Discrimination

[Msqueen33]

Three DC. 9, 6 and 1. 6 yr old has autism. Last term middle DC 6 (asd, ADHD) said about doing two clubs. A construction club type thing and an art club. Elder sibling went to one of these clubs aswell so they'd be together. DC has ft 1:1 in school but is fine in a more relaxed environment but school said no to clubs. We did ask if she could try going alone without support for one session and if it didn't work we would re-evaluate. We are very flexible. I'd happily wait in reception if DC got upset. We've relayed this to school. They've messed us about on a few other issues. We know DC isn't always easy. They want us to personally pay for a 1:1. I'm a sahm and we don't have loads of money. They wouldn't even give DC a chance to go nor were they interested in me going with as support. We received a formal letter plus cheques returned. Dh is fuming and shouting discrimination. Is this unfair? DC is not allowed to go to any after school function disco etc without one of us going along. We live five minutes from school so am happy to pick up if things don't go to plan.

Yes, I think it's discrimination.

It would be fine (I think) to say she can't attend without one to one support IF there is a genuine safety concern around not having support.

However, they should at least agree to a trial with you there for support/waiting in reception to see how it goes. As you have said she is better in a more relaxed environment.

Are these clubs run by the school?

Yes run by ta's at school. We are totally flexible that if it doesn't work without support then we evaluate it and sort support.

They are in breach of the equality act 2010. I would send the head a formal letter explaining this and if they still refuse, start escalating with the chair of the governors the next step.

What did the formal letter say? I'm gobsmacked by this.

Presumably your dc has an EHCP. Does his 1:1 have specific training?

It was a letter from a solicitor. Formal echp and ft 1:1. Governors didn't seem interested and say they would let DC attend clubs but with 1:1 support paid for by us. Lea also aren't much help.

What did the letter from the solicitor say?

LA solicitors frequently bullshit.

That the school weren't legally obligated to have DC there. We felt it was more a moral thing. Happy to accommodate but can't really afford the £7 odd quid 1:1 and then £4 for club twice a week. We only Enquiries as DC said they wanted to go.

Do you receive any disability allowance?

So this is an after school club which is run by the school?
Does the school have an equalities policy on their website?

Its not discrimination.

After school clubs are extras. They are required to make reasonable adjustment for access. What they have offered can be considered reasonable adjustment.

found this

They are not extras if they are school clubs rather than clubs run by outside agencies on school premises. They are 'activities of the school' and they must ensure that pupils with sen can engage in them. (from code of practice). Making someone pay for 1;1 is not ensuring that pupils with sen can attend them.

That's what they've said t4nut. It's an extra. Frankly I don't want DC going anywhere after school where they are not wanted and if school won't make some adjustment I.e give DC a go to see how things go once then I'm not keen to send.

That's part of the normal curriculum and school day which is well covered in legislation.

After schools clubs are, for want of a better phrase, an additional optional service.

Honkinghaddock

They are additional charged for services run outside normal school hours and outside the curriculum.

It's extra curricular so I think (might be wrong) that as its not part of the curriculum, the school can refuse any participants. It's a bit like trips, not essential or apart of the curriculum, so can be refused. I don't see why you can't accompany, tho, but odd.

You could try contacting IPSEA for advice OP. There website address is ipsea.org.uk. I hate it when schools/organisations won't listen to parents of children with sen. We tend to know our children and what they are likely to cope with. Good luck.

If they are run by the school, charged for or not, they are activities of the school.

I don't think it's the norm, my DD has never been excluded from any club any neither were other SEN children in the school.

This is what IPSEA say:
A school must not discriminate in the education and services it provides for disabled pupils.
This covers all aspects of school life and the teaching provided to pupils (but it does not include adult education that may take place on the school premises). It also includes what happens at lunchtime and other breaks, and activities such as after-school clubs, school trips or school orchestras.'

Look at the disability discrimination resources on the IPSEA website. I tried linking but it wouldn't work.

Sorry about this, but it isn't discrimination.

The school would be wrong to have your DC at the club without adequate support in place. It doesn't make sense to try it first, when certain conditions like autism can present unpredictable behaviour.. Even if your DC was okay on one occasion, it doesn't necessarily mean they always would be.

Adequate risk assessments are required in these situations and the school would have to answer a lot of questions if anything happened to your DC or any others in the club. The time to support your DC, may mean others there are unsupported and they really have to be careful.

As a school governor we would support the school in this decision purely from a safety point of view.

It's a good idea to contact ipsea. They will definitely have had experience of this sort of problem before.