Can a school stop a child with a statement, choosing certain subjects in year 9?

[flyingunderpants]

Advice needed for a friend.
Her DD has an ed statement,and is just starting to do her choices.She came home from school last week, with a sheet of paper, with subjects she could choose from.i.e. child care or hairdressing and afew others.
None of the usual subject like history.
The problem is her DD doesn't want to do child care ect.She want to be an archaeologist,so wants to take history and science.These aren't on offer to her,but are avilable at the school.
Have they got any rights ,to go and tell the school she doesn't want to do child care ect.She gets 17.5 hrs aweek 1:1.
Thanks for any help.

I don't think school can do this.

Her parents are going to need to make an urgent appointment with the SENCO and be very proactive / assertive.......

These sound like her Options; have they checked what subjects she will be doing anyway as they are compulsory at her school?

It could be that science is not on the list because everybody in the school is doing this so it's not something you choose. It would be a very odd school if she is not made to do maths and English and some science topic. At my dcs' school, a MFL and a technology subject are also compulsory so those would not feature on the options list either.

However, there will usually be an element of choice about the level at which you do science: the Foundation course if you are struggling, double science if you are doing ok but not terribly keen, and triple science which is usually reserved for the top sets/students predicted to get As and Bs. To get into triple sciences, she would need to demonstrate that she is capable of working at that level.

As for history, it is usually considered a heavy subject: lots of essay writing and looking things up, so the places will probably go to students who do well in writing subjects- but she should still be given the chance to apply.

Thank you IndigoBell.
I said i didn't think they could do that,but was worried about giving wrong advice.
I my view all subjects at the school should be open to all the children.
They have been waiting for a call back from SENCO,since last thursday.They have a meeting on wednesday,to discuss DD choices.But she has only been given the one sheet.

cory there are subject which everybody has to take.She goes to a MS school.
But they are basically saying because she has SEN,she can't take subjects open to the other children.i.e.history,yes they have to take a subject which covers history,R.E. and geography together(can't remember what its called)but history on it own is not listed for her.But is available at the school.
The ones she can choose from are courses which have no exam.Which is fine if thats what she wanted to do.But she doesn't want to go into childcare or hairdressing.

Is that not disability discrimination? Sounds like that are more interested in their position in the league tables than the actual students. I would be furious and bypass the SENCO and go straight to the head.

ds3 has a statement and has just got his options booklet - no mention of any subject being barred.

Humanities is the word you are looking for re History /Geography etc

No, I quite understand. And I agree that childcare and hairdressing sound a bit patronising. At the same time, the school has to be realistic about the amount of work they put someone through and what their chances are of getting something out of it.

The triple science course is quite demanding and unless you are in top sets and predicted and A or B, you could end up sitting in class never understanding any of it. The same goes for history: will she actually be up for writing long essays on the foreign policy of Manchuria with minimal support?

Tbh if she wants to study History or Archaeology at university, she would probably need to be looking at As or As in most subjects and As and As in 3-4 "heavy" A-level subjects. Does this sound like something she would be capable of with the proper support? And if not, what other routes might there be into the kind of career she would enjoy?

This is the time for some serious careers advice; the parents and the school should be putting their heads together and look at the grades she is getting at the moment, try to estimate how much those grades could be improved with support, and go from there. But if she is not achieving at a certain level now, some choices may not be realistic.

The school has to make reasonable adjustment to avoid charges of discrimination. This means that they have to offer special support to even out the playing-field. But it does not mean that they have to offer the girl a place on a course where she doesn't make the grade after reasonable adjustment having been made, if they do not offer this place to NT children who also do not make the grade.

Sorry RL called.Thanks for the replies.
Friends DD has dyslexia,so with support could do well.
Interesting about the school being more interested in their position in the league tables.They are on speical measures because they have been failing.
cory i understand what you are saying.But she should be having 17.5 hrs aweek 1:1 support,so the help should be there for her anyway.
Thanks again for the advice i will pass it on.

Right, in that case my first action would be to investigate that support a bit more closely to see if it is really in place and really effective. Assuming that this is an intelligent girl who could be expected to do well but for her dyslexia, that lays a definite obligation on the school to provide all available support.

Most schools have an options evening for parents. Yes everyone does science that won't be a choice. I have known it where schools do give different option sheets to the different bandings in schools but usually there are approx 15+ subjects to choose. Depending on the size of the school.

Doesn't sound right to me either. I could see they might advise against certain subjects, but they shouldn't rule them out completely, it is her choice. In my mind they should have discussed with parents first not just sent out an edited list.
After all many other children will choose subjects, lose interest / not cope and bomb out. Its not exactly the preserve of SEN kids to flunk exams.
They can and should make reasonable adjustments and could for eg let her reduce the number of subjects she does so she can cope with the workload in the ones she wants. I know children who dropped eg languages and spent that time doing extra time on core subjects.
They can also provide extra time in exams / someone to scribe for her.
It should be about outcomes for her eg what can she achieve, what will give her best chance of getting a job she wants, not just about what grades she will get and the league tables.

It isn't disability discrimination. Schools assess all children to see what they feel the child is capable of. They can refuse to allow a child to do certain GCSE's if they feel they are not up to the word load or in the case of a child with SEN that needs extra time in lessons, there is not enough teaching time for the child to learn what is needed to complete the curriculum for that subject. Some part of this is about league tables but most of the time it is about getting the best out of the child and not setting them up for a fall. She may well like subjects like history and science, but they need to look at, is she capable of passing those subjects in the time allowed.
By the subjects you have mentioned it sounds like they are recommending an 'alternative curriculum' and those subject will not be GCSE's they will be BTECH's at a local college. DS1 did this, he did 2 days at college doing a BTECH in catering, 2 days at school doing his core subject, english, maths, IT and science and 1 day at school doing things such as life skills, RE and personal development. A lot of schools consider science to be a core subject so even if she only does them she will do science.

I was going to say the same keepingupwiththejoneses It isn't disability discrimination if it is a policy applied to all children, which I would imagine it is. There was certainly a policy at DS (Statemented 20 hours) school to encourage all children to choose options they would succeed in. He actually had a very limited range of choices because everyone had to do English Lang, English Lit, Maths, Science, RE (Church school) ICT, and DT. He did Art, Drama and Citizenship because he was not offered the vocational option.

Some schools also have a 'humanities' subject as a core subject, so it may be that she will get to history and science after all. I think your friend needs to speak to school before going any further.

Thanks for the replies.
Yes there are core subjects,can't remember them all.Off the top of my head they are, English,maths,humanities,science(which covers the three together)DT and PE.
Then she has the choose off:Childcare,hairdressing,beauty,motor machanics,constrution maybe a couple more but similar kind of thing.
School have said they are offering her these because,there will be a classroom support teacher in these subjects.But she gets 17.5hrs on her statement anyway,so should be getting the support.(which she isn't but thats another thread).
She doesn't want to do these courses,which are BTECH,like keepingup has said.They have a meeting tomorrow evening,will they be able to ask for her to be concided for GCSE's?Or have the school got the right to make her do one of the BTECH courses?

Perhaps her parents could ask SOS SEN for advice also.