School trip only for 'selected' children

[Desperatelyseekingsupport]

End of year trips to theme parks etc. Apparently only children with positive learning attitudes have been invited to attend. If staff have concerns about the behaviour of individual children whilst they are at school their opportunity to attend the trip may be in jeopardy. Now I know they have no intention of inviting my son on a trip as he has a sm for behavioural and social difficulties and they have already excluded him this year but do you think this could be classed as discriminatory?

Depends. Is it seen as a 'carrot' for children who have been working hard to turn around their behaviour / cope with their anxiety or frustrations in a way that is more socially accepted ? If so, then no.
Is it a trip that a select few have "won" because of the fact they always try hard / pay attention / do as they are supposed to ? If so, then no.
Is it a trip that the whole class is going on but that they have no intention of taking your son, regardless of eny effort he puts in between now and then ? If so, then yes.
Every single trip letter from my ds's school includes a clause about behaviour though, and I think that's fair enough. There's a lot of responsibility involved with taking other people's children 'off site' and all children need to know they need to behave responsibly. If a child has a condition that makes that more challenging, then the school needs to ensure arrangements are in place to support the child (1:1 support if need be) but that still doesn't absolve them of all responsibility.

Difficult to say without knowing the whole picture.

We didn't know anything about the trip but ds mentioned it as he had heard other children talking about it. Have noticed a copy of the letter on the website though so assume he is not getting an invite. Nothing had been mentioned to ds about the trip at the start of the year so it hasn't been used as a 'carrot' to get the children to behave. I did think it a bit odd the other week when a child who had been upsetting ds was in trouble and apparently then 'not going on the trip'. The problem is that soon they will all be excited and talking about it and ds will be asking why he isn't going. What do I tell him? That because of his difficulties school don't want him to go

I don't think we can answer this - you need to ask at the school. Start light-hearted... "Oh, someone was saying something about a trip which ds hasn't brought a letter home for, but when I looked on the website it seems one has gone out - has he missed a letter or something ?" and see what they say from there.

I think it should be relative though desperately. if a child with behaviour difficulties has made an effort or made progress then they should be given the chance to take part. It's not really inclusion at it's best is it!!

I have worked with some DC's with extremlely challenging behaviour and only on very rare occasions did we not take them on trips. Quite often they were brilliant when out and about as it was a new experience and they were occupied.

If your DS has a statement shouldn't he be able to access some support for this trip. I think I would be on the phone if it was me.

I've heard of this happening in a few schools and I don't think it's right imo.

Maybe a reward of an extra playtime, or another "smaller" treat...as long as children are given the opportunity to earn it. But a school trip goes too far.

How are the children excluded from the trip ever going to feel that they assumed in one particular way? What does it do for their self-esteem? Surely it must feel that the school has already "written them off".

How de-motivating.

Just to clarify, it sounded like i was saying only the children with behaviour issues needed to make an effort or progress.

What i actually meant is that effort and progress is relative to each child's abilities and issues and this should be taken into account.

Mind you, the parents have to pay for the trip so it will save me some money I suppose.

Every cloud Desperatelyseekingsupport! :)

If your child's behavioural difficulties are due to their disability, schools would be treading on dangerous ground excluding them from a school trip due to their behaviour. The DDA definitely includes school trips, but the equality act isn't quite so specific, IIRC. As Ineed says, behaviour improvements should be relative IMO.

I have it in writing from County SEN caseworker that that she understood that he was making 'poor behaviour choices' so that says it all really.

Desperately Surely if he has a statement for behaviour difficulties then his needs must be quite severe and therefore he should be supported So if his behaviour is causing a problem, why are they not doing more to support him?

"Poor Behaviour Choices" if he has SN's sounds like a cop out.

I would say that excluding him from a trip would be the least successful way to improve his behaviour!!

'So if his behaviour is causing a problem,why are they not doing more to support him?'
They have run out of ideas to support him apparently and have followed advice from various professionals. We are awaiting a dx (probably ASD/AS possibly PDA) and apparently if we had that there would be 'other options' . The problem is that we have been told that if there are any further incidents he will be permanently excluded which we wish to avoid. But we can't live every day walking on eggshells terrified this might happen and it doesn't help ds's anxiety issues.

What a horrible situation for all of you.

I suppose if he gets a dx they might be able to access different support. eg the autism team if he is dxed with ASD.

I have been reading a bit about PDA because i am beginning to wonder about Dd3, it said on the NAS website that children with PDA might not respond to the same strategies as children with ASD.

It also said that many of the aviodance behaviours occur because the child is anxious about not being in control.

Is it anxiety that causes your Ds to misbehave at school. Is he fight or flight mode??

A sensory report did mention the fight or flight mode funnily enough. Yes,he does have lots of anxiety issues but does not deal with certain situations very well such as provocation by other children. He does have major control issues and I know that several incidents have occurred because a child has suddenly done something that took him unawares and he then over reacted.I think because he plans the day out in his head if something doesn't go as planned it really upsets him iykwim.

It does sound like anxiety could be a biggy for him. Dd3 really struggles with some situations but at.school she goes very quiet and isnt able to tell anyone.

At home she wont comply and rolls around on the floor when I ask her to do something, she shouts alot, growls and can become aggressive. It is mostly about control with her and i suppose at school she has to cope with not being in control.

I really feel.for you, where are you in the assessment process?

We have a sm for over 20 hours! I called an emergency review after his exclusion and this is due shortly. School will only have him there for the statemented hours and he has been on a reduced timetable for over 6 months now.

Ineed have pm'd you