School repeatedly putting my Son into isolation with no communication or explanation with Me

[Dreamsofcruise]

Straw that broke the camels back this morning. My Son in year 8 was crying (again) that he back in isolation all day and This was due to getting one -ve behavior point yesterday for talking in a lesson.
I checked the electronic system to see what had gone on and there is a note about ‘low level disruption’ talked once in class. Nothing about all day isolation. However the school have form for defaulting to all day isolation and I do not doubt for a minute that my son is correct.
Son is waiting for a private ADHD and autism assessment and has a support plan initiated by the school itself last year which no one ever reads or follows.
The school wrote a referral letter last year ( a process initiated by them not at our request just to make it clear) for NHS assessments but then forgot to send it off- a fact I only discovered when I enquired about waiting times a year later and now he wld have pretty much left school before he reaches the top of the NHS waiting list.
I have reached the end of my tether. No point sending him in if they are not going to teach him so he will stay at home until such time as they remove the isolation.

This is very frustrating. We've had similar. You need to contact the head of year and ask what is happenign and why.

eg, if your child is on some kind of report, the consequences for even minor infractions go up. Which I see as completely unhelpful personally, but....

Sounds awful OP - is it one of those horrible academies?

I would speak to the head of year/head teacher and make it clear it’s not proportionate or acceptable.

Its not good for your sons mental health or learning.

It’s also just a huge cop out for the school to not have to actually deal with kids being kids and just send them all off to stare at the walls alone all day.

The school isa multi school academy and has just been re-rated as OFSTED outstanding, which to my mind will just encourage and reinforce their behavior policies as being effective’. I just don’t know which way to turn to be honest.

You need to speak to SENDCo. If there is a plan you and your son should be involved.

Is there another school you could go to?

Schools are under huge pressure but an endless cycle of isolations aren’t going to help

Thank you@crumblingschools . Unfortunately I feel that the SENDCo team is actually part of the problem. They were the people who forgot to send the referral letter off - then blamed me saying I was supposed to email My consent- I have a copy of the referral letter and it clearly says I had a two hour meeting with the specialist assessor and i consented to the referral! The HOY is a pleasant chap but young inexperienced and seems totally out of his depth. We tried moving him to the private sector last year but were restricted to non selective ( he wouldn’t pass CEE) and they were all full with waiting lists!

If nothing is being done look at the complaints policy. You need to follow the process otherwise it will just get batted back. The policy should be on the school’s website

I actually wrote s formal complaint about a separate issue earlier this year I actually titled it ‘Formal complaint’ !! As I-wanted a formal response but I still never got one!!!

Remember there's 2 sides to story. Talking in class when inappropriate is hugely disruptive. My dd ended up having to be taught separately because she couldn't deal with the constant noise from lads in her class, it's never only once.

You need to request a formal meeting, with your child's class teacher (plus SENCO if, as you say, protocols are in place to manage his behaviour) in the first instance, to find out why his behaviour is such that he is has to be repeatedly separated from his classmates.

Year 8 is pretty "old" for persistent disruptiveness, and it may be that he is being "isolated" as much for his own good, as that of his peers.

How much do you push if you don't get a response? You shouldn't have to, but they will be dealing with many issues.

@Dreamsofcruise
I know this thread is from lastJune but I wondered how things were going with your son after reading it from being on another thread about isolation.
Have things improved?

@Luddite26 , my Son received a diagnosis of ADHD and likely although not formally diagnosed aurism towards the end of last year (he refused the formal autsm assessment. We had to do this via private channels as there is a three year waiting list for NHS assessments where we live.
We received a lengthy report which had numerous recommendations for his school- this has been incredibly helpful and the situation has improved dramatically since then. Obviously he does still receive some ‘sanctions’ if he actually misbehaves in a way that is not related to his neurodiversity but the teacher always calls us first to make sure we are on the same page, they haven’t implemented isolation either.

Agreed, I doubt he was talking in class when he shouldn’t have been just once, this must’ve been after other warnings.

If isolation is during school time and is following their behaviour guidelines is it usual to call parents?

In my school the behaviour point being logged on the system would mean the child being sent to isolation - if behaviour has been poor enough for it to be logged on the system it means it was poor enough to have the child sent out of the lesson. Isolation would be 5 lessons long for 'repeat' offender. You need to check the behaviour policy to see if the procedure has been followed here.

Re the lack of response to your formal complaint - you need to follow the school complaints procedure which will be on their website. Was your formal complaint sent to the headteacher? In which case the next step would usually be the Chair of Governors. If it wasn't sent to the head, then sending it to the head would be the next step.

my dds school is exactly the same, and it’s not an academy just a very strict out of touch head. Dd also waiting for an assessment and has been in isolation all day for minor things such as talking or not taking her coat off when she was shivering with cold one day. It’s affected her education now as she’s so behind and she’s miserable.

even talking to her head of year was useless. He’s lovely and on her side but he had no say in what happens as he has to be seen to support the head of behaviour and the deputy heads of school.

only another year to go and she’ll be gone.. year 10 .

I think unless you’ve parented a child with neurodiversity issues its difficult to comprehend how truly corrosive it is to be disciplined for your disability. ADHD and autism are both recognized as disabilities. My Son’s ADHD mean that understanding and following instructions, staying on task and organising himself and his work are much much more difficult than the average child. He should not be punished for that.

Just because something is harder than average doesn't mean he should get away with poor behaviour

Especially the type of poor behaviour that can have a negative impact on all the other children

And if you readily excuse poor behaviour at home he may find it harder to learn good behaviour

Thankyou for your update @Dreamsofcruise it sounds like things are a bit more positive for your son now. That's good to hear.

Don't know why people seem to feel the need to come on the internet lecturing and sniping when it's really not about their opinion when someone is asking for support. Very strange these days. Quite a lot of low level ND bullying these days ignorant comments,

I very much doubt he is in isolation for a one off incident talking in class and low level disruption. Surely it's more likely he mouthed off at someone/ staff when sanctioned.

This is an update on a thread from last year.
The lad isn't in isolation now. Maybe you would waste less of your time if you RTFT.

"The lad isn't in isolation now"

I doubt any child in the UK is in isolation on a Sunday...