reply or take any notice. Yesterday's letter was about our boy being kept out of all his classes for an entire day, so he played computer games and watched videos in the special needs area. He doesn't know why and no one from the SMT was available to explain why. (He was quite happy to have a "day off", but I'm not.)

Parents

  • His S1 report is even worse. Only two teachers could find anything positive to say and even then their overall tone was negative. As for the rest, their comments are vituperative, bullying, insulting and vile: he's "hopeless", "non-compliant", "fails to observe social etiquette", "disruptive", "twitches", "makes noises and flicks his fingers", "pays no attention me", he "flies in the face if the idea that pupils should comply with a teacher's request", he "fails to accept the rules I set", "fails to comply", "is set to fail", "sings" etc etc. There's almost nothing on achievements or academic progress, it's all in the vein of "your child is a useless, difficult nuisance". My wife met the head teacher yesterday, and the head teacher agreed there was "cause for concern" but said "it's down to the new report system".

    Our son has serious challenges with social interactions, is about three to four years behind in his emotional development, has various tics (when he's happy he sings the Stars Wars theme tune over and over, which prompts teachers to discipline him) and finds most teachers' instructions to be confusing, ambiguous and overly complex. He's well aware that almost all of them want him out of their classes—and they use a system of informal, internal exclusion to kick him out of class as often as possible.

    And now he's banned from one of his favourite subjects. I'm writing yet another letter at the moment, but as far as the school and council are concerned, they "engage" with parents, hold "mutli-agency review meetings" and send teachers on appropriate CPD so therefore they're doing all they can. The boxes have been ticked and nothing further needs to be done.

Reply

  • His S1 report is even worse. Only two teachers could find anything positive to say and even then their overall tone was negative. As for the rest, their comments are vituperative, bullying, insulting and vile: he's "hopeless", "non-compliant", "fails to observe social etiquette", "disruptive", "twitches", "makes noises and flicks his fingers", "pays no attention me", he "flies in the face if the idea that pupils should comply with a teacher's request", he "fails to accept the rules I set", "fails to comply", "is set to fail", "sings" etc etc. There's almost nothing on achievements or academic progress, it's all in the vein of "your child is a useless, difficult nuisance". My wife met the head teacher yesterday, and the head teacher agreed there was "cause for concern" but said "it's down to the new report system".

    Our son has serious challenges with social interactions, is about three to four years behind in his emotional development, has various tics (when he's happy he sings the Stars Wars theme tune over and over, which prompts teachers to discipline him) and finds most teachers' instructions to be confusing, ambiguous and overly complex. He's well aware that almost all of them want him out of their classes—and they use a system of informal, internal exclusion to kick him out of class as often as possible.

    And now he's banned from one of his favourite subjects. I'm writing yet another letter at the moment, but as far as the school and council are concerned, they "engage" with parents, hold "mutli-agency review meetings" and send teachers on appropriate CPD so therefore they're doing all they can. The boxes have been ticked and nothing further needs to be done.

Children
No Data