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Can I keep my child out of school?

39 replies

rebl · 16/10/2010 13:19

Where do I stand legally on this?

Background: My ds's needs are not being met at his ms school although the school think that they are meeting his needs. Things have been bad since he started (5 weeks ago), they refuse to communicate with us and just poo poo our concerns. He has got out of school once although this has been dealt with in a satisfactory manner so I don't think it would happen again. He has been hitting other children and I have only found out about it from my dd or other children. I have been in and spoken to the teacher on a number of occassions, the last one just over a week ago, saying that I knew he was hitting in school I was concerned by the reports I was hearing. The teacher categorically told me even then that there were no concerns even though she admitted that he hits on a regular basis but not everyday. I told her that I wanted to be informed of any hitting.

Fast forward to Thursday morning this week. I notice ds is only sitting next to someone on his left side. The girl next to him had been moved. I knew he'd been hitting her from my dd but thats it. Thursday 9:05 ds hit the girl on his left with a book. This was witnessed by the girls mother. She went in an complained after school.

Friday morning I have to leave my son sitting by himself with a table between himself and the rest of the group. The teacher did not make any attempt to talk to me. He was picked up by the after school club and he spent 3hrs telling the staff there how much he hated school and he's not allowed to sit next to anyone. I pick him up from there and he spent until he went to bed telling me and dh repeatedly how he hates school. Again this morning he's said he hates school, that he's the only one who isn't allowed to sit next to his friends, he can't hear his friends, he wants to sit next to dd so she can tell him what his friends are saying.

I don't want to have it out with the teacher in the classroom 1st thing monday morning, I don't trust her, I need witnesses to her conversation that aren't parents. We have a meeting set up for after half-term. We clearly can't wait that long.

I'm not prepared to take him back to an environment where he's excluded not included and where his needs are ignored and not met. I have promised ds that I won't let him be so unhappy and lonely at school as he was on Friday.

So I currently see that my only option in the immediate time is to remove him from school. Where do I stand legally on this? He's not 5 yet (5 at end of April). Can they have me hung drawn and quartered for refusing him an education? I am prepared to go and view other schools with a view to starting him after half term? I am also prepared to look seriously at HE for the next half term at least. I just don't know where I stand legally with it all. The last thing I need is a social worker on my doorstep over this.

OP posts:
LucindaCarlisle · 17/10/2010 16:14

Be sure to ask the school to De-register him.

Otherwise the school may still claim the funding for him.

rebl · 17/10/2010 19:22

Thank you. I feel terrible. My stomach is turning sommersaults just thinking about tomorrow and the inevitable fall out.

OP posts:
PolarEyes · 17/10/2010 22:25

Hope tomorrow goes as well as possible.

mariagoretti · 18/10/2010 02:46

Scan, copy, photograph or steal dd and ds link books before morning. Otherwise they'll go 'missing' or be mysteriously altered before the LA sees them.

rebl · 18/10/2010 08:02

mariagoretti Never occurred to me to photocopy dd's book. Not got chance now before school. Bother. DS's book isn't going in anyway as he's not.

OP posts:
silverfrog · 18/10/2010 08:29

Just "forget" dd's book this morning.

You really need this evidence, and it will almost certainly go missing if they realise its importance (has happened in some form or other to virtually everyone on this board!)

bigcar · 18/10/2010 09:10

hope all went well this morning rebl

rebl · 18/10/2010 17:15

The school called dh at lunchtime. He went to a meeting starting at 3:45. He's still not home and its now 5:15.

The seating arrangements were still the same this morning so we totally made the right decision not to send him. If we had he would have spent another day away from his friends Sad.

OP posts:
bigcar · 18/10/2010 18:21

blimey rebl, long meeting, hope he gets somewhere with them

PolarEyes · 18/10/2010 19:38

crikey, hope your DH is home and the meeting went ok.

MumBarTheDoorZombiesAreComing · 18/10/2010 19:57

Sorry your DS is having such a hard time, I'm very surprised they have a seating arrangement in year R are doing EYFS and play with free flow??

Hope all went well at meeting.

rebl · 18/10/2010 21:27

I don't think that there is full on play with free flow.

The meeting was 1.5hrs long. DH feels that we have moved forwards. The SEN governor was at the meeting apparently as well so the governors are aware. Our complaint has been upheld.

I'm very tired after a very long conversation with DH. But he's confident we're all moving forward in the right direction and ds will be attending that school tomorrow.

I'm not sure how I feel about it all, I guess only time will tell.

OP posts:
bigcar · 19/10/2010 09:16

sounds a bit more positive, hope today is ok

PolarEyes · 19/10/2010 09:31

Sounds like they have taken your complaint seriously (as they should). Hope it's the start of your DS getting the support he needs and is entitled to.

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