To think this is not OK?

[SchoolTripSENDrama]

Name changed as this is outing.

Mumsnet, I need your wisdom. DC is in reception, has ASD and an EHCP. They have 1:1 support.

a school trip was organised which would have been completely unsuitable for DC. Partly due to them being such a flight risk but also, they would not have got on the school bus in the first place. I asked what the option was if DC didn’t attend the trip and was told the school had enough staff to accommodate them, so if DC didn’t go on the trip they would get slapped with an unauthorised absence. No option for them to attend school that day.

AIBU to think this is not ok or do I clearly not have a clue how schools work?

So as not to drip feed, I kept DC at home and their 1:1 support went on the trip with the rest of the class.
I was told I could have gone on the trip too but I had too work, plus I knew it would have been so stressful for everyone, especially DC and I wasn’t prepared to put them through that.

is this legit?

I could've written this... except that my son's 1:1 stayed back at school with him and he did some fun things and went in to a Y2 class etc.(They went to a zoo an hour away, he wasn't interested) And.....
Anybody with a child with ASC will understand that it's not just about going on the trip. It's the change of routine, going on a coach, possibly getting stuck in traffic (massive trigger for my son) waiting, queueing, a packed lunch, not knowing what happens next etc...
Your son's 1:1 should have been available for him to stay at school. Its his 1:1.

If you had to work then how come you were able to keep him off?

Thank you. That’s what I hoped DC might have been able to do.

That’s seriously what you came here to say? Thanks for your input.

If the 1:1 is part of the EHCP she should have stayed in school to look after him rather than being used as supervision for the whole class on a trip. Her funding will be specific to your child.

Yep you get it. Thank you.

It’s a reasonable question

That's not what you said though is it. You said the parents of the disabled children are grateful they get to go. That's very different to all parents are grateful you run trips.

Trying make a parent come on a trip so school don't have to provide extra staff isn't acceptable either, schools should ensure they're capable of managing without the disabled child's parents or run a different trip.

If that was the case then why did you have to clarify anything? You said in your update you kept them
off out of choice, not because of work. In the OP
you said it just wasn’t an option for you to go so that solution wasn’t viable.

It’s not relevant. My question was are the school legally allowed to not have any provision for DC to attend school if they don’t go on the trip. Hopefully someone has the answer.

Yes, I did read the OP, thanks for asking!

No reception age school trip, in my opinion, is or should be so specialised that it excludes one of the children.

At this age, a 'trip' can be something very simple, even a different kind of activity in the same building.

What a message to send to a reception age child who won't understand fully but will comprehend that they cannot go.

Just incredibly thoughtless.

If you read my post I also said our school has sent extra staff and in a later post I also said even the SENDCO has gone on trips too to help facilitate things.
As I said, did any meeting take place between the parent, teacher and SENDCO beforehand to discuss the trip in which case the OP could have gone through all these concerns.
Also going forward as someone else pointed out, will the child always miss out on trips? Again I would suggest meeting with the school to discuss what would be suitable for them to be included.
I would also wonder, was it your choice to send the child to mainstream or is it lack of provision in a specialist setting?

Unless the school stopped them going (which would be discriminatory) I'm not sure they do op. I would suggest contacting someone like coram child law advice line for some free advice to find out for sure. Do let us know if you do as I'd be interested to know the answer.

Thank you, this is helpful.

Taking disability out of this, if a parent just decided that they didn't want their child to attend a visit would the school be required to let them attend school. I don't think so.

The question is surely -

Is it lawful to make a school trip compulsory. Surely it isn’t? Attending school is, but an excursion possibly not?

It is relevant, and it shows a changing story and changing reasoning from you

Actually this is an interesting point.
When it comes to residential, those who don't go are allowed to stay in school and are asked to help out with the younger years.
I don't know whether this is because residentials take place outside of school hours though 🤔

Not changed the story whatsoever.

So school.risk assessed and made provisions for dc to attend trip. You disagreed, didn't want dc to attend, and are pissed off school didn't make provisions for your demands?

So your solution is that the entirety of reception can’t go on any trips because the parent of 1 child isn’t happy for him to go- despite the school being happy for him to attend?

And by your logic then any trip that actually involves, you know, leaving the building, is “so specialised”? Nope.

You couldn’t attend because you had to work, but you didn’t work because you kept him off?

You said you were unable to attend the trip to make it possible for your child to go because of work.

they you wanted to keep them off and you missed work in order to do that

I haven’t read the whole thread and no sen experience but from what I heard from teacher friends is that if you don’t consent to the trip the school have to find something for the child to do at school for the day.

Where did I say I was pissed off? I’ve said I was surprised….