Formal School Complaint - AIBU

[Schoolproblemsagain]

NC

Yesterday, I finally submitted a formal
complaint to my DS secondary school.

It has been a long time coming, but I’m having a major panic that I’ve done the wrong thing and they will treat my younger DS differently.

AIBU to have complained?

I won’t go into all the background details as it’s too long, but the catalyst for finally raising a formal is as follows:

DS Year 11, in the midst of his GCSE’s, has an EHCP and a Pupil Profile. ASD Diagnosis.

School phoned me and said:

At lunchtime, two boys were throwing food at him, he told them to fuck off, he was asked to leave the lunch hall, he refused. He explained to the teacher that he would not leave as he hadn’t done anything wrong and food was being thrown at him. This then escalated to three teachers within his space, who were asking him to leave. He was still refusing. He has been suspended for disruption and is not allowed to return to school unless to sit an exam.

The two boys, who were throwing food and their entourage, who were laughing, have received no punishment.

His EHCP and Pupil Profile states that he will not manage public confrontation with strategies on how to manage such events.

AIBU to have raised a complaint on the grounds that his EHCP and Pupil Profile were not followed, that he has been punished when the other students have not and that he is now missing vital support sessions during his GCSE’s?

🤣 that does sound like an effective way to get them to stop! Fair enough, and as you say maybe the right approach depends on the whole picture and the type of school etc. But I would be telling my child that they could swear which might be more effective but would come with the risk of getting into trouble themselves, or they could speak up assertively without swearing and avoid punishment. I suspect one of my children would do the first and the other the second - ultimately it comes down to how much the child cares about breaking rules and the consequences thereof. You said your child was very timid so I assumed would hate to be in trouble for swearing, hence my suggestion.

Have you heard anything back about the complaint? I hope your DS is okay.

No. They think that it's unfair but realise that they aren't allowed to say that.

To add another perspective on it being an unlawful exclusion as he's not actually been suspended - this is common in secondary schools for Y11 students who do something that would be an excludable offence. They can be put on enforced study leave, which means they only come in for exams.

It sounds like the staff tried to de-escalate by asking your son to leave the canteen. I can understand why you're not happy with the situation, but asking one student to leave is a lot easier and less disruptive than asking a larger group to leave and potentially creating a more disruptive environment.

The school will not tell you what happened to the other students, and whilst you can say you're getting information from other students/parents, they also might not have the whole story.

SEN training is severely lacking in most schools, mine included, and most of the time staff are doing what they think is best in a high-pressure situation, which a school canteen at lunch time definitely is.

As for breaking the law - the school and the staff have not broken the law. ECHP/SEN does not mean that student is free from consequences. The school will know the law.

To add another perspective on it being an unlawful exclusion as he's not actually been suspended - this is common in secondary schools for Y11 students who do something that would be an excludable offence. They can be put on enforced study leave, which means they only come in for exams.

This practice is still an unlawful exclusion, and it is a breach of the Equality Act.

@HonestAquaMember, if you are right in saying the school knows the law, that makes their conduct all the worse. Because they are clearly punishing a disabled child for his disability, and have failed to protect him from criminal assault. You can excuse the original staff reaction by virtue of lack of training, but you cannot excuse the lack of training nor the fact that the decision to impose an unlawful exclusion was not a heat of the moment decision,.

OP has made it clear that she is not basing her statement that the other children concerned have not been excluded on the word of others, but the evidence of her own eyes.

How exactly is it a breach of the Equality Act?

Also, the OP has already said that there is a 'lengthy process' which has led to her complaint, so surely she's drip feeding at this point?

SEN does not mean free from consequences.

Edit: the Equality Act says that schools must provide 'reasonable steps to ensure that disabled pupils are not substantially disadvantaged compared with pupils who are not disabled'. From how OP has described it, the staff took reasonable steps by asking him to leave the canteen.

He will not have been excluded just for swearing. There's clearly more going on.