To think that this is discriminatory and out of order (sn ASD related)

[pigletmania]

DD 5 goes to a mainstream school, she has dx social communication disorder and speech and lang developmental delay. They are having a trip to Whipsnade zoo, which dd cannot go to, we were given the choice to acompany her but we are not able to do that. We are fine with that as she would find it all too overwhelming and would not enjoy being with 50+ children, and would actually prefer it going into school which she would enjoy more. We will take her another time.

Anyway there is a boy in dd class who has ASD and his mother was told by the HT that he could not go on the trip, no option for his parents to accompan him, his parents have also been told that he cannot go into school either and that he has to stay at home,. This cannot be right, he has a legal right to go to school, I have told his mum to contact her LEA as its unacceptable and discriminatory. He has a TA as like dd he is statemented, I have heard from a friend who works within the school that she is being used to help the other children on the trip. This cant be right, that is his TA for him. All the mother was told that her ds could not go into school, if he did we would all regret it

sounds very unfair and would agree with your advice.

Sounds well out of order. I always worked with the school to ensure my DD got access to everything that her classmates did. She never missed a trip and even went on a week's residential. (took lots of planning and additional resources)

If I was the boy's mother, I would be on the phone making an appointment with the Director of Education, first thing on Monday and insisting that he gets equal access.

She needs to contact the Inclusion team at her LEA, the NAS for advice on the legalities and the governors at the school to point out the breech of his rights.
They are not allowed to exclude on the grounds of being unable to cope with his sn.

maybe mother could go into school and supervise him

Illegal. Very.

The parents should write to the HT summarising what they have been told and asking for an explanation in writing as to why this decision has been taken, and why their request to let him go with his usual TA who is already funded for him alone in his statement is not reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010. Copy head of board of governors and SEN governor.

I wonder whether there is more too this. They advised your dd could go and you accompany her, but not this boy. She should contact the inclusion team and find out why. I suspect there is more to this than either the mother knows or is letting on.

Schools are not allowed to do this. They should not plan a trip that cannot include everyone and should be able to provide appropriate staffing and a full risk assessment to ensure that he and they are safe. If parents and staff agree that he won't go, then he and TA could join another class for the day. The difficulty is finding the right person to complain to, now that the link inspector role has gone. The National Autistic Society might be able to advise as I expect they come across this regularly.

Quote the Equality Act 2010 - I think they might be in trouble!

If he has a designated TA 1:1 she is not there to supervise other children, but unless the wording is unambiguous, the school may well weasel out of it. or slither around and try and bamboozle the parents.
If the trip is not accessible to all students, then it should be cancelled.

TA is funded for him and is employed by the inclusion unit and is not part of the school staff. The ht is very wrong to do this and the mum must complain both to the lea who funds the inclusion unit and to the school.

Absolutely wrong, I hope she kicks up a fuss.

I know, and i have told you what the mother has told me. We would have liked dd to go on the trip but really she would find it a bit too much. This boy tends to run off a lot

Schools are allowed to not take children on trips if they don't feel it would be safe. Perhaps the school thinks that your dc and you together would be safe, but the other dc and parent wouldn't be safe. They have to do a risk assessment for trips- perhaps his attendance was too high a risk.

If it is taking place during school time then they cannot force him to stay at home- they should find somewhere else for him to be within the school.

The reason the boy has a TA is because he may run off. The school are being discrimanatory and bloody lazy.

It depends a bit on how much of a runner he is. But as long as the TA would be enough to discourage him/round him up, then it's a non-issue. If they are whiffling about the H&S implications of taking a runner off-site, then the parents need to point out that is a potential danger for EVERY kid they are taking. Any one of them may get distracted or do something stupid: of course the risk is statistically higher for him but that's why he's got funded 1:1. If they aren't running the trip in such a way that he's safe with the 1:1 watching him, then they aren't running it in a way that is safe for any kid on the trip. They need to do a risk assessment for what happens if any kid gets separated or strays off, and how they count them in and out and if they aren't willing to take him then you can bet they aren't planning to run the trip safely at all.

Well, statements are full of weasel wording these days and legally he might not be entitled to this TA even if the statement looks like it says this.

But even still, the child should be accommodated.

Without knowing him, it's hard to judge how he would respond to a new environment. We have a year 3 boy with asd who wasn't allowed on trips- he was a big boy and very violent to staff and children. If he had decided to do a runner, there's no one who could have stopped him without putting themselves in great physical danger. That would apply to any trip, not just the zoo.

yes its in term time, so legally they cannot do that, he has to go into school like dd

Juniper, schools are not allowed to discriminate on the grounds of sn. If the reason that he isn't safe on the trip is related to his sn, they have to make adequate provision so that he can go. Or redesign the trip so that all have equal access.
If he needed an individual risk assessment, they should have done that as well.
I have insisted that one boy was accompanied on a trip by his parent who would take sole responsibility for him, but that was not related to any sn, purely the fact he was a spoilt and disobedient brat who would have endangered himself and others.

'We have a year 3 boy with asd who wasn't allowed on trips'

That is unforgivably dreadful, has no one ever challenged your school's attitude to inclusion?

I dont know how much of a runner he is, but my dd has started biting teachers and children, and throwing because basically it all gets to overstimulating at school. Small open plan school with classrooms with curtains (no doors). dd can be with 59 other children all freeflowing through the area so therefore we are applying for more speicalist provision where there will be small class sizes, trained teachers in AS/SN and calm environment.

Blimey Juniper! I'm

My school policy is dictated by the parents, not our head. She changes her opinion based on who is complaining. So many parents complained about this kid and his behaviour, so their wishes took precedence.

The same thing happend to me back in the day 26 years ago, i was not allowd on a residential trip and a day trip becase of my developmental delay, my behaviour was very immature and the school felt that they could not cope with me. My lovely dad was furiours with the school, and instead he drove me to york (3hours) when he was terminally ill with cancer, so i got to go to York and see the sights like the other kids. That i will never forget, and it shall be with me forever, bless you dad

The boy is being illegally excluded. The parents should contact IPSEA or the NAS.

They should also put in a letter to the LA SEN officer, copied to Ofstead, the chair of the Governors and the HT stating that they wish to formally complain about this illegal exclusion and the use of resources (TA) meant to allow their child to access school, instead being used for other kids to his detriment. A request for the LA/school to fund the costs of a specialist home tutor to attend his home and teach him for the day might seem cheeky but it emphasises the point that he's being denied access to education, not through parental choice.

Schools get away with this crap all the time with SEN kids, cos parents are too exhausted & brow beaten to fight & the general public offers no support.

Some children need 2:1 support to access trips - if that's what it takes, then that's what the school should plan and budget for, not that the child should just stay home