Deceitful behaviour from school - don't know where to turn

[godofthunder24]

Hi,

My son's school denied him access for 3 days last year due to his mum having COVID. Following our own research we determined that it was unlawful for the school to deny access for this reason.

Once we presented the legal advice to the school they changed their advice and altered their criteria for allowing my son back into school. It seems very clear to me that they were concerned about the repercussions of unlawful actions and tried to misrepresent their original instructions.

I complained to the school and I've gone through the complaints process with the chair of governors, a complaints panel and the DfE.

The governors have consistently provided inaccurate information during the complaints process which I strongly believe is their attempt to cover up the schools original actions. The governors have access to all of the evidence which is in email form but they continue to misrepresent that evidence.

The DfE have confirmed that the decision to deny access was unlawful.

The Local Authority are not willing to do any other than ensure the school is adhering to the complaints process from now forwards.

I am literally sick to death of feeling wronged by the school and not having a channel that will listen to me and go through the evidence in sufficient detail.

I don't really want to go down the legal route myself but feel like I'm running out of options. Would be great to hear any advice from someone in the know or someone who has been through something similar.

Many thanks,
Ian.

Hope Ian’s toes are ok-there seems like a lot of socks around

Technically yes but, given that it is in line with NHS advice, they can probably justify it as a medical absence.

Why does it matter??? It was nearly a year ago. Stop obsessing.

Yes they do apologise and admit when they are wrong most of the time. However you do not see that. I think you muddled up teachers with parents.

What has this got to do with teachers anyway?

Well spotted!

Rubbish, a misunderstanding of the myriad of rules escalated by a person who needs to get a life and stop using a child to big themselves up.

In your book it's fine to break the law because school members collectively all fail to understand perfectly clear, comprehensible, well-known and well-established law and statutory guidance that has been in place for decades? You have really low standards.

Not at all, I understand that the rolling programme of often incomprehensible 'rules' that hit schools on a daily basis can create confusion and I dread to think what it was like during the Covid period and the subsequent years. There was a mistake, they happen and there is always one tedious person, many seem to be on this site, who is like a dog with a bone.

But this isn't a rolling programme, nor is the rule in the least incomprehensible. It's been in place for around 20-30 years, and probably longer. Why should it be so ridiculous to expect them to apologise for a mistake they are paid not to make which has spoiled a child's last days in that school?

I can see why you are annoyed, Ian, as the school didn't follow the rules and then didn't admit they got it wrong. I would probably have wanted to raise it with the LA as schools should follow the legal framework and not just make up their own rules. Ultimately if they didn't follow the rules with you, then they wouldn't with other people. I wouldn't worry too much about your son and missing the last few days of school though. I think that these things happen and I wouldn't let it upset me, it seems like some schools like NHS organisations are a bit toxic . I worked in similar environments for years and I think the best approach is to be professional and not take things personally.

I have known schools to ignore safer handling and KCSIE. It depends where your standards lay as a school. If you find things like the SENDCOP tedious you normally find KCSIE is also tedious.

My child's schools have forcibly dragged them into school. That's not following safer handling. Another dad came up and told me how upset he was watching that.

Imagine the tedious paperwork if he had recorded it on his phone?