Aibu to think myself and my child are being discriminated against by after school club?

[JudyLemon]

My child has Asd and has 1:1 assistance in school all day outside of the classroom. He has his 1:1 due to his behavioural issues, he cannot be in the classroom with the other children as he cannot sit or listen during a lesson and will be extremely disruptive. If he doesn't want to do something or if he doesn't like something he will run away and will threaten his own life. However he is not often physical, he will sometimes lash out at other children but never adults.

I am starting a new job soon and will be requiring childcare after school and in the holidays, I have contacted the schools onsite childcare provider and they have said that they cannot have him. They say they have spoken to the teacher and the teacher feels the environment is not suited to my child. This is because it is very busy and loud and because they cannot provide 1:1 support. I have reached out to them again and asked them what alternative options (perhaps shorter sessions or I could provide sensory toys) they will instead give me and they have said that they cannot accommodate my son at all.

Aibu to think this is discrimination? Am I expected to never work a good job again because of my child? Surely they have to put something in place?

Let me know if any of you have been in this same position and how you made it work please.

I'm sorry OP, I agree with the others, I can't see a way you could make this work. It sounds as though your DS does need a one to one care situation. Have you explored any other childcare options? Are there any local charities you could get in touch with for advice/support?

Presumably his 1:1 at school is funded and stipulated by a EHCP.
This won't cover before and after school childcare so sadly I think they are right to say they can't provide 1:1 at breakfast and after school club.
The environment may not be right for him either so it might be a childminder experienced in SEN might be better.
It's tough, really tough as a parent with an SEN child.
It might be worth Investigating if an EHCP can stipulate out of school care, no idea if it can but worth an ask, is there a charity or support group who could advise you?
If your child needs 1:1 then it will be hard to find after school care and no doubt more expensive. can family or DH help out? in fairness DCs dad should be splitting the childcare with you

Do you not get respite hours? Unfortunately the one other child I knew who was like this ended up on specialist school residential And care. He lashed out at everyone but his single mother was supposed to cope alone

Really don’t think this is discrimination.

Schools are there to provide your child with an education, they are not there to be used as or to provide childcare. If the after school club cannot accommodate him due to a lack of staff or facilities, it is not the correct place for him and you will need to explore other options.

This. And especially as they can't provide a 1-1 and he lashes out at other kids. They have given valid reasons as to why not.

Err, people saying it's not discrimination, what are you basing that on?

A disabled child is being refused access to a service/provision on the basis of his disability, of course it is potentially discrimination under the Equality Act. How could it not be?

All services and provisions are bound by the Equality Act.

As I said upthread it's probably not a battle worth taking on by OP as it probably won't benefit her son, and it doesn't sound like it's suitable provision anyway, she needs to pick her battles etc.

But this is discriminatory.

I’m not sure what you expect them to do if your dc needs 1-2-1 care? Are you offering to pay for a dedicated staff member? The school isn’t obligated to provide after school club so they likely won’t provide one for you.

" This is what DLA is meant to cover. I'm guessing he gets higher rate care?"

How much do you think childcare for a disabled child costs?

Do you get DLA that could pay toward the cost of a 1-1 outside of school hours?

I'm afraid the school are not obligated to pay for this out of school hours. ASC is essentially childcare/babysitting, not school.

It sounds from what you've said that the environment would not be suitable for him, and it would be dangerous for your child/the other children. They can't agree to put any children in danger.

If he cannot be in a classroom then it sounds like ASC would definitely not be suitable for him. Have you looked into a nanny/childminder?

It’s not discrimination because they can’t make a reasonable adjustment for him to attend safely. They are allowed to consider the cost of any adjustment when considering if it’s reasonable.

Does he already have an EHCP and what is his banding? If it[s high enough, you may be able to argue that it should provide enough hours over and above school hours. My son has E3 and that is sufficient for school hours, but higher bands I believe would have a higher number of hours.

The out of school care provider won’t have enough staff to cover a 1-2-1 and if they can’t keep your son safe then it’s far better they admit it than try and cover it and put all the kids in danger.

There can be funding locally which can help - it’s worth seeing if there’s anything in your area. It was the only way our local playscheme could take children that needed 1-2-1 as there just wasn’t the funds otherwise

Of course it’s not discrimination.
If they can’t provide adequate care for him then it would be unsafe for him to be there.

What’s the reason for needing to return to work?
Are you a single parent?
If not could you get an evening job instead?

This is what I would do. Our school club cannot take children who are SEN

Not RTFT but can your child get DLA to cover the additional costs of the care they need?

Being unable to make reasonable adjustments doesn't stop this being discrimination. It's just potentially lawful discrimination.

Based on what OP says this she hasn't had any sort of formal refusal to make reasonable adjustments. And I really don't think anyone here can definitively state that 1. This isn't discrimination, and 2. That the setting are unable to make reasonable adjustments.

What would you expect the HT to do? Shools don't have any obligation to provide care after hours so people can work

It's an awful situation for you OP but I think your efforts would be better spent looking for an alternative

The childcare provider's only obligation is to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the OP's son. They have concluded, in consultation with the son's teacher, that no reasonable adjustments are possible - they cannot stop the setting being busy and loud, nor can they afford to provide 1:1 care. In my view, the courts would find that they have complied with their duties under the Equality Act.

In my LA even the highest banding EHCP doesn't come with enough funding to cover a full time 1:1 in school hours, even when the notional £6k is taken into account.

I suspect if OP was to insist that the EHCP specified after school club with 1:1 support on top of the current provision, the school's response would be that they can no longer meet her son's needs sadly.

I don't know what the answer is other than more funding to support SEN children and their families but it doesn't look likely with the current government sadly.

I'm sorry OP, it's a really hard position to be in.

We have a highly regarded SEN school near us. A friend works there. They have eight vacancies this week alone. Staff turnover is high. It's very stressful

this is exactly why many parents with disabled children cannot work, including myself. My son is autistic and it's been impossible for a few years. I know how frustrating it is op, but I don't feel like it's discrimination.

You have said yourself your son needs 1:1, so expecting the school to be able to provide wrap around care is unreasonable. In an ideal world they could. But ultimately they get extra funding to support your son at school only and this will not cover any out of school costs. It doesn't sound like the right environment for him anyway and they won't have the staffing for it.

from what you said I don't think he would cope? In the after school club here all age groups are mixed and you said yourself he can't be with other children?

Are you talking about after school clubs or wraparound care?

If wraparound then these are usually run by external companies, not the school. Their workers will not be SEN trained and will not be able to provide a 1:1.

Your son's 11:1 needs during school hours will be met by, I take it, a full time TA, but the school will not have the funding for additional hours pay for them, nor does a TA have to agree to staying late after their work hours have ended.

I'm sorry, I know it's difficult but the school is not responsible for looking after your child outside of normal school hours.

Have you considered a child minder to collect them from school and have them until you're home?

They have to make reasonable adjustments. A reasonable adjustment is usually billing the full cost of 1-1 care for the club.

It's crap, but it is what it is

@Yarnasaurus
No, it's not. Because the service being provided by ASC is a noisy club where there is say 10 children to one adult. That's the service they offer in return for whatever their fee is. The ops child would be welcome to join the club under those constraints. But he can't, he needs a different service, one which they don't provide.

I think those after school clubs are run on a semi commercial basis so they probably can't fund the 121 you require. You could try to obtain funding as a poster suggests.