is there anything i can do about this ?

[thriftychic]

ds2 has had problems since starting high school. unhappiness , threats of suicide , unmanageble behaviour , refusing school etc been under camhs who have been useless as have the school.

anyway , ds2 is in yr 8 and they have taken their options , but it seems that they are very limited due to the schools timetable. ds2 is only remotely interested in 2 subjects and he cannot do them both they say.

he wants to do music and construction.

being realistic i think he will be struggling to get any GCSE's and the only hope is if he does something he is slightly interested in.

the school wont budge , do i have any option ? anywhere i can ring about it ? anything ?

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Is the school unable to change because of timetabling constraints?

If so then your only option is to explore moving to a school with different staffing/space which has these two courses as possible options. Can CAHMs help by supporting your application to move (exceptional medical need?)

If they are simply unwilling to put him on these two courses (why?) then again, it might be helpful to enlist CAHMS to write a supporting letter. You need to talk to head of year, then relevant person in SMT, then HT.

yes they say that because of the timetable he cannot do both of these. unfortunately there isnt really anywhere to move him to.

Could he do one of them as an out of school interest? In sixth form? Etc

Its really harsh when they can't do the subjects they are interested ing

Interested in!

Im so sorry to read about your DS's mental health priblems and am sure the situation is very stressful for you. At work I come into contact with school refusers those who are depressed and those threatening and attempting suicide. Boys as I'm sure you know ring more alarm bells than girls. I'm sorry but sadly unsurprised to hear that CAMHs are useless we have mixed success with them a lot depends on who you see and where you live. Have you looked into counselling/CBT a lot of our children do it and although I wouldn't say it's a cure all we definitely see improvements. There is also a parent support group for children threatening/attempting suicide whose name I can't remember tonight it's been a long day but if you would like I will look it up tomorow and PM you. I don't have any ideas about the school problem apart from speaking directly to thd head and seeing if he/she can help I'm assuming the school is aware of your DSs problems if not then they should be made aware so that they can be extra vigilant.

Have you considered your local FE college? If he is interested in construction maybe a vocational course would be a better option.

thanks for all your help , happy gardening , that would be useful , thanks. School say he has improved but he is having a very bad phase for us at home again.
Trouble is he now will not accept any counselling , he will not accept there is any problem. he says he just gets mad because he doesnt like rules :$