Is this an illegal/informal exclusion?

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My son is in reception and has been put on a reduced timetable (9-12) since the second half of the spring term, following an exclusion of 4 days. The head basically said to me that unless he went on a reduced timetable the risk of him being permanently excluded is higher.

My son has a learning delay and they said developmentally he's around 2 in some areas, they also say he probably has ADHD and PDA is something that has been mentioned recently.

Ehcp has just been sent off for and appointment at the doctor's is booked so we can go down the right to choose pathway.

I assumed the reduced timetable would be temporary but the school have not contacted me to increase his hours and the last couple of weeks I've been trying to get a meeting sorted they keep coming up with excuses and saying they'll get back to me.

Im aware my son is a handful but he is entitled to a full time education. Has anyone else been through this and what happened?

School are absolutely supposed to be able to manage that sort of behaviour. In this case, they could have sought professional advice and extra funding if necessary, and could have applied for an EHC needs assessment much earlier.

Part time timetables are only legal if they are temporary ( with an expected end time), the school are actively trying to sort the support out that will enable the child to have full time education and the parents agree to it.

Too many times the part time timetable drags on for a long time, gets reduced even further and the child is permanently excluded without support ever being put in place.

They receive extra funding for pupils with SEN. Most LAs also have a facility for schools to apply for extra interim funding for situations like this.

Even alleged gentle - it’s still really bad. Plus no evidence any benefit. Just cause they are a friend doesn’t mean that it’s a good thing.

in Australia it’s banned

https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/infant-spinal-manipulation-ban-reinstated

If they do not have the money or staff available, they need to push the LA for support and get the EHCP in place rather than kicking the can down the road and leaving the DC without an education.

Or do you think it would be ok for a school to refuse full time schooling for a NT child if they only hand the funds for a part time teacher?

Threads like this can be awful.

It isn’t the OPs fault that special school places are few and far between and she can’t just demand one: there’s a process.

In the meantime, what would you do if it was your child? Agree meekly that he should be hidden away as much as possible while he falls further behind, thus perpetuating the problem if/when he does go back?

It’s really naive to see these as the only options to be honest.

OP can push for him to go back full time, the support isn’t in place as there is no EHCP clearly stating needs & allowing for funding to facilitate those needs, meaning that he’ll go back and potentially on week 2 have another “bad afternoon” resulting in physically damaging the school property AND also physically harming a teacher and this time they just permanently exclude. Is that genuinely what you think is it the best interest of the child?

It's not for their convenience - it's for his safety as well, as had he pulled that cabinet down on himself or if the trophy cabinet is made of glass, smashed that or pulled it over/climbed on it, he could have been seriously injured or killed.

The part time timetable is providing independent evidence of need, particularly if his behaviour is still challenging despite the reduced hours and will be equally useful for his medical referral to avoid it being rejected as a parenting issue; did you have to wait for his 5th birthday before even starting the referral request (and if not, why have you only got as far as making an appointment at the GP now?).

I can see how having him at school full time would give you more much needed respite from his behaviour at home, but insisting that he returns full time would not be in his best interests at this point, especially when there's clearly evidenced concern for his safety and that of the other children and staff - and despite the Law, there is no obligation for schools to put children and adults at risk of serious injury from a child's behaviour. If he were to be permanently excluded, you'd then be at the mercy of the Local Authority's decisions (or lack of decision), which the school knows could mean no school place or learning at all.

Have you been contacted about a Team Around the Family/Early Support meeting yet?

I agree it’s not OP or her son’s fault. But it’s disingenuous to suggest that this is simply down to the school not wanting to “fork out” for a one to one. As if the school is sitting on piles of money and deliberately choosing not to spend it on OP’s son.

School are also going to be very easily able to evidence why he is part time, not only has he posed a risk to himself but he has also physically harmed a teacher. Open & shut case.

I would be worried about him being in reception again, worried for the other children. One of his triggers is children that are smaller than him, he is awful with my two younger kids, the school have said they have concerns for the children starting next year and I agree with them.

If I didn't have the younger two at home I would be up for spe ding afternoons doing nice things but I can't take them all out on my own, he needs a set of eyes and hands just for him. At the moment we come home, play in the garden, and I spend 3 hours trying to make sure he doesnt escape or strangle his brother's ☹️

If he has a development age of two (in some areas) it's pretty obvious he's not going to cope in a class for five year olds. If he is also out of control, pulling down cupboards, pulling teachers hair and scratching I don't see how anyone would expect the teachers to cope with him and another 29 children in the class. If there is no more suitable schooling available, I would have thought a reduced timetable a reasonable compromise. As someone suggested up thread, maybe try to repeat the reception year next year if his development has improved to a level at least closer to five, and by then his diagnoses should be available to help with getting the right provision.

As a part of the EHC assessment, I would push very hard for a social care assessment too, right now. His behaviour is clearly a risk to your younger ones and you’ll need support managing that. You are also entitled to a carer’s assessment in your own right.

Have you applied for DLA yet?

It isn't an open and shut case, as this should be a very temporary measure for the DCs benefit, not the schools. They haven't done anything to remedy the situation. They would need to evidence what they are doing to support the DC into full time education over the last few weeks.

At first the school were saying it was just a learning delay and possible ADHD, but it has become MUCH worse, I think he was masking and now he feels comfortable there he is as bad as he is at home. I didn't think to go to the GP as I thought it was all done through the school, I wasn't aware he could get medication at this age as everyone said they don't do anything til they're 7. I did take him to the GP at 3 who referred us to speech and language but only got the appointment for that last week!

But you say he's similar at home and you can't manage him - why would you magically expect a mainstream school with far fewer adults per child to both manage his behaviour and teach him plus another 20+ kids when you can't manage childcare for him plus siblings?

It is for DC benefit- that trophy cabinet he pulled over could have killed him. There is still no EHCP in place, there is still no extra funding or staff, the process is ongoing as OP has said and so there IS something going on.

On top of which they can easily state concerns for the safety of himself & others in their reasoning, he could have killed himself and he did physically attack another adult.

The school can't be expected to spend 32.5 hours a week trying to make sure he doesn't escape or try to strangle any one of sixty-plus four and five year olds or anybody in other year groups that are smaller than him, though.

I've applied for DLA my scan date was 3rd April.

I have social services involved as I was with early help and I mebtioned how bad he is with my youngest and she referred us to children's services. It was quite scary but they've actually said really lovely things about me and agree I'm doing my best at home to keep him and the younger ones safe.

A reduced timetable is not an exclusion.

We use them when it is in the best interests of the child.
If they are struggling to cope in some situations.
If they are overwhelmed.
Can't manage with too many children in their space, sound, overstimulation etc
Some children can not manage when others invade their space, cannot understand what is happening, need caring children around them, can feel scared etc and lash out

You see how they go and gradually add more time to avoiding the trigger and providing interventions to help when you hit those triggers.

Some children are on permanent reduced timetables due to health issues.

He is 4 and not of compulsory age, and a part-time timetable may help him avoid permanent exclusion and gently introduce more time and support.

Throwing him back in to full-time when they are not managing would be madness and a sure way for an exclusion to follow.

SEND can be excluded permanently regardless.

It's all very well posters saying the school is acting illegally, but the reality is that if he has another 'bad' afternoon, they will have no choice but to permanently exclude him, which you don't want.

These situations are basically impossible for mainstream schools to manage. This child is clearly unsuited to this setting, there is insufficient funding to even provide the 1 to 1 assistance that might at least safeguard the other 29 children in the class and prevent teachers from being attacked at work. I don't know what the answer is, apart from a lot more funding for special needs schools.

If that is the case they should be able to communicate with OP what they are doing at the moment to help him back into full time education in the very near future rather than ignoring her.

Whatever the official processes are, it sounds like the school has found a means of keeping him in school without another exclusion. They have also been willing to put work into an EHCP application (some schools drag their feet in this). It sounds like the current timetable is working well - allowing him to access education and then have a rest before he gets overwrought. In your shoes I’d be delighted. He’s only little still. Arguably many children his age would benefit from half days. Work with the school. Wait for the EHCP process to be completed and see where it takes you. Added maturity and some strategies may make fulltime mainstream school possible, or a specialist setting might be the recommended outcome.

I can manage it, but it's just not much fun for anyone here at the moment. I am completely my own too, their dad is useless and I have no family support. Friends are dropping like flies, it's becoming very isolating.