URGENT Query - exclusion. Can anyone help?

[Justunbelievable]

Had call today to say that ds is being excluded for behaviour and failing to follow instructions. He has suspected AS/ASD and has sm for BESD. Lsa does not work today so very litle help was given. A supply teacher was also in class and it is well documented that he doesn't like change (she told him off for rocking on chair which school are aware is sensory-seeking behaviour and helps to calm him down. I was due to travel to another part of the country for job interview (which school knew about) so have had to cancel that at considerable expense. I am furious with them. Dh and I had a bet on that once Sats were finished HT would try to exclude. She already mentioned that she didn't know how they would get through the next few weeks! I feel they have done very little that was specified on the sm and just don't want him there. Have a meeting later and am furious - any tips please?

no personal experience, but they do need to follow a "procedure" so have you looked at the IPSEA website?

I may be too late here. You may have already been for your meeting.

First off, keep calm. Difficult, I know. Personally I would like to go in there and ask them wtf they think they're playing at?

ASD kids (generally) find change difficult. It's not your childs fault that there was a supply teacher in place. TOLD TO STOP ROCKING ??? Excuse me? Do they know anything about the conditions your son is being assessed as? My son does a flicky thing and walks in little circles when stressed (usually about change!) - can can no more control it than fly to the bloody moon. No assistance in the class? NOT ON! Your son was displaying his need for some assistance.

The HT doesn't know how they're going to get through the next few weeks? Tough. HT is getting paid to KNOW. To sort it out. To provide an accessible learning environment for all of the children. You can't just exclude one of them because there's no "help".

Hopeless. And everything that's wrong about how to differentiate for the needs of individual children. And by the way, they're ALL individual!

If they've followed their procedure, you need a copy of it. They need to be able to justify this exclusion. I don't see how they can.

Surely they are in breach of the disability discrimmination act too. They are meant to make reasonable adjustment to include a disabled child and it sounds like no adjustment was made.

As your child doesn't have a diagnosed condition as far as I can see, the DDA is not relevant. Is it a permanent exclusion or a fixed term exclusion? As that will affect what advice I give.

It's now turned into an internal exclusion for today-was told that it would be internal today then external tomorrow. Have had meeting and they are clearly aware of how we feel about this.

Legally they need to put it in writing to you with the length of time the exclusion is for, what it is for and when a meeting and return date to school will happen.

My sympathies. My DS (AS) was excluded many times at his old school. It is both infuriating and heartbreaking.

First up - request a meeting with the Head. Ask how the school plan to prevent further exclusions.Exclusion is not an appropriate or effective strategy for dealing with an autistic child's behaviour. Make it very clear that this is your stance and keep batting the ball back into their court.

Is your DS awaiting diagnosis? Does he have a Statement?

"As your child doesn't have a diagnosed condition as far as I can see, the DDA is not relevant. "

Londonone, I must totally refute that statement.

"The definition of ?disability? under the Equality Act 2010

In the Act, a person has a disability if:

they have a physical or mental impairment
the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to perform normal day-to-day activities

For the purposes of the Act, these words have the following meanings:

'substantial' means more than minor or trivial
'long-term' means that the effect of the impairment has lasted or is likely to last for at least twelve months (there are special rules covering recurring or fluctuating conditions)
'normal day-to-day activities' include everyday things like eating, washing, walking and going shopping

People who have had a disability in the past that meets this definition are also protected by the Act." (direct.gov.uk)

A child who has a statement for BESD and is being investigated for AS/ASD will most certainly be covered by the act.

In any case, wasuup is right, the DDA or The Equality Act are irrelevant initially, because regardless of disability, the school must follow the Code for Exclusions and inform the parents in writing of the reasons for, and the duration of, the exclusion.

LondonOne, welcome back! You don't have to have a dx to have a disability btw!

Xposted with Lougle.

Given that the op wrote suspected asd with no further info I went on that info and in my experience a parental suspicion of asd does not fulfil the criteria of the dda. If there are ongoing investigations by medical professionals then that is a different situation. Having s statement for besd does not by itself have any impact on whether an exclusion is valid. There are also slightly different regs depending on whether it is a perm ex or a fte.

He has a Statement of Educational Needs, londonone. To have a statement, you have to have 'severe or complex needs'. By definition, the very fact that a statement process is 6 months long, and LAs demand evidence of the condition under scrutiny, the child will have had their condition for over 1 year, the bench mark for a 'long-term condition'.

Also, there was nothing to indicate that the suspected ASD was a 'parental suspicion'. Even if it were, there is only the need for a disability to be declared, not proven.

I think you need to think more carefully before giving wrong advice.

Lougle - the poster is the parent and the poster stated it was suspected therefore it is reasonable from that info to believe that the op is the one who suspects it. Part of my post was an attempt to clarify the situation. Other posters have jumped on the add issue I simply tried to clarify the situation. Sorry if I didn't jump on the bandwagon. As I said a statement for besd does not by itself necessarily have an impact on whether an exclusion is appropriate or not. I have recently been in involved with two tribunals which hinged on this issue exactly and was going to offer advice once more info was given. Perhaps just perhaps I may have some relevant knowledge.

Asd not add. Damn iPhone

Thanks. I am also interested to know if he is definitely covered under DDA (now Equality) act. Has had Ados test which was negative but are pushing for second opinion/further tests as he definitely has lots of traits. School say that they are implementing everything in part 3 of sm but we are not convinced they are. They said he needed to see that there were consequences and I think that exclusion was done just to make a point.

Here's my take on it following my own 6 year old's permanent exclusion a few months back.

A school excluding a child who should have full support (whether that be 1:1 TA or SALT or whatever) is admitting it is unable to fufil it's obligation under the law to provide an adequate education. If a kid with known behavioral problems rocks or kicks off (when they normally don't kick off - lets face it if they did they wouldn't be in a ms school!) then it's the fault of the adults supporting him!

Try a STRONG letter to the lea sen office (- there should be a name of who wrote the statement) the head and copy it to the senco and the chair of the governers + parent partnership. Sweeten it with honey by saying you know the school are trying blah, blah then list logically keeping all emotion out of the tone EXACTLY how the school did not meet your child's needs on this and any previous occasion. Ask for a written plan that details exactly how the school intend to ensure that such a situation never occurs again.

Sit back, get the popcorn and wait for the fireworks ; )

You are allowed to ask if the substitute teacher had been made aware of your childs needs/disability and to what extent the school had prepared him/her? The telling off for rocking indicates a failure to rcognise a classic autistic stim for example.

Forgot to say - the ipsea website has some nice template letters - I've found them very helpful for showing me how to pitch the "tone" of my correspondance.

Thanks bochead. We asked if the supply teacher was fully aware of all his needs and were told that she was. he was told to stop rocking because of Health & Safety issues apparently. Ds has since said that his class teacher was in school as he later saw her so why did she not state that she was going to be absent so he was prepared? Have another meeting today as they know we are still really unhappy about this. Ht asked what more they wanted us to do!

Ask the HT if she is saying that the school can't meet your child's needs? If not why not? Get onto the LEA and explain the situation and what the school are saying ASAP.

Asked to stop rocking? Try asking HT to stop blinking/breathing.....see how she gets on!!

Londonone, there is specific case law confirming that you do not have to have a specific diagnosis to satisfy the criteria for disability discrimination.

Justunbelievable, you mention that your son has not been getting the specific provision in the statement. It would be worth consulting a solicitor about this because you can enforce part 3 provision through the courts in the child's name, so could get legal aid, and in fact just the threat of legal action would probably wake up both the school and the local authority. I think SOS!SEN or IPSEA could refer you to lawyers who offer legal aid and specialise in education law.

I am a lawyer. Education law is not my speciality but human rights is and I have helped other parents through my NAS group. There is very recent case law on exclusion. PM me on this if you think I can help.

And you are completely wrong Londonone - there is absolutely no requirement that a disability be formally diagnosed. The disability must simply fit the requirements of the definition of the act. This child's needs are clearly accepted by the school who should have known better.

Aren't you a teacher londonone? It's a little worrying that you didn't know this about the Equality Act (as it is now called) and yet you are prepared to intervene in such a dogmatic way about it.

What was it Donald Rumsfeld said about knowing what you don't know?

PM me justa if you think I can help. I did a draft letter for someone I can dig out and email to you.

The DDA will not be relevant unless as you all seem to be advising the op is looking for some sort of legal remedy. That is why the type of exclusion is so relevant. Rights of appeal and possible remedies vary according the type and duration of the exclusion. I was hasty in saying the DDA is not relevant in this case but it does seem to be the go to response for many posters on this board whether there is information to support it or not. No one replying to the OP can say that the DDA is relevant as there is insufficient info.

The OP has not in any way given enough information to give any really meaningful advice. Without knowing the circumstances of the exclusion it is impossible to say whether it is reasonable or not and or what he/she might achieve.

Fiduciarydealings - just interested to know what you think could be achieved through the op taking legal advice over a FTE of less than 5 days?

Well, as I have just said, it is not the DDA any more it is the Equality Act. A breach of the Equality Act, under a protected head, i.e. disability discrimination, can occur in a school whether or not there has been an exclusion. The two issues are distinct but the law on exclusion and disability discrimination is helpful

I have asked the OP to PM me if she likes so we can discuss this further but only if she wants to. I am not making any judgment on the facts simply offering advice if I can. No one can say one way or the other but my view is you might as well know the law as not.

I have been posting on this board for 3 years (I have namechanged) and she will recognise who I am if she contacts me.

Seriously, I think you could do with going on a course. Schools really need to understand the full scope of their legal obligations under the Act and how it impacts on their daily activities. This should start with understanding that a new Act was implemented in October 2010 and it is called the Equality Act. Please look it up and share it with your colleagues. 10 mins on google should correct some of your erroneous assumptions.