Permanent exclusion after not meeting needs - urgent help wanted

[TAturmoil]

Am absolutely furious
Have posted already this week about TA's upsetting ds by nasty remarks . School admitted last month that they can no longer meet needs (have excluded in the past which we felt was due to the behaviour caused by his SEN) and the council told them to do all they could to avoid further exclusions.
He is highly anxious and from looking at his statement of events it is clear to see why he was so agitated to react as he did. He has a strong sense of fairness and an incident occurred where a TA cheated in a game and won because of it. The events afterwards could easily have been avoided if they understood his needs e.g staff blocked him in when he has sensory issues and hates crowds.

Can they permanently exclude if they know they can't meet his needs and have taken provocative action to cause him even further anxiety? We could see this coming as we knew they didn't want him there.

Yikes! It does sound as if this school isn't the best place for him, as it sounds shit. What are your alternatives? Is it worth fighting to keep him at this school or does this exclusion actually give you some ammunition to get him a better placement? Sorry, don't know the legal ins and outs of exclusions.

I imagine you could fight it. But is this honestly the place you want your child if they are treating him like this? The permanent exclusion (as well as circumstances surrounding it) could be a blessing in disguise - is there anywhere else in the area that would be better for him?

I am really sorry you are having to deal with this it is a horrible situation

I have to say though I think what school are saying about not being able to meet his needs is right.

I am sure they could meet his needs with training and empathy and a little knowledge about his difficulties but it seems that for whatever reason they are not going to put the work in to help him properly.

I agree with the others, use this to insist that the LA help you to find somewhere that can meet his needs.

Do you really want your child in a school where they don't want him?

No, we don't want him back there at all. It's the principle about why they excluded and how they have treated him - what are other children going through?
They didn't even ask ds for his version of events before excluding so they obviously don't care that his disability caused him to perceive things the way he did and react accordingly. They love to promote themselves in the community as a very caring school though and aim to get outstanding at their next Ofsted inspection.

Have exclusion letter - one of the reasons is persistently failing to follow instructions - he has PDA ffs!

You can appeal the exclusion - there is a new appeal code for exclusions - see dept of education website - part of the new code is that parents can request an SEN expert and they can comment on whether the exclusion was fair and reasonable & lawful taking into account the SEN etc

Appeal panels have lost the right to insist a child is reinstated they can only direct a school reconsider as far as I'm aware - I'm sure there will be info on IPSEA

It sounds as though you probably don't want to stay at this school anyway but I guess if you are fed up you could appeal the exclusion and insist on an SEN expert being appointed if only in the hope they might produce a report which is critical and causes the school / LA hassle even if at the end of it all you choose to walk away

The LA will have to meet need in the meantime anyway eg at another school, PRU, home tuition

IPSEA would be worth a call

Thanks Agnes. Home tuition won't work as he believes home is home and school is school and can't do homework because of this. He has been sent to the PRU before for a 'course' and will not be going back as they and LA are aware that it was the wrong place for him. No school locally can meet needs - the LA know this already.
We knew school would attempt this and when I asked the LA where he would go if it did happen they couldn't answer. Will wait and see what develops.
School already playing games as when I asked for copies of their SEN and exclusion policies was told I would have to write to the Gov's to get this when their website states that you just have to ask the office

I would write to the govenors anyway TA to make them aware of what is happening, copy the letter to the HT too.

If nothing else this will create a paper trail for if you decide to complain to ofsted.

When I complained to them the wouldnt look into my complaint because i hadnt followed the complaints procedure.

Hi - we went through almost exactly the same earlier this year. We experienced teachers and a few aides who pretty much gave up on our son and he was subjected to lots of shouting and aggressive behaviour. We found that it became a vicious circle - the staff didn't try to meet his needs, he became more frightened and anxious. They blamed him for meltdowns when staff got hurt, they blamed him for meltdowns when he got hurt, and they eventually asked us to keep him at home after he was injured by a teacher.

Six months down the line and he's at a different school where he is adored and his lovely sunny personality shines through - he's a happy and engaged student. I agree with everything that Ineedpigsinblankets has said about finding him somewhere where he is wanted. You can't make teachers change, and it's a nasty lonely place to be in when you're already at the thin end of the education wedge. It can and will get better though.

The IPSEA website has some fantastic model letters for just this situation. Use it to lay a decent paper trail. You can also ask for a face to face meeting with the governors.

Contact the SEN officer at your LA before the end of term. With a bit of luck the exclusion can be commuted to a managed move so it's not a black mark on your kid's record. Sit down over the weekend and write down what sort of support your child NEEDS (statements, iep's etc from crap schools tend not to be that hot iykwim).

If your child is statemented that statement will now need to be amended to reflect a new placement anyway so it's a good idea to look at the wording and make sure it's all explicit, specified and quantified as it should be. If you don't have a statement apply for one today, it'll protect your child in future. (Cerebra do a template passport that you can use to explain your child's needs to a new school too - useful if you don't yet have a statement)

This will mean you can then have a properly informed discussion with the LA about finding a suitable placement that does meet your child's needs. Do not be scared to look at the UK's 3 online schools, out of area state schools, and the independent sector. Go see some.The better your research at this stage the better you can fight for somewhere worthy of you child.

I know it all seems awful at this stage, but I've been in this spot, got a managed move and now have a happy, engaged chappy who is making fantastic progress at a school where most staff are a shining example to their profession.

You can appeal against the exclusion even if you don't want your daughter reinstated, and you can also take disability discrimination proceedings through SENDIST. But the LA now has a duty to prioritise finding a suitable school place and you need to put pressure on them to do so. Your daughter is also entitled to full time education that meets her SEN from the 6th day of the exclusion, and you should get on to the school and LA as to how they are going to achieve this - don't be fobbed off with offers to send work home.