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re : sons exclusion

SL2601

hi everyone.

im a single mum, and my son is 7 years old. He attends mainstream school. He was excluded a month ago regarding his so called violent behaviour. the school call it.

My son has never resorted to violence as such, he may hit out when something upsets him as he has sensory processing disorder. he does not do this at home and even if he does want to, we manage to keep him calm so that things do not escalate to that level.

I have seen how other kids play in  the playground and behaviours my son will copy as he does mimmick alot too.  He has had alot of meltdowns the past few months and basically the staff dont know how to handle ot keep him calm. Also i and my ex partner have already advised them of how to handle him however we do not feel that they listen and they question his home life and looking for things to do with us that maybe causing him to react.  he was eventually excluded and this was before the easter hols so he was off for a bit and since starting back , his schooling hours are now reduc ed to 3 hours and his willingness to learn is becoming more difficult. his previous one to one has been replaced by another staff member and so the school have failed. I am in 2 minds as to whether to complain for disability discrimination. i am having to take extra time off after maternity leave unpaid and it is affecting my financial situation also. 

 we are in the process of waiting for a decision from the council regarding ehc plan. which was never put in place because the senco said he was meeting his targets so therefore she advised that it wouldnt be worth doing because the application may be unsuccessful.  i feel that the school are hiding things and they never seem to know what is causing his behaviours . he never has meltdowns like they describe outside of school so surely it must be them. 

Do i complain or wait for ehc assessment and just hope that my son will be able to get into a more specialist school as i feel that the school are trying their best to put forward their case of getting my son out as deep down inside i know that the lack of resources is limited and my son does require more specailist help and alot more understanding from the school.

  • Former Member
    Former Member

    I do feel really quite outraged when schools do not support a child effectively and then, due to lack of understanding, care or suitable support that child then responds to their unsuitable environment using the only tools they have (rage, frustration, acting out, refusal) and then schools have the audacity to then blame the child and expel them on the grounds of 'bad behaviour.' 

    Schools do have their own challenges to face (such as lack of funding, under staffing, impossible targets etc) its true, however, pushing the stress and responsibility of those challenges downwards onto the shoulders of individual children (by expelling them and/or refusing them the support they need in order to achieve) rather than fighting upwards towards the Government (via Trade Unions,) where the fault and blame actually lies for ALL those challenges in education that schools and school staff face, really frustrates and infuriates me.

    We have, as a result, a whole generation of disengaged children, particularly those most vulnerable, those with Special Educational Needs. It doesn't have to be this way.

    I do hope I have not rudely detracted from SL2601 enquiry by this post, and if so, I do sincerely apologise, however, I felt it pertinent to add as too many parents of children with SEN are personally shouldering the burden of austerity by accepting schools (and/or health services) blanket statements of 'lack of funding or lack of staffing' as legitimate reasons for their child not getting the help they need. As the fifth wealthiest economy in the world, these are not legitimate reasons and, in my opinion, this should not be happening.

  • Former Member
    Former Member

    Hi SL2601,

    I really sympathise with you as ensuring positive outcomes with schools can be one of the very hardest, most frustrating and exhausting battles for parents of ASD children.

    My advice would be…

    Contact your local LA Disability Advisor and have a chat with them about your son’s exclusions as they will be able to advise and support you if you think your son’s exclusion was unlawful. I don’t like the sound of your son’s education having been reduced to 3 hours per week- this runs the risk of being an unlawful (ongoing) exclusion in its own right too, so I would definitely check this all out with the Disability Advisor ASAP.

    Schools have a duty of care, to all their pupils, and should not be using expulsion in place of providing adjustments and/or a suitable education/environment. It clearly states in the SEN Code of Practice that your child does not need to have an EHC Plan in place in order to access suitable support, so your son’s current status of not having an EHC Plan should not be hindering him from accessing suitable support in school. The fact your son is having meltdowns at school which are not being managed effectively by staff suggest he is not getting the support he needs. Below is a link to the SEN Code of Practice which you might want to have a read through:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25

    Definitely continue to pursue an EHC Plan, regardless of what the SENCo might have advised, as this is your son’s best chance of having his difficulties professionally assessed and his needs identified, named as a legal requirement and met. Your son may be ‘meeting his targets’ as the SENCo suggests but, if he is having behavioural difficulties or upsets as severe as requiring expulsion then all is NOT well, and I can’t understand why the SENCo would not be acknowledging that. Your son’s wellbeing in school is meant to be inclusive, holistic, and not only dependant on meeting ‘educational targets.’ If your EHC Plan application is turned down contact IPSEA. (You book a call back from IPSEA via their online booking form.)

    Here is a link to IPSEAs website which has more information about exclusions, EHC Plans and much more which you might find helpful:

    https://www.ipsea.org.uk/

    If you have not done so already, I would begin to keep a journal of events and outcomes, contact with or from the school, incidents, outcomes of meetings etc. as this may come in handy to inform future plans and in the event that you do have to take action against the school.

    It is a very sad fact that too many schools still have no real understanding of Autism. And it quickly becomes very wise, as a parent, to educate yourself independently on your sons rights and to not entirely rely solely on schools (even SENCo’s) advice as sadly you cannot always trust that staff are educated sufficiently about special needs (including SENCos) nor that they are always working in the best interests of the child and not simply working towards their own agenda/convenience.

    Best of Luck.

  • Former Member
    Former Member

    Some schools do seem incapable of understanding and managing a child with autism. Can you move him to another school?