To want to write to the governors about my DD's suspension?

[UndertheCedartree]

I'm looking for a bit of help. Last week my 12 yo DD was suspended from school for half a day. She has autism and struggles. She didn't want me to leave her and was crying and clinging to me. I tried to get her to go with a member of staff for half an hour but she wouldn't. So the head teacher had to suspend her and send her home. They said I can write a statement to the governors. Does anyone know what I need to say? Is just that it was due to her ASD?

Also if the headteacher keeps suspending her can she be expelled? This is the one and only time she has ever been suspended but it just got me worried.

We managed to get to school but SENCO sent us home as my child was so distressed. They informed the office so I didn’t have to and it’s marked as authorised again. SENCO gave control to my child re what would be happening tomorrow re attendance rather than just saying what would happen. We have a clear plan, a quiet place to enter and agreed that lessons can be held in the support centre (although they will try to get them into class). You are definitely not been supported as evidenced by what we are receiving by way of support. Definitely ask for a meeting to get a plan in place, and explain everything in a letter so it’s evidenced how reasonable adjustments are not being made. Good luck!

I know. She said I shouldn't take all the attendance stuff 'so personally'. It's pretty hard when there's seemingly just me Vs 5 people and I'm basically being called a liar for pretending my DD can't come into school when she can!

They tried to get me to sign a contract at the attendance meeting to say I'd bring her to school everyday (i.e no matter how unwell she is!) Not happening!

I'm sorry they were so distressed and hope tomorrow is better.

My DD was a bit clingy when I brought her in but let me go after a short while. Her learning mentor has been checking in with her all day. She came out happy - she'd been making a little lemon character key ring in Textiles!

I've done the statement to the governors. Everyone on here really helped.

I feel a bit better after speaking to the SEN department at the council and them telling me to essentially ignore attendance. She told me that it is good the school has put a lot in place as to get an EHCP we need to show the school has tried everything to meet her needs but that they need extra funding in order to be able to fully meet them.

Just do what is best for your child. Not school. You know when they are fit to attend or not. We support the school as best we can and we are lucky to have the support we get. Our contact us amazing, and she supports us as a family as care both in school and out is very important. No idea how we have got this but we are grateful. SENDIASS is very important for support re an EHCP in these circumstances.

Follow up the conversation with the LA with an email.

to get an EHCP we need to show the school has tried everything to meet her needs but that they need extra funding in order to be able to fully meet them.

This isn’t correct. For a start, it is possible to get an EHCP when the school could do more but won’t.

The only threshold you need to focus on first, OP, is the legal test for an EHCNA and that is has or may have SEN, and may need special educational provision to be made via an EHCP.

She told me they'd just throw it out if they thought the school could do more as they already get funding for SEN. But anyway I don't think that will be an issue as I've got lots of evidence.

But yes, one step at a time! So what evidence do I need to show for that? She has been diagnosed with autism so that shows she has SEN - is that right? How do I show she may need special educational provision?

You already have evidence via a couple of means. Her low attendance for a start plus the recent email of suspension for health and safety issues, is a biggie. A few more of them and they can't possibly claim they can meet her needs there.

Also she seems to be happy in classes she is doing something creative and anxious in classes that she has to be academically on task. Specialist provision focus more on the practical creative side, with a side of English and Maths, less assessments to make her anxious. Really you just need to make a good case. The educational psychologist report will help aswell. They will refuse you and fight you significantly. You will probably need to enlist the help of IAS to be honest to navigate the appeals and tribunal if you do want Specialist provision.

LAs say a lot of things that aren’t correct. They also do a lot of things that aren’t lawful - hence the need for many to appeal.

A diagnosis of autism would satisfy the first part of the test. The second part is often more difficult, but still more than possible. You can use evidence/communication from the school (including the fact DD isn’t able to attend full time, has been suspended and was excluded from the trip), communication with the LA, ed psych assessment as evidence. Is DD under any specialists or has she been referred? Evidence from the GP? You may need to consider a subject access request to school and anyone else involved to gather more evidence.

I know I have posted this already, but please be careful with SENDIASS. Some are good, but too many repeat the LA’s unlawful policies and are more of a hinderance. IPSEA and SOSSEN are far better.

What do you think would help her? If you want her to be given an opt out of certain subjects the school should be able to do that now without an EHCP. But if she actually can’t cope in the school environment she may need alternative education at home. Have you sought help for her mental health? I would suggest doing that so you have evidence for her absences and also in case your each the point where she can’t attend at all.

Being autistic and having to mask / cope with the sensory overload of school is exhausting!!!

Fortunately the law doesn’t agree with you. Autism is a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and therefore schools are required to make reasonable adjustments, quite rightly.

Then you are wrongly interpret it. There are no special way for ASD or ADHD etc kids that they are not punished as the neurotypical kids. The same expectations for behaviour are imposed on the SEN kids and they don't have any easier. It is not that kids with ASD can hit another child, swear at another child and will not receive the same punisment as neurotypical child get. The reasonable adjustment is when they move the kid to the specialist school, Council agrees on EHCP, they get 10 more minutes at tests and so on. But the schools are not goving any special treatment to anybody when it comes to behaviour. Yes, I know that from an experience

Here OP has a bizzare situation where suspension is administered without pastoral care involved. And this should happen if a child has or doesn't have ASD.

Outrageous. Your daughter shouldn't be excluded for being distressed.

I disagree with @Smoothie23 . If the school puts a child in a situation that is contrary to their EHCP, and the child 'misbehaves' as a result then they should not have the same 'punishment' as a non EHCP child. A school that did this would be acting contrary to the plan.
Reasonable adjustment is not just extra time or a special school! It can be things like time out cards, movement breaks, quick access to pastoral care, excused from some type of work/lessons. With behaviour, the aim is to reduce stress and triggers. Putting them in a situation they can't cope with then punishing them would be pointless.

Thanks for all the help. Appreciated so much!

@Smoothie23 unfortunately some schools act as you say, with no adjustments made for neurodiverse students. However, the law is clear that reasonable adjustments should be made and has already been explained by PPs. An example is a school local to me, where behaviour expectations include "making eye contact with the teacher". Now they say that failure to meet the code of conduct could result in disciplinary action. But as I pointed out to them, after they put a student in detention for this, many students with autism actually find it painful to do this and it is a well known "symptom". So actually what they are doing is punishing the student for being autistic. They wouldn't punish a deaf student for "not listening"...

Intentional poor behaviour is also very different to an inability to regulate behaviour due to factors outside their control.

I wrote in the statement to the governors that I hope it is made abundantly clear on her school record that there was no bad behaviour. It wasn't that she wouldn't follow instructions but that she couldn't.

We are not talking about a child with EHCP. If a child has behavioral issue to the extent that it needs an assistant then certain behaviours are the reason why it has EHCP and it is written in her/his plan.

We are talking about ASD without a plan. If it doesn't qualify for EHCP because the behaviour they will expect the child to obey the rules as any other child.

Having said that, there is a child with EHCP and an assistant at our school who kicked the headmaster and swore at him and still was suspended.

" making an eye contact" is hardly a reason to suspend anybody let alone a child with ASD. But if a child would kick headmaster or spat and swore at him, I assure you the child would get suspended.

Mainstream schools must still make reasonable adjustments as per the Equality Act. That applies whether the child has an EHCP or not. That includes reasonable adjustments to the behaviour policy. That does not mean a pupil with SEN, with or without a EHCP, cannot be suspended at all but that reasonable adjustments must be made. Sometimes schools do unlawfully suspend pupils with a disability.

My DC is in the process of getting an EHCP. Everyone, including the school agrees she does qualify for one.

But you are wrong, anyway. The school already gets money to support SEN DC and must put into place reasonable adjustments due to their disability. They are not expected to follow all the same rules, at all.

My DC has not kicked or sworn or spat. She is just struggling as her needs can't currently be met because she needs an EHCP.

She's only been suspended again! Luckily, the educational psychologist was observing the whole thing.

So now, that's another email I have to write!

Oh no, what happened?