School refuses pupil an education!!!!

[destresseddannii]

My daughter is currently a year 12 pupil and her school is refusing to let her attend because she keeps fainting and they say its not safe for her to attend but she has exams in four weeks time and has attended 5lessons since january. I could do with your help as to what to do?

I fainted once/twice a day all through my GCSEs, apparently it's quite common. I'm shocked they won't let her attend!

Do you know what causes the fainting? Low blood sugar, migraines, something else? And can she tell when she's about to 'go'?

What does your doctor say?

It's something to do with low bood pressure and her heart keeps dropping beats and her heart is beating to fast. She sometimes has warning but not always. The school has given her a lift key so she doesnt have to use stairs but now they are saying she cannot attend. Although the doctors have said it is ok for her to do so. She is still under the hospital for tests and she has had five ambulances because it sometimes can take as long as 40mins for her to gain full consciousness.

I am in desperate need of help! I really don't know who to turn to. My daughter is so stressed and wants to go back to school. But they won't let her! (sad)

i hate to sound deliberately contrary, but tbh this condition sounds quite troubling and while i can see it might not be in itself life threatening, it is quite a risk for the school isn't it? it could happen anywhere, they have no idea how long she's going to be out... must be pretty disruptive for her class as well if you're going to talk about effects on education - i wonder if any of her classmates' parents felt the same way when she was IN school?

why are you so concerned about her schooling when she's fainting for up to 40 mins, 5 times a day? this is more than low blood sugar, and a few seconds' slump. isn't it better to get it sorted out before putting her through the stress of exams that might exacerbate this? you can always retake exams.

I can understand the school's reluctance but the LA has an obligation to educate your daughter either in school or at home.

home ed sounds like a good option for everybody (or does it mean you have to stay in from work?)

I understand totally were you are coming from. But she hasn't had a proper education since christmas- she is desperate to go back to school. Her classmates have been very supportive and teachers.

I am truly concerned about her health, but its her who wants to go to school shes so desperate to go back. She doesn't want to repeat the year. And she has been entered for her exams. she is majorly stressing im worried that she's going to make her self worse with all this worry.

The school hasn't contacted the LA. I would have to stay home from work. At school they are saying they need some one to be with her all the time and they cant provide it

I really some advice we really don't know what to do

Try phoning your local parent partnership, I know its not special needs but it is close. You could also mention the Every Child Matters agenda.

thanks i'll give that ago. School mentioned that she may be classed as special needs even though she is very academicly bright. So someone could be with her all the time. We never seem to get any further with hospitals and doctors. I think the schools almost given up. Which is getting her down she really misses school and is worrying about falling behind and missing her friends.

ok i didn't realise this was a long-term thing. is it worth contacting your local councillor for education if they're any good, would they have any power to get things moving?

Yeah its been happening since january. I have no idea what they would be able to do. Thanks for your help though. We are just totally lost

I would mention the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 to the school. They must not treat disabled students less favourably without justification and must make reasonable adjustments to ensure they are not disadvantaged. Under this legislation disability is defined as having "a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities". That sounds like it covers your daughter.

It is ultimately the LA's responsibility so contact them if you don't get any joy from the school.

Education Wrlfare should be involved too. They can sort home tuition

Thanks for your help. I would be great if they could sort out some home tuition

I'm not even sure what my rights are to be honest

we have a student like this in our school and it is exceptionally distressing for staff, too. she is a fantastic student, but I have witnessed her fainting many, many times, cutting her face, banging her head etc etc. It is very distressing to us and other students.

There are lots of websites and revision guides she can use - I am sure school would be happy with her coming in after school (if she was escorted) a few times a week to go over work with her.

School could provide text books for her. For the whole disability Act thing to apply, she would need to be assessed by the LEA. I am sorry - it is a horrible situation for all concerned. However, your daughter might be better to accept her health has to come first, and that it is not the end of the world if she does have to repeat a year.

"For the whole disability Act thing to apply, she would need to be assessed by the LEA."

Sorry, I have to disagree with Haggisfish, here. The term 'disability' is a legal one, and is satisfied if ""a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities" - it already applies to your daughter, because she is currently experiencing a condition which renders her unconscious on a regular basis, and has been for 3 months, and there is no end-point in sight. Whether the LEA assess her or not is irrelevant. They have a duty to educate your daughter.

The very first thing you need to do is phone the SEN officer at the LEA, and tell them what is happening. Ask them for who you should be contacting to get support for your daughter in school.

Schools have delegated funds for SEN, around 80% of their SEN budget is given in advance. DO NOT accept the responsibility of keeping your DD out of school. THe school need to sort this out, and if they haven't even contacted the LEA, they are hoping you will just keep her out of school and save them a headache.

The Disability Act applies regardless of whether child is statemented or not: all you need is to be able to show that she is genuinely disadvantage due to disability= not able to do what her peers can do.

However, what the Disability Act requires the school to do is to make "reasonable adjustment" to enable your dd to attend. The school may argue that taking on a situation where your dd risks serious injury or her classmates risk having their studies/exams disrupted is not reasonable adjustment. At this stage, the LEA may have to look at other arrangements for your dd in whatever is judged safest and best. This could involve home tutoring or tutoring in a school with special resources.

Remember, it's the LEA that has a responsibility to educate your dd, not the individual school.

I have a ds who is frequently unable to sit up due to hip trouble. The school has not got the resources to let her be taught in her usual classroom while lying down; it just isn't feasible. So as far as she is concerned, reasonable adjustment from the school means a more modest goal of making sure she is enabled to work at home when unable to attend school. If the situation was a bit more regular the LEA would probably be looking at a home tutor. Dd's right is to an education, not to an education in her preferred school.

She also wasn't able to go to the same secondary as most of her friends as that was not wheelchair adapted: again, reasonable adjustment meant finding a way (in this case another school) of her accessing an education, not ensuring that she could do it in any one particular place.

When the DDA mentions "long-term" it means that the condition has lasted (or is likely to last) more than 12 months, with a few exceptions - cancer and MS. So I don't think you would have any comeback under the DDA.

Sorry - I posted too soon. What I also meant to say was that I would agree that there are safety issues at school - both for her and the other children. What if she fainted at the top of a flight of stairs, for example.

Much as I feel terribly sorry for your daughter and you, I feel that the school has taken the right decision from a H&S point of view.

The thing to do is to sit down with the school and go through the H & S issues. They may well argue that they won't be able to keep your dd safe. You could try to suggest ways that they can work around the situation (e.g. my dd uses the lift and has to make sure that she never is at the top of a flight of stairs, as she is prone to falls).

There would also have to be a procedure for who is to deal with her when she does faint, as the teacher clearly cannot interrupt her teaching every time it happens; that would be to the detriment of everybody. There may also be a case for arguing that an unconscious child should be looked after by somebody with the appropriate training. The school has to cover their backs as they will fear that you will sue if your dd hits her head on something hard or chokes while unconscious: parents do sue over such things. Does she need to be taken out of the classroom or are you happy for the other children to step over her unconscious body. And if she does need to be taken- how is this to happen, practically? The teacher probably won't be able to lift her, so what will be the plan?

In the case of an exam, special arrangements would probably be need to be made for her to sit the exam in a special room (which means money to pay for an invigilator). So that will take time to arrange (but shouldn't be impossible).

except if she is in the sixth form and post 16 she has no legal right to an education. We (at the school I teach at) never refuse an education to student at y11 or below - whatever the issue. In the sixth form we can, and do, ask students to leave particulalry if their attendance is very poor. They may be permitted to take a year off to recover from their medical issues, but we would very rarely keep them on the course if they had attended only 5 lessons this year.