Permanent exclusion

[lilsgree]

Can the school do this??
My child has been permanently excluded for shouting at one teacher and supposedly pushing her way through another on her way out of the class. Witnesses who were there say she did not push this teacher and she also claims and swears on God and the bible that she didnt push this teacher.
The school still said in the meeting that there were 13 year 8s who wrote that she did push the teacher but they did not investigate the other students who were there that said she did not.
We have had many calls regarding her behaviour but not towards teachers mostly for breaking basic school rules like eating in the corridors, missing deadlines, and wearing two earring studs which is not allowed in her school.
In the meeting we were given an option to manage move but im not sure if this option is still available for her. How do we get this option because we feel it will be alot suitable than being expelled for something she did not do.

Also my child is black do you think this has anything to do with it?

From other replies i think the MM is a better option.

I think this is the perfect way to explain her character and what has been going on, in her previous school she was perfectly fine her grades are really good aswell and they havent dropped thank God

Yes.

Schools don't usually permanently exclude lightly which makes me think there's more to this. Your Dad's behaviour hasn't been great.

Many schools are EXTREMELY strict these days, with lots of harsh rules. Look at the schools in Essex where parents are up in arms over how strict it is. It can be really anxiety inducing in some children and can quickly become a slippery slope of breaking rule after rule and getting into a negative feedback loop.

Either way it sounds like the school don't want your daughter there - but why would you want her to go to a racist school where the culture isn't a good fit?

Thank you so much.

I dont, i just dont want her to end up in the same sort of school.

If she has a string of poor behaviour and has now pushed teachers (that's assault) then the school has every right to exclude her - and I am with them, disruptive children ruin everyone else's education, not just their own.
You need to find out what your options are now - and also point out to your DD that her behaviour is unacceptable and needs to change now - I doubt race has anything to do with the exclusion, though I suspect that the boundaries of acceptable behaviour are higher than for boys i.e. girls not fitting in with female socialization is liable to get them into difficulties (not that I disagree with not fitting in, but pushing teachers is beyond the pale).

I think a managed move may be the best move for her education. I think getting her a good therapist to talk about her feelings may help (and if possible someone black who gets it) and an investigation in to the possibility of autism would be next steps.

I am ASD and have a strong sense of injustice. It's even more painful when others wrongly accuse me of wrongdoing when I've been honest.

But if, as you keep repeating, you don't believe she did what she is being accused of, why are you punishing her?

Sorry what is ASD?

Because she amitted to shouting at the teacher back which is unacceptable.

School Governor here - how has recently had too much experience of this sadly!

Firstly you need to think about where you want your child to be in the future. I absolutely appreciate your child being black and not wanting to be isolated from her culture comes into this. She is Year 8 - so has time before things like GCSE options take hold (For some schools this is in year 9).

If there is a school local to you (within the same local authority) that you would be happy for your child to move to check with the school that they have space - or you could ring the local authority and ask who has spaces in year 8 as this would avoid having to tell the new school that she is PEx currenty. (Schools cannot go over PAN to take in a managed move pupil which will limit your options) Then approach the current head - say that you have reconsidered managed move and would like to discuss futher. They do not have to agree at this point as they have already excluded BUT they could be open to it if they think you are serious (it does get used to get out of exclusions so many are wary). There are timescales at play however now the exclusion has been called, so you will need to act quickly. Managed move does feel like the best option if you can find the right school as it does not feel like the school is properly supporting your child from what you are saying.

If the managed move is not possible then you will go forward with the PEx, and there will be a governor panel within 15 school days of the exclusion- made up of the schools own governors. Prior to this your daughter will receive set work from her school for 5 days, and then from the Local Authority or Inclusion partnership for the remaining time until the panel. Make sure she does and submits this work please. It does make a difference to how governors feel about kids who they are told are bright, want to learn etc.

At the panel you will be asked to present your side- and you can state that your daughter says she did not push the teacher. You can bring evidence from anyone else in the room at the time who might confirm that. You can challenge anyone elses evidence - for example if a teacher who was not in the room said it happened - how does he/she know if they were not there? You can also add in all mitigating circumstances - anything on school records about the incident type - you mention she has had issues with this teacher before for example.

Which way this goes will depend on the governors. If they are convinced your daugther did not push the teacher or that it was a 'shove past' in attempt to get out of the door that the teacher blocked for example they may overturn - but don't get your hopes up on this.

The governors have to be convinced (within the civil standard of proof which is reasonable probablity rather than the criminal one of beyond reasonable doubt) that the action took place.

Having decided it did take place they then have to consider:
Whether the exclusion is proportionate
Whether there are any protected characteristics at play - so your daughter being black will come in here
Whether having your daughter back in school is a risk to the school community

I would be arguing that it is disproportionate - look at the schools behaviour policy for the argument here - though if they class it as violent then it will meet that criteria, If you think it is targeted on her race ask how many black/em students have been excluded by the school in the last 2 years in comparison to non BME, also talk about the impacts of moving a black child into a non BME school. The risk to the community is difficult to disprove or prove tbh, she clearly disrupted a class at the time of the incident, took teacher time to resolve, and returning her will have an impact on the percived safety of others - but again there is a proprotionality to come in here.

Youve been advised above to seek legal advice. I'd look to having someone with you at the meeting - paying a solicior is rarely an advantage as they just railroad and delay the process but likely wont change the result - in my limited experience. But taking advice either from a charity, a IPSEA if there is one in your area or something similar will help. There are also boards on here which might help further.

Good luck OP - put your child at the centre of this - not what you think the school should do and you should get a decent result!

Hi sorry she is year 10.

Take the managed move!

Thank you, I was looking for this but could not find it, so did not dare say that higher rates for black pupils were not statisticaly proven.

But they're allowed to push other pupils and hurt them, without anything close to that. I don't understand why violence against other children isn't taken more seriously. I think the situation would have to be much greater than pushing a teacher, for a permanent exclusion. It is the absolute last resort for a school.

Autism Spectrum Disorder. For girls it is frequently misinterpreted as aggressive behaviour because we are factual and direct and don't understand nuance in conversation.

A lack of social skills is more obvious in boys because girls learn to be more friendly at a young age. So when a girl isn't polite or speaks directly it is considered rude by others because they expect girls to be well behaved. It is frequently seen in very intelligent girls as well.

And if you believe she is honest, that's another sign because autistic girls often find it really painful to lie, particularly because she's been raised in a religious environment.

Already posted that when adjusted for FSMs and SEN there is no greater exclusion of black and minority children.
Permanent exclusion is a last resort. OP's DD has to have done far more than shout at a teacher. And low level disruption unchecked wrecks the education of every other child in the group, so needs to be stopped. OP's DD seems to go in for such disruption and OP is not addressing it.

OP you need to post the reply you are responding to, as I have done here, otherwise it's hard to follow the thread.

Most schools have a rule about not eating in corridors. If there is a rule at your DD's school that says no eating in the corridors and she did eat in a corridor, there's a problem, isn't there? It's disruptive generally and there are places designated for eating eg dining hall.

Take the managed move. Teach your daughter that it is not okay to get into fights, to shout at teachers, nor to ignore rules which she disagrees with (eg, eating in corridors). And if you get any negative feedback her new school, nip it in the bud before it escalates into another permanent exclusion. You’re hardly in a position to be picking & choosing schools at this stage.

Okay thanks for telling me.

She finds it hard to stay in confined and over crowded places like her school dining hall which she has explained to me multiple times

Ohhh.