SEN school and aggression

[Arthurnewyorkcity]

I wasn't sure whether to post this in legal or sen.
My son has started at a complex needs school. Another child is very aggressive and has hurt my son 3 days in a row. Now obviously this other child needs support and is entitled to an education that accommodates their disabilities also but my question is, at what point does the school say we cannot meet needs? Can they say that? I know a child can't be excluded on a disability grounds and nor should they be but surely the school have a responsibility to keep all children safe and prevent harm to others? If a child is acting aggressive maybe it isnt the right fit for them? It is not enough to say 'its a school where this happens'.

I am really hopeful the other child is just anxious and their behaviours will calm as they settle as its only the first week, but if they don't, what should i/the school be doing?? I know this might be thinking ahead but I want my baby to be happy and safe so finding out what's what in case needed in future

You dont have a disabled child with challenging behaviour do you ?

If my child was being used as a punchbag, then whether the child being violent is disabled would not be my priority. The disabled child's situation would not trump the safety of my child.

My child was gentle and empathetic in mainstream, they were learning social skills just a bit behind and their mainstream friends understood their difficulties and were supportive and kind (the parents not so much....) their complex needs around needed adjustments meant we were forced out of mainstream to sen....

In a sen school my child became violent having been hit, kicked, had their head smashed off walls, door frames, pushed and punched and spat at.

My child now has PTSD because even thought the alarm bells were ringing there were always excuses, assurances, minimising etc from the school and I let it go on way too long. I will never forgive myself for that.

Where would you put the violent DC? They have needs too, don’t they?

SEN with delayed learning doesn’t mean DC won’t be violent too. I’m an ideal world a school for autism and violent DC sounds better but most DC have learning difficulties that are seen as the bigger issue. The behaviour isn’t trumping the learning difficulty. Some DC have both and it’s a fine line about which school is suitable. Violent DC are a lot more common now and many have complex unmet needs.

The point is the school have to try and meet the needs of all children it's an SEN school loads of kids will have challenging behavior sometimes children can be aggressive whilst at other times be the victim. ,it's not about " trumping rights " the lea has to find ways of meeting the need of all children .

@x2boys The issue could be the dc are not in a behaviour school. Not all SEN schools are the same and have different categorizations and specialisms. Dc might not be at the best SEN school for their needs. They might well be borderline and should be elsewhere. Posters here feel behaviour issues should not be tolerated but it’s unusual to get all quiet children in a Sen school. I agree all needs should be met but incorrect placement can be an issue and the annual review should address this. It’s very hard for non specialised schools to deal with constant aggression.

Personally I don’t think any child should be hit at school (or anywhere else). While I have sympathy with staff, I think it is a problem with provision if a child is lashing out and hurting other children not a problem with that child or the children that are hurt. I think on the whole parents of children with additional needs are groomed to accept very unacceptable provision. It’s a disgrace and we should all feel ashamed that this is how it is for disabled children.

There are behaviour specialist schools. If EHCP says dc needs one, they should be in one. They probably don’t and learning difficulties doesn’t mean no other issues. Schools are often accepting borderline dc. It’s complex but would you like these dc excluded?

a problem with provision if a child is lashing out and hurting other children not a problem with that child or the children that are hurt.

This. The school and LA need to work on meeting all DC’s needs that arise from their disabilities. There’s more that can be done.

SEMH schools are often not appropriate for DC with complex needs (even if they show VCB). The nature of most complex needs schools mean a proportion of their pupils will demonstrate VCB at times.