Ive just seen this linked on Facebook and im so angry........

[lottiejenkins]

disabled girl is a health and safety risk says school!!!!!

they were on the news at lunch time and came over as a lovely family. Shame on that school, funny being high achieving they don't want a child with sen, seems it's got sod all to do with the wheelchair she uses from what I can see.

Do you think that if he was offering to do a speach in the school they would refuse on health and safety grounds?

I think not and agree with Bigcar.

Well said gorione. They would put the proverbial red carpet out for him, i remember reading Dame Tanni's book a few years ago and she had the same problem at school and that was over twenty five years ago. What a shame that schools cant move with the times!!

thing is the school sounds quite well set up for wheelchair users, they apparently have ramps and lifts, a lot more than dd2s school can provide.

This is quite unbelieveable. It seems so blatently discriminatory I cannot believe any school would do this. if this is a taste of what academies have to offer...

Its a fecking disgrace.

How dare they exclude this girl because they think she 'wont keep up with her peers'.

Is this actually legal? Are they allowed to select on academic grounds like this? Its bog all to do with her wheelchair. They think she will drag the league tables down.

Is this the future of Academies and 'Free' schools?

wow, just unbelievable isn't it....I'm actually speechless

Shall we send some...helpful emails to Harris Academy?

[[http://teachweb.co.uk/secondary-schools/Croydon-B11/Harris-City-Academy-Crystal-Palace-SC306.html Im even more angry now...... this is from their Ofsted Report!! ""The academy lives by its motto, 'all can achieve'; it therefore takes every measure possible to ensure that no child is left behind, irrespective of their ability, race, ethnicity, or gender.
"" ]]

I would really like to support this family but have no idea how to go about it. There doesnt seem to be any sort of campaign.

Its so blatant!

If the school is selective then they do not have to take her if she cannot pass the entrance test.
If the building is not suitable for wheelchairs they don't have to take her they are only obliged to make "reasonable adjustments" which doesn't include widening corridors.
However on the face of it neither of those is the case so it is badly wrong.
On the other hand would you want to send your child to a school with attitudes like that?

Just shows that inclusion is more about attitude & less about ramps & door widening.
Disgusting!

funny on their equal opps PDF 2010 it says "one student is a wheelchair user"

love this bit too "The Academy has entry ramps as well as lifts and lower stair rails, an evacuation chair, a hoist in the toilet and trained first-aiders to assist with medical needs."

Apparently early academies could set their own rules about admitting students with special needs so they might just get away with it.

That is shocking. When I was at school there was a boy in the year above me who had CP and who used a wheelchair. If there was a fire and he was trapped upstairs there was someone who was meant to carry him out.

. disgusted by this.