Is it discrimination??

[reahead]

Our local primary school are offering after school booster classes for the year 6 children they think with extra support reach a level 5. However other children that the school feel even wit6h extra support will not recieve a level 5 are denied this opportunity.

Are these children not allowed the opportunity to improve thier attainment from thier starting point even though may not recieve a level 5? despite the fact they may however improve.

Seems to me the school have done this to reflect well when these results are published. The children not predicted to recieve a level 5 are mainly special educational needs so why are they not being given an equal opportunity along with their peers to improve thier attainment?

God, that's exactly my fear. I'm lucky that DS2's secondary is committed enough (and big enough) to SEN that they'll be fine, but all the little primaries! I had such good support but they have never been adequately funded. They are always under threat. It's all the children coming along next who will miss out. And their parents don't know yet, don't know what they should be fighting to maintain, will never know what they missed.

It is so scary isn't it, this combined with the new proposed legislation which will remove la statutory obligations.....I despair. My ds is only 7 so we have years of this yet!

We're currently getting an excellent transition service from them, getting the primaries and secondaries together with the parents to plan the move, describe all the strategies that have worked, explain what the DC are like at school and home. Got another thread going on that in SN education, trying to share good practice. It needs more than us parents to do that, unfortunately.

"Discrimination is to treat unfairly this is usually race, colour, sex, culture, disability and can be applied to a person or group."

I'm sorry but as a lawyer, I can tell you that discrimination, in law, must be related under the Equality Act to a protected characteristic of which there are 9: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation.

So, in law, as opposed to general conversation, if you can't link discrimination to a protected characteristic, then there is no discrimination.

At least you are on the ball for your DS, sparkle. But you do need the schools to be on the ball, also. Can't remember your backstory, sorry, age getting to memory. Does your DS have a statement?

No no statement, has medical condition resulting in pd and serious life threatening/shortening consqeuences. Thankfully cognitively he is unaffected and actually able little boy, although downj side of this is how aware he is of his own condition. No statement as no SEN related to education, just pd. May push for pd only statement although law decrees this is not necessary as covered by Equality Act etc. Nightmare battles though, and with all due respect to OP, quite a lot more discrimination than booster classes. No wish to offend anyone, I understand completely what OP is saying, just my ds is facing discrimination in another ball park completely.

Oh sparkle. That puts everything into perspective, all right. Always felt lucky that DS2 is a healthy little lad. Friends made at special assessment and Dev centre had various needs including PD and life threatening complications which stopped us feeling sorry for ourselves pretty quickly!

So with no cognitive difficulties how does your DS access any support he requires? Do statements really only apply to cognitive LD? Anything that makes accessing the curriculum difficult would apply, wouldn't it? Please pardon my ignorance.

Well yes and no, very complicated area and professionals are undecided. Statements refer to Special Educational Need, and he has special physical needs. there are impacts on his educational access though in terms of absence from school, not being able to access PE curriculum, struggling with writing, being able to sit still due to pain. ACE and my mum who is an ed psyc nelieve no statement is necessary as access should be covered by Every Child Matters and Equalitied Act, but it may be easier to statement him just for the papaer trail, we can't access the tribunal system without a statement.....I think!

I am sure children with purely pd have statements too, but ds medical condition is so complicated that he fulfills no criteria, except that of Equalities Act, and that is undisputable. Just wish DLA was easier too.

Lots of benefits to having a statement, from having that legal right to choosing an appropriate secondary without having to move into the catchment. Which you know, of course. I'd go for it if you can. Does sound like it might be a hard fight, but we're good at those, aren't we?

I didn't know you had the right to choose a secondary school even if it is outside catchment. That's good news!

Yes, benito. The school has got to be able to meet your DC's needs and it must be cost effective. In reality this means LAs won't pay any transport costs as there will usually be a closer school that the LA considers to also be able to meet your DC's needs. I had to sign a disclaimer re transport. But schools are obliged to take your DC if named on the statement. Sometimes the school might kick up a fuss if they don't want your DC due to challenging or complex behaviour, but if you have investigated the local schools and met with the SENCos and discussed your DC's needs, you will usually have made a sensible choice.