Discrimination against my asd son

[hollymax1]

Hi all,. I have just joined today as I was looking for advice. My little boy has recently been diagnosed with Asperger's. He attends a mainstream school and is in P2. The school trip is coming up and o have been advised that he will not be able to attend unless I go with him as they do not have the resources for him and he could pose a risk. I don't want him missing out soon have take the day off. However, I had a bit of an accident over the weekend and have been bedbound. They have said if I can't make it he can't go. Is this a normal thing for schools? Sorry for the long post. I have told my husband I don't care if I end up crippled I'll go just as a don't want him missing out

They only have to make ‘reasonable’ adjustments and an extra member of staff for 1-2-1 may not be reasonable depending an the circumstances. It’s not discrimination just realism.

I had to attend all trips with my ds when he was at school, he had 1-2-1 as well

Can your DH not go?

Have all the parents been asked to go or just you

My DH also works full time and has taken days already to attend some events

They are not being very inclusive are they ?Does he have an EHCP? Does he need a 1:1?

Ring the Contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)
The contact details for the service are:
Phone: 0808 800 0082
They are advisors for the Equality Act 2010. They were very helpful when I had to contact them about discrimination against my autistic son.

He has a teaching assistant but it's not 1:1. She also has other kids she takes of

It's not discrimination. They simply don't have the resources to ensure his safety.

Does he get any 1-1 support in the classroom? What kind of "risk" do they think he poses exactly?
Have they explained why they think he needs 1-1 supervision on the trip?

And my understanding is that schools have to provide (I think it's the first £6000)out of their own funding for children with SEN do you have a parents advisory service in your Lea ? For advice.

If he has a meltdown he can become angry and very loud.

Are you in Scotland or NI?

If you are in Scotland, some of the advice you will get here will be English and not applicable to the situation- e.g. ECHPs, SENCOs, do not apply here.

In Scotland, the teacher can refuse to take the child and the EIS (union) will likely back them up there is a detailed risk assessment in place.

Some councils in Scotland have cut TAs to 1 per school so there may simply not be the bodies there to support the child.

@x2boys, I have no idea what is in my area. I'll need to look into that

Well there's no point in you crippling yourself to stop your son missing a one-day primary school trip - that's a bit dramatic!

If your DS doesn't qualify for a 1:1 TA, as you've said, and if the school have assessed that he poses a risk either to himself or other children on the trip, it is totally reasonable for the school to require you or your husband to go with him. Have you seen the risk assessment? - do you know exactly what it says?

Unfortunately you may find that you will be facing scenarios like this a lot from now on, due to your DS' diagnosis. Are you on good terms with his teachers? It's really worth having a discussion about your DS' needs, and how you would like him to be supported, and how the school can facilitate this, so that you know what to expect in future.

The issue is they may not have the resources for him- taking a trip is rather stressful and having extra issues that are not catered for is extra pressure/ risk for other students. I don’t know why they don’t ask for more helpers tho (have a TA assigned to your son and then extra parent helpers) however there will be no break for that TA so wouldn’t be fair. Is there not another family member/friend that can go?
It is hard but I do feel for the school- as they want to make sure the trip is safe for everyone- where is the trip too? X

I'm in scotlan

Thank you everyone for your help and advise. Unfortunately, my friends all work, my parents are no longer with us so I don't really have that extra support.

It sounds like you accept that he is a risk. So what do you expect them to do?

Ds no longer goes on school trips by his own choice but when he did I went along too because he needs at least 1-1 when out (ideally 1-2) and at that point didn’t have 1-1 at school so I knew school weren’t in a position to provide staff to ensure he was safe.

Can a family friend or relative not accompany him?

It may be worth asking the school what they expect from you in regards to your son, as a PP says- you may be expected to help with trips.
If it is an educational trip to a castle or something- and it can’t be done because your child can’t go, that would not be fair for the other children in the class who would lose out: if it’s a ‘fun’ trip would your son handle it ok?

As a PP said the cuts to Learning Assistants in Scotland has been drastic across most authorities. I know many schools who have 3 learning assistants to support roles of between 210 - 300 pupils.

Teachers can refuse to take children on trips for many reasons and are normally supported in this decision if they feel there is a significant risk.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/scotland/family/education/discrimination-in-education/disability-discrimination-in-schools-s/. Have a look at this page about the Equality act 2010 which I bekeive also applies in Scotland. They must make 'reasonable' adjustments so your son can attend the trip. I'm not a legal expert, but I imagine the issue will be what is considered reasonable. But you could at least ask them what adjustments they think he needs and how they can meet them.

This is from the National Autistic Society:

Direct
Direct discrimination is when a person is treated less favourably than others because of their disability.
It can also be discrimination based on association, such as treating a pupil less favourably because of their association with an autistic person or discrimination based on perception, for example treating a pupil less favourably because they’re mistakenly thought to be autistic.

Example:

An autistic pupil is excluded from a school trip because the school believes that they won’t be able to join in the activities.

Direct discrimination will always be unlawful. However, some schools such as grammar schools are allowed to select pupils based on ability or aptitude, provided that they comply with their duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils during the assessment process..
Indirect
Indirect disability discrimination is when a school policy or practice is applied in the same way to everyone but puts pupils with a disability at a disadvantage. That is unless it can be justified as being a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim such as the health, safety and welfare of pupils.
Example:
A school has a policy that if a pupil breaks the school rules three times, he or she will automatically be given a fixed period exclusion. Autistic pupils may break rules without realising it or due to distress as a result of their unmet needs. Applying this policy without any flexibility is probably indirect disability discrimination.

According to them it is direct discrimination based on your son's disability. I included indirect discrimination just incase it was relevant.

The discrimination came when they risk assessed the trip if that makes sense. They should have been very careful organising a a trip they knew they couldnt support him on. (Although it It is quite normal to ask for parent support and its not their fault you had an accudent)
On this occassion you may have to accept it as they factored your help in, but i would ask they take into account his needs when designing the next trip.