To not want DS sat by himself while the rest of the class is on a fun trip

[Sprogonthetyne]

DS has additional needs and spends half of the school day in a small class with other sen kids, and half with the mainstream class. The school is running a treat trip, which they have invited some, but not all sen kid from across the school (both in the base and not).

In the mainstream classes its 1 or 2 kids out of a whole class that are invited, but for the half of the day he's in the suport base, it's every kid except DS who is going. I feel this is really bad planning and not really fair to leave just one out. He doesn't care about the trip itself, it's not an activity he'd particularly enjoy, but he cares a lot about been the only kid left behind and sitting by himself all morning.

Should I raise this with the school? I only just found out and the trip's this week, so it's too late to add him in, but WIBU to ask them to arrange for him to do something with other children during this time?

Presumably ALL the kids who are missing out on a treat activity and have to go to class instead are feeling excluded too?

This is potentially disability discrimination. They have used a selection criteria that in affect leaves out a child because of how their disability affects them. No way would I stand for this. I work with SEN kids and you cannot just leave one child out. You either leave a group and do something else fun with them or none at all. I am actually quite appalled at this.

He is in the group that needs the most suport, but that's not really the point here

Ideally they would have looked at how the class would be split and either invited them all or left 2 or 3, but I appreciate oversights happen.

What I would like the school to do is either put him (plus ta, who would be with him anyway) in the mainstream class, or pick some kids from the mainstream class to do small group work with him and his ta.

I only read what you said!

The school have some kids with more significant need, who spend part of the day in the base, and some kids who have sen but can be suported in the main class full time.
All the children who were invited have sen, but not all of them are in the base.

so just putting him back into main class would mean adding him into a set he's not in, in the middle of a topic or book he has missed the start off, so kind of difficult (though not impossible).

If you are happy for him to go to the main class after all, which completely makes sense, then ask that?

It's ridiculous to expect the school to "Pull out some children" to entertain yours? What have the kids done!

I think you should explain to them that you think he might feel like he's in isolation again and so perhaps he could choose a friend or do something completely different. As I didn't really understand the issue until that post, my son would be perfectly happy with half a day spent with his 1:1.

I disagree.

I may be wrong but It sounds like only a few SEN pupils have been selected but the ones that haven’t been selected happen to be in other classes for that half a day.

So DS isn’t the only one not being selected but it falls on a day where for half of it, the other non selected students are not in the base.

Apologies if I’ve misunderstood.

I am a bit dubious about the "by invitation" thing. I think its ok for schools to offer different treat trips depending on what different pupils need or can cope with but shocking to not invite an individual pupil or pupils to anything

Could it be an opportunity for him to get some peaceful 1:1 with his TA?

I have a SEN kid and tbh I was always delighted when the school went off for an activity and left my kid behind with his 1:1 as it meant he would have a quiet and peaceful day. They usually did something a bit special like baking.

If this isn’t what your DS wants though then of course that should be the priority.

It’s not pulling kids out to entertain another one. It’s being adaptable and flexible with teaching and learning in a way that works for everyone. Given sufficient resources this is how a 1:1 can be used effectively.

"picking some kids from the mainstream class" would literally be pulling kids out.

Now asking for volunteers and only taking volunteers is one thing, kids like to feel chosen and trusted if the activity is worth it, but deciding that kids must be taken off their class to entertain another child is not fair on the children, if they have not happily volunteered themselves.

It was actually the “to entertain” comment that I objected to. I’m saying that pulling a couple of kids out and putting them in a small group that facilitates learning for different abilities can be beneficial for everyone.

And that is an excellent reason to ask them to make a change to avoid this.

In other words, you punish some to entertain others. Kids are not stupid, they know.

Why is it ok to pull a couple of kids to put them in a small group like that, when they should be learning with the rest of the class. You are not doing them any favour, it's not for their benefit.

I possiblely wasn't clear, that was the reason the school gave for not wanting to add him into another class.

I wasn't suggesting the pick a kid at random to sit doing nothing. There are probably children in the mainstream class that would really benefit from the extra support of doing small group work, but the school can't fund the ta time to make that happen. Simultaneously ds is sat with his 1:1 (la funded), and would benefit from having other children with him. If done right it would be mutually beneficial.

I think you would be perfectly reasonable to say that you understand why he isn’t going on the trip, but that being taught alone in the SEN base is too close to an internal exclusion for your DS and he needs something else to be planned for him. Completely reasonable!

I maybe read it wrong but even if it is his day to be in the base on that reason alone he should have at least be invited or the group have gone on a day that wasn't his day. I am honestly appalled leaving one child out only.

It is a bit complicated so I'm probably not explain well. DS and all the other base class children spend every morning in the base and every afternoon in (different) mainstream classes. The base children are from multiple classes and year groups across the school.

They have picked 1 or 2 sen children from each of the mainstream classes. As it happens, every other child who would normally spend the morning in the base with DS has been picked but via their respective mainstream classes.

Him not being picked to go isn't the issue, it's been the only one left in the base that's the issue.

It’s only for 3 hours though if it’s half a day. I don’t think it’s fair to expect the school to disrupt other kids’ school days/routines so he won’t be alone with his TA. If you/the school present it to him as a good thing he is getting some special one to one time with the TA, then these few hours will fly by for him in a positive way.

As it's just half a day, maybe you can keep him home and do something with him in that time, if you think sitting with the TA isn't beneficial or would be confusing for him.

They should have planned it better then. I would be checking prior to putting invites out that one child wasn't being left out by default. I appreciate it was an oversight but one the onus is on the school to rectify in a way your child doesn't feel punished. I am writing this as a mum of a disabled child and someone who works in a ASN base.

But presumably they chose the children going on the basis of their mainstream classes, not their SEN base attendance. If the OP’s child attended the base in the afternoons rather than mornings, there would be other children not going on the trip present with him.

I imagine his TA will plan an extra fun or 'special' activity with him since it's just the two of them, you could ask about this? Like a game or craft activity or whatever he might like, which will prevent him feeling like it's a negative experience.

The infant school kids (ks1) use the base in the afternoon, and ks2 in the morning. I don't think any of the ks1 kids are going (its an older actively), so it wouldn't be an issue at all if he was still in the younger class, but he isn't. They could have scheduled the trip for the afternoon, which would have also avoided the issue, but it's too late for could of now

Schools can’t handle human children anymore.