Autistic child expelled from inclusive school. Discrimination?

[Sanddunes]

Hello,

I have a high functioning autistic son who is 3.9 years old. He started going to an inclusive school in september and they have recently expelled him. The reason is that he had difficulty sitting and they also said that he is being violent. The school calls itself "inclusive" but has NO ONE to support special needs children. I explained to them that my son is not violent (beibg a mother i know this as he has a sister and is not aggressive towards her 90% of the times. He would occasionally push her if she is trying to take his toya that he wants to play with at thesame time. My son is talking in sentences and has improved a lot but his social interaction is poor. He probably gets excited by seeing too many kids and stims by lying doing on the floor and kicking his legs. He was expelled from the same place last year as they said that his development is slower tha that of the other kids (although he wasnt being aggressive at the time). I told them that i can pay for a shadow teacher as they dont have enough resources but they said that we dont allow that. My question is that is this discrimination or justified? I would like to reiterate that although the school calls itself inclusive, they have NO ONE to support such kids.

[meditrina]

If he's not violent, does that mean you are disputing that the incident/s took place at all?

Does your son have an EHCP and what support does it specify?

[CosmicPineapple]

Do they not have a SENCO team?

Can you not get support from you HV or GP?
It does sound like the school are not giving the right support OP. Have you had meetings to discuss his care needs and to put actions in place?

[2014newme]

He is 3.9 so what type of school is this as it can't be a standard primary school, children don't start there till. Is it a pre school or nursery or independent school?

[Farahilda]

As he is below compulsory school age, is it really an expulsion, or simply a reflection that he might not be developmentally ready for a full-time school-like setting?

You say you have a formal diagnosis, so if you don't already have a EHCP then getting one in time for reception entry might be the best thing in his long term interests. How he has been in groups, and how it has led to an exclusion, should inform the EHCP (and one hopes help,get the right support)

How is he now?

[SpotAGuillemot]

Pre schools and nurserys aren't 'proper' schools though are they? So unlikely to have a senco. Do you pay for him to attend?

[Lagerthaisfabulous]

Are you in the UK?

How can he be expelled twice?

I am just trying to figure out the situation.

[Lagerthaisfabulous]

And is it actually a school?

[Fruitcocktail6]

Preschools and nurseries should still have a SENCO.

[SuburbanRhonda]

Pre schools and nurserys aren't 'proper' schools though are they? So unlikely to have a senco

Every pre-school I know has a senco, including the one attached to the school I work in now.

[Littlepond]

If you are in the UK, all ofsted registered provisions including preschool and nursery require a SENCO by law. They are also required to make reasonable adjustments for your child to attend. If you are in the UK you should be applying for an EHCP for your child which would mean money is allocated for him to receive some support within his educational provision, or to give you the choice of specialist provision if mainstream doesn't meet his needs.
If there is no one trying to make the reasonable adjustments, no named SENCO, nothing put in place for SEN children then the provision is breaking the law. And yes, it is discrimination. This is all assuming you are in the UK!

[2014newme]

He was expelled from the school last year but us still there...
Sounds like a break from pre school could do him some good tbh it isn't working is it!

[RabbitFoodist]

Yes, both nurseries we went to had a senco. Our nursery referred us for additional support to the local authority. If they have no senco they might be just using 'inclusive' in a 'empty buzzword' sense, I don't know, but they don't sound sound very clued up.
As education funding gets cut and cut I think 'inclusive' is getting emptier and emptier, ie no funding to adapt to different needs but nobody wants to admit that child A is being disadvantaged again in favour of the rest of the kids (my personal experience).

[Bucketsandspoons]

Unless it's a private school they have to follow the code of practice, which means a named Senco, identifying and meeting additional needs, action plans and targets, a risk assessment if the child has behaviour that may present a risk they need to manage (and that's about how to help the child by managing triggers etc, and what they put in place so he and everyone else is safe and included) and outside agencies involved if they reach the limits of their skills and experience.

If they've excluded without this happening, without evidence of what they've done for him and put in plac that you have had shared with you, they're on dodgy ground legally from an equality act and code of practise point of view.

Ring your local authority switchboard and ask to speak to the early years adviser team who monitor inclusion in preschool provisions of all kinds, also the educational entitlement team, and IASS who are the parent advocacy service and are very familiar with the letter of the law in inclusion and will help you. You should also have an area Senco team or portage team in your county, they should be able to help and advise too.

[RMC123]

If they have no SENCo then they are breaking the law. However it is impossible to make a judgement on this case without much more information. Does your son have a formal diagnosis? Does he have an EHCP? What if any training have the staff had? What liaison did you have with school about his needs before he started? What is the actual incident he has been ‘expelled’ for? Just because he isn’t aggressive at home in an environment where he presumably feels cater for and comfortable doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be aggressive at school. Here he might be feeling overwhelmed and over stimulated.
Staff have a duty of care to your child but also to others. Are they expelling him full stop or suggesting a break while provision is put in place to support him?

[RosyPony]

You say he's 'not violent 90% of the time' so he IS violent 10% of the time.

If he's in the U.K. Surely he won't be starting school until September 2018?

Rather than starting a fight with the preschool I would be ensuring That there is a cohesive plan in place for him starting school and focus on that. I know that at our preschool there wouldn't be the resources to cope with one child 121 without it being detrimental to the rest of the class (small school) and as education is not compulsory at that age exclusion would be the logical pathway.

[Bucketsandspoons]

Rosy pony that's actually illegal. A preschool setting have to include and meet needs like a school does, there are structures and resources to help them do it, including funding streams, and they cannot reject a child on the grounds that their needs or disability might in some way disadvantage the other children. Do you realise how awful that sounds?

[Footle]

Surely OP is not in the UK?

[Sanddunes]

Hello,

We are not in the UK. The preschool is a franchise/branch of a group of private UK preschools/daycares. They ate monitored by a team coming in from the UK and the incharge of thid preschool is a woman who has worked in the UK for 20 years. They explicitly say that they welcome children with additional needs on their website. My son has had a formal diagnosis of autism and the preschool know about this. He probably gets overstimulated in the school environment. He has been undergoing therapies since 1.5 years includinh some group therapies. He recently attended a special needs summer camp and they would say that he struggles to ait for too long during activities that he doesnt like and would occasionally push other kids. This preschool however is saying that he is constantly being violent. I dont know what is wrong and feel awful. We live in the middle east and schools here are not autism friendly and would refuse to keep a child on the very mention of autism. I didnt really have a choice ro i admitted my son in this preschool. When they said that they r going to expel them i requested that they hire a shadow teacher for which we will pay but they refused. The reason im posting thsis question here is that if it is discriminatory then i could talk to the parent company in the uk as they montior them and ensure that they follow certain guidelines and ask them on what basis they call theirselves an "inclusive school that welcomes children with additional needs" when they dont have a SENCO or allow shadows.

[meditrina]

You'll have to name the country if you want advice on discrimination laws.

Because it is the ones where the pre-school is located that apply, not the ones from where the parent company originated or is domiciled.

[WitchesHatRim]

You'll have to name the country if you want advice on discrimination laws

This.

It doesn't matter who owns the school. It is where it us that matters.

A child in the UK wouldn't be in school at 3 for example.

[mygrandchildrenrock]

I can't think of any countries where statutory school age is below 4.
So, although frustrating, it probably isn't illegal to exclude your child from non statutory schooling.
Most countries do have some form of special school or schools who will accept children with SEN with additional support paid for by parents. You might have to hunt around for such a school.
It can be very different to the UK even if the 'parent company' is UK based.

[boylovesmeerkats]

By all means complain to the parent company but you might be a bit stuck. The UK is so much more aware and inclusive of SEN needs than other places but part of that is a statutory duty for inclusion and there's possibly no such thing where you are. Without that schools only have to be as inclusive as they want to be.

I doubt your situation would happen in the UK, especially at preschool there is money for 1:1 applied for through the LA. If I was you I'd shop around for a school that does have a senco and will talk to you about supporting your son. The school he goes to might seem the best of the best of private schools but if they can't support your child there will be better out there.

[Sanddunes]

Thanks all for ur kind words and advice. I have now managed to find a new preschool for him. He hasnt started yet but they seem to be v accomodating and have staff that understands SEN

[boylovesmeerkats]

Great news!