Discrimination

[ThatLoyalRedDeer]

Hi,I just need some advice on what other mums think,my daughter who is 12 and in her 1st year at secondary school,she has A S.D and ADHD she is also dyslexic.
Since she started the school she has had nothing but problems,now don't get me wrong my daughter is hard work,.she will test you to the limits,she's right and you are wrong,she has no empathy for others ,it's her wee world. From Sept to Dec she was being sent to another room,teacher would stand at the class room door with her hands outstretched and refuse to let n her In,school said this to let her calm down in the mornings as she was a bit hyper,I knew this was untrue as she's not hyper first thing in the mornings but I let it go.she was being sent there for other reasons,fidgeting with a fidget toy,or getting out of her seat or answering back.That teacher left and we have had a quieter time but recently things have gone down hill again,now she's suspended,ive asked why and they said ,she's doing things she's not meant to do and not doing things she's meant to.The school have also suggested that I put her in a special needs school,2 teachers have told my daughter on separate occasions that she doesn't belong in this school,where do I go from here,are they discriminating against her?

They are unlikely to be discriminating against her. From your description, it is more likely that your child's high needs make her unsuitable for a mainstream secondary school. Unfortunately there aren't enough places in SEN schools, so this is a common problem.

@ThatLoyalRedDeer

Does she have an EHC Plan?

She has an education plan and has a statement .

@ThatLoyalRedDeer

Could you ask the Head whether you could go in to discuss what has happened and what the options might be?

Hopefully, some of the Mumsnet posters who are teachers will have some good advice for you, once they have seen your post.

If she is suspended, you should have received a formal letter about her "fixed term exclusion. Did you? If so, what did it say?

Are you in Wales?

When is her next Annual Review?

I haven't got a letter,I got a phone call from the receptionist on Friday afternoon to tell me she was suspended,I asked why and she told me ,doing things she's that she wasn't ment to do and not doing things she was mental to do.I have spoke with my daughter and she says she was playing with a puppet.i live in N.Ireland.

Go and speak to the head. It's not clear from that statement from the receptionist what they mean. Are they saying they can't cope with her? Or did she do something inappropriate and is being excluded?
In anycase it sounds like this school is not the right school for your DD. So focus your energies on finding a suitable alternative

Unfortunately there's no other school she can attend without travelling 15 miles or more.She can't travel on a bus because of noise and smells,her anxiety is high level and she would have a complete meltdown.I feel that they can't cope with her and are using excuses to try and remove her.

Well it may be that they can't cope with her. So you need to speak to the school to see what they are saying and then possibly look at the statement and see if she can be reassessed. If the support she gets now isn't working and the school can't cope with her then something needs to change

You need an emergency meeting. Ask the head and senco attend. Are there any external professionals you can ask. In my area we have a team called sendias who support parents who feel school are failing their child. We also have a Sen team in the local authority who advise on reasonable accommodations.

Go through every incident and find solutions/ preventative measures. Call them out on failing to make reasonable adjustments. Go through ehcp and challenge anything they are not currently adhering to.

Have you requested an early review of DD’s statement of SEN? What support is already in there? Is it being provided?

The school must make reasonable adjustments, it doesn’t sound like they are. Have you complained?

The school must follow up the phone call with a letter setting out the reasons and period of the suspension. Written notification must be sent to you, the chair of governors and the EA or CCMS. If you don’t have written confirmation you must chase this. Otherwise it may be the school is informally excluding DD.

If you haven’t already spoken to SENAC, it is worth doing that.

Would there potentially be scope for the provision of a taxi if she were accepted by a school which is more suitable for her?

Is there a school in your area which you think is especially suitable for her?

Could you make an appointment to see the Head at her current school to talk things through and discuss the way forward?

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/education/exclusions/northern-ireland/suspension

As you say, it looks as though they can’t cope with her and feel she would be much better in a special needs school - this sounds as though it might be a positive move for your daughter.

@ThatLoyalRedDeer

What is the situation as of today, OP?

Is it discrimination? Yes.

Is it unlawful exclusion? Yes.

Teachers telling your daughter she doesn't belong in this school is appalling.

However, it is clear that this school isn't going to cater for your daughter. You need to look elsewhere. Having said that, if it were me and my child fell behind as a result of their school behaving like this, I would also pursue the school for damages to cover the cost of tuition to get her back to where she should be. It is unacceptable for schools to behave like this, but sadly it is all too common.

Have a conversation and get all the information, who said what, what was asked of her, what she said, what options were considered etc.

Get the detail first.

You don’t know most of the facts so you can’t make the judgement. Having SENDs does not give the kid an excuse to not behave and not getting suspended. The situation is a lot more complex than that.

There are enough facts here to say that the school is clearly using unlawful exclusion to deal with an SEN child. That is therefore discrimination.

No, SEND does not give pupils a free pass on their behaviour, but nor does poor behaviour by SEND pupils give schools a free pass to ignore the law.

I have had the meeting and asked why they suspended her,I was told she was tapping a pen on the table,she was walking around the class and she drew on the white board,I said that clearly this comes from her adhd which they agreed they also said that if she didn't settle yesterday when she returned to school she would be sent home,as I've said b4,my child is hard work im not denying that,ive offered to sit in the class room but they don't want that,her medication isn't high enough yet.I mentioned the teachers comments and they said nothing. She is not at school ATM as she has an ear infection but she will be going on Thurs ,I have said that if they need me I will come to the school ,they said you will be called a lot of times.

Follow up the meeting with an email so you have a paper trail as evidence.

Don’t allow the school to informally call you and send DD home to cool off. They also shouldn’t be calling you into school to manage DD’s behaviour arising from her disability.

@ThatLoyalRedDeer what was she doing when walking around the room and what did she write/draw on the board?

She just walks till she finds something,she was drawing,my daughter is dyslexic and has a reading age of -5

Does the school not provide the expert help she needs? She's 12 and has a reading age of 5?

Is there a school in the area which would really help her?

There must be somewhere better than this one.