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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

School acting unlawfully?

376 replies

emmapemma91 · 09/09/2020 15:58

My little girl started a new school Monday, she’s 6 and starting year 2. She has SEN and is waiting for assessment for possible autism.
Today she was only at school for an hour and I got a phone call saying to pick her up as they ‘can’t deal with her needs and she’s disrupting the class’.
Now she’s been put on reduced timetable, only doing mornings. Obviously I’m concerned about her mental health and how she’s coping but isn’t sending her home ‘unofficial exclusion’?. And should I call them out on this? They’ve said they’re going to need her picked up again tomorrow if she doesn’t settle. And it seems a bit extreme to put her on a reduced timetable after only 2 full days.

I will start the EHCP process soon but know the school need to use their resources to try settle her first, but it seems like they aren’t prepared.

OP posts:
murgatroid · 12/09/2020 21:17

@Sockwomble

Well that posters real views of disabled children were well and truly outed.
Indeed. And the posters backing her up.
MintyMabel · 12/09/2020 21:17

Why isn't it relevant? Their child's needs have to be addressed with reference to the other children, not in isolation.

Utter bollocks. The child’s needs are addressed to ensure the child’s needs are met. Making sure a child who struggles in the classroom has appropriate support is required to make sure that child is properly educated, nothing to do with the disruption to the rest of the class.

At no point when discussing my child’s needs, do I expect the school to bleat on about what is best for the class. In Scotland we call it Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) The goal is to ensure my child is properly educated and we work with the school to make sure she has the right support to do that.

AnneofbigCleeveage · 12/09/2020 21:18

@murgatroid . No not at all. I respect your comment and opinion. You do not know me so you are therefore making statements based on what you have read. I understand that.

Many parents of SEN and Non SEN children have privately funded their children's education. Not ableist at all. You know nothing of me or my background. The choices i and other parents make for our children to privately educate our children and opt out of state system are not ableist at all.

We are just trying to educate our children when the education system has let us down and yes that includes disruptive students.

Other parents can make the same choices as me. Parents of SEN children can send their children to the same independent schools .

BKCRMP · 12/09/2020 21:20

@AnneofbigCleevage no they don't. I have a very good friend who has a child with an EHCP who has never ever put a foot wrong but extreme anxiety and needing smaller classes. She tried every single independent mainstream school within 90 minutes and as soon as you say EHCP they do not want to know.

Sockwomble · 12/09/2020 21:22

My child does go to an independent school (specialist one funded by LA). If I had accepted the poor provision he was offered when he was young and in mainstream and not pushed for his needs to met he wouldn't have been given the place.

murgatroid · 12/09/2020 21:25

No parent of a children with SEN should be forced to paid for an independent school because the state system is BREAKING THE LAW when it comes to their disabled child.

For what it's worth - most parents of a child with SEND are excluded from the independent school system too.

My child attends an independent special school - fully funded by the taxpayer. Because mainstream education let her down and broke the law repeatedly. In the end it is more cost effective for everyone if mainstream school do what they're legally obilged to do.

BKCRMP · 12/09/2020 21:35

We don't have any independent specialist options until DD starts year 3. Two years to manage in mainstream.

Sockwomble · 12/09/2020 21:43

Ds moved in year 3. He was in mainstream till then.

Haenow · 12/09/2020 21:47

Given around 7% of children are privately educated and 15% of children have SEND, there’s a disconnect somewhere.
Nobody should have to pay for the most basic access to education.
Most people can not afford to, not even if they scrimp and save.

Original poster
emmapemma91 · 12/09/2020 21:47

As far as I know there’s no paperwork. I definitely haven’t signed anything or had a meeting to discuss. I was just told when picking her up that they thought picking her up at 11.45am would be the best option and they’d review in 3 weeks. No appointment for a meeting, no mention of paperwork.

OP posts:
Original poster
emmapemma91 · 12/09/2020 21:52

Sorry I didn’t see @AnneofbigCleeveage comment, could anyone give me the jist of it?

OP posts:
JustSaying101 · 12/09/2020 21:55

@emmapemma91

As far as I know there’s no paperwork. I definitely haven’t signed anything or had a meeting to discuss. I was just told when picking her up that they thought picking her up at 11.45am would be the best option and they’d review in 3 weeks. No appointment for a meeting, no mention of paperwork.
Sounds like they've just done a little "verbal agreement" with you. Needs to be in writing and ideally you should be having a meeting with Senco to discuss the specifics of the part time timetable agreement.
BKCRMP · 12/09/2020 21:55

@emmapemma91 you probably don't want to! Ableist horrible post

AnneofbigCleeveage · 12/09/2020 21:56

@emmapemma91 i said if posters are not happy with state funded SEN provision they could pay privately for support for DC as i have done.

itsgettingweird · 12/09/2020 21:58

@emmapemma91

Thank you. I have applied for a EHCP for her, and the EP has observed her at her previous school before lockdown and has already been contacted to see her at her new school, so that should help. Have agreed to TAF meetings and school are chasing up the CYPS referral. Will email the school Monday and ask for paperwork outlining how they plan to reintegrate her and what support they have in place. Thank you all for your help and views Smile
Also ask for the paperwork for the day she was excluded.

It's very helpful to EHCP application to show she's at risk of exclusion and they can't meet needs FT.

It shows straight away you meet test if needing more than a MS school can provide with resources normally available.

Just watch schools wording. My sons placement that failed talked a lot of talk about their excellence and expertise in asd.

Plenty of talk about their knowledge of autistic children.

No action. It damaged him greatly. Sad

murgatroid · 12/09/2020 22:07

[quote AnneofbigCleeveage]@emmapemma91 i said if posters are not happy with state funded SEN provision they could pay privately for support for DC as i have done. [/quote]
She said a lot more than this and some of it was ableist which is why it was deleted.

You need to request the paperwork OP, and if they're not forthcoming, you need to get advice from the organisations mentioned above. Make notes of everything. Dates, what happened, what was said. Keep hold of them. Email the school, don't phone. You need evidence of your requests in writing. Do eveything in writing. If school discuss something verbally with you, email them with a short statement of what was discussed and ask them to reply with amendments if they don't agree with your version. Seek legal advice if absolutely necessary.

windyautumn · 12/09/2020 22:10

[quote AnneofbigCleeveage]@emmapemma91 i said if posters are not happy with state funded SEN provision they could pay privately for support for DC as i have done. [/quote]
😂😂if that's all you said, it wouldn't have been removed by MN and you know it. OP, you don't want to know. Vile ableist comments.

AnneofbigCleeveage · 12/09/2020 22:10

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

windyautumn · 12/09/2020 22:14

@emmapemma91

As far as I know there’s no paperwork. I definitely haven’t signed anything or had a meeting to discuss. I was just told when picking her up that they thought picking her up at 11.45am would be the best option and they’d review in 3 weeks. No appointment for a meeting, no mention of paperwork.
According to @AnneofbigCleeveage there will definitely be paperwork, you just have to ask for it 🙄

So they've told you her reduced timetable will be mornings until 11.45 but told you to stay by the phone to come running if they've had enough and then call you after an hour to collect thus illegally excluding her from her reduced timetable provision that they haven't done paperwork for? And there's no plan for reintegration of how she accessed the rest of the education she entitled to for the rest of the day?

AnneofbigCleeveage · 12/09/2020 22:16

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Original poster
emmapemma91 · 12/09/2020 22:16

Spot on @windyautumn

OP posts:
Original poster
emmapemma91 · 12/09/2020 22:18

And All that by her third day 🙄

OP posts:
Sockwomble · 12/09/2020 22:19

So on having a post deleted for its offensive content you are still trying to share it.

windyautumn · 12/09/2020 22:20

I'm so sorry for what you and your daughter are going through. This process is hard enough without school staff abiding by the laws put in place to protect our children.

windyautumn · 12/09/2020 22:22

*not abiding