School won’t/can’t do anything about SEN child causing distress

[Rantypanties]

I had a phone call from my child’s primary school stating that the SEN child in their class touched them & another child ‘over their clothes in their private area’. This is the 3rd incident of this nature happen in the class (first 2 were ‘tickling in that area’) and the 4th time something serious has happened that has involved him being sent home. It’s never witnessed by the teachers or his 121 assistant (but bullying at the school never seems to be so it’s not just this child).

The child is a lot taller and bigger than the children and although they’ve grown up with him for the past 3 years and they’ve all muddled along with no problems, there are now occasions where children have been scared of him chasing them/hitting out and shouting in class.

He has got a place at a local SEN school but apparently the LA won’t fund the transport for the 26 mile round trip so he can’t go according to his mum (they can’t afford the petrol and the dad’s banned from driving).

So my question is what can we do with a reluctant school? Can we, as parents, put the pressure on the LA to get his transport fully funded so this child can get the best out of his schooling and move to a school more suited to his needs. The school are keen to downplay the incident and I’ve seen the child is back in school today so I’m not sure what lesson has been learnt here, but they obviously cannot cope if he’s being left long enough to touch other children inappropriately and scare children into not wanting to play outside because he’s out there.

Just looking for advice because it seems to me this is escalating and something needs to be done for the safety of all of children in the class.

Based on my experience of schools, all are struggling with the same issue of not being able to provide adequate provision for a large number of children with complex SEN, compounded by general budget cuts.

Good grief, the child is sexually abusing other children. Yet not one thought is spared for their safety. Of the boy is not safe to be around, SEN or not, he needs to be kept away until a solution is found.

Indeed.

The problem with these threads is someone will always quote “right under UK law and a human right” (to education) and forget the same for (from sexual harassment/abuse). They are not exclusive of each other.

Fault lies firmly with the government for inadequate funding. The LA may be slow etc. but Councils can’t make the books balance across all the needs including social care and social workers etc. and there isn’t enough specialist provision.

@Catsbreakfast that's not true. Nobody on this thread said this behaviour should continue. It's pretty unanimous that everyone thinks the solution lies with the school and the local authority. Removing a child from school and not providing an alternative because they have a disability is not legal. Schools do try and get away with it, but it isn't. Even if the school does find a way to exclude (they actually have to prove suitable reasonable adjustments were tried and failed) the LA still need to find the child a place and can be fined if they don't. I'm really banging my head against a brick wall here. The lack of compassion for both children is staggering.

I think this thread also powerfully shows why SEN funding is everybody's issue. Often, people seem to think children with SEN are none of their concern (provided they have typical children without support needs). But if there isn't adequate support/sufficient schools for those with SEN, it does impact the rest of the class.

Goes on to a thread about a child being sexually assaulted and sticks up for the dad who was banned from driving. Ok.

This thread has been eye opening from my perspective too. The child poses an immediate danger to other class mates and needs to be removed.

What if a grown man who had the mental age of say, a ten year old went around abusing women. Would we say he should still be allowed to participate in society because he has a learning difficulty and that is his human right? Would we allow him to continue doing so until a suitable alternative was found? Absolutely not.

The LA have found him a place?
But the parents appear too feeble to actually get him there.

how would you fit in a 100 mile school run into your day esp if you work. The LA is legally obliged to provide transport if that is the nearest school that can meet need. And if the other school is named in the EHCP, the child would not be able to attend said primary. It's obvious that the local authority has not yet agreed to fund a place in this specialist setting. Otherwise it would be named in the EHCP and the child would not be able to attend the ms primary anymore. I wish people who don't know how the system works (and what a fight it is for families) would stop posting their idiotic opinions.

I think you need to work on your reading comprehension... nobody said the behaviour of the child is ok and should be allowed to continue. This thread is quite a damning enticement for the UK school system.

There you go OP - no need to worry as it happened over clothes. Absolutely no reason to get upset about this. I absolutely wouldn’t be annoyed any anyone grabbing my breast over my clothes.

Indeed. Mind boggling.

I agree. But why should the other kids continue to be put at risk because the LA can’t sort its shit out?
This is my point, he needs to be removed from the school immediately. Should he be able to go straight in to another school more suited for this needs? Yes. Is that going to happen? Probably not. But in the meantime, until his individual situation is sorted out for his own best interests, he needs to be removed so that he does not continue to cause harm for others.

If you take my analogy, you could say the grown up with the mental age of a ten year old would not be sent to an ordinary prisons if convicted. They would presumably be sent to a facility more suited to their needs. However, I can bet that they wouldn’t be allowed to carry on committing sexual assaults until that facility is found

Op said the Mum said they can’t afford the patrol, and the Dad is banned from driving.
Not that the journey would interfere with their work journeys.

How does the OP know for definite that the parents have turned down that school place because of lack of transport? Maybe they want to keep him where it is because it is convenient to them? Just because they have said this is the reason doesn’t mean it actually is.
If the child was excluded from school then they would have no choice

legally the LA is obliged to provide transport in such cases in any way. Not the families fault if the LA doesn't meet is statutory obligations. I doubt many families could afford 2000 miles worth of petrol for school runs. It's not the families fault that the local authority does not have suitable provision closer home.

people would be revolting if they had to do such school runs for their typical children. Why is any shit always good enough for disabled children and there families???

It’s also not the OP’s fault or the fault of the children being sexually assaulted.

and it's not the disabled child's fault that the correct safeguarding is in place.

Also not the OP’s fault nor the children who have been sexually assaulted

I don’t think it is helpful to look at this in terms of fault.

I can absolutely feel empathy for the child with SEN and their family whilst also believing that he needs to be removed from the school with immediate effect to protect the other pupils

Who suggested any shit is good enough for disabled kids? I didn’t.
This family have been allocated a school that meets their child’s needs, and are allowing him to remain in a setting where other children are having very negative experiences solely because of his presence there.

There need to be some responsibility recognised on their part, surely? Why accept that the other kids are just collateral damage?

if the plan had named the other school, the child would not be in the current school. This is not how EHCPs work. you can only attend the school which named in the plan. And the la must provide transport. We obviously don't have all the details but it looks like the la is dragging their feet in order to save money .

out of interest, how would you handle 100 miles a day for school runs??? practically, time wise, and financially?

Well we can only go off what the Op says happened as no one knows the whole story
Going off whst the Op says happened both the LA and the school are failing in their duty to keep all the children safe this is not the fault of the anyone but the LA and school.
.

Whose sticking up for the Dad the Dad is irrelevant here aa he's under no obligation to drive his son to the special school anyway
And loads of parents who have children in special school either can't drive ( like myself) or have to go to work etc .