Class trip

[pinkandsparklytoo]

Ds is in Year 1. In a few weeks Year 1 and Year 2 are going for a trip to an art gallery approximately 30 miles away. At first the teachers said that he would not be bale to go but they have since changed their minds, saying that he can go as long as I go with him and I drive him there myself. Unfortunately I don't drive and my DH is working so it seems that he will not be able to go. I told the school this today and the headteacher suggested that I could get a taxi there and back to take him and bring him home. When I said that it's quite far to pay for a taxi to do so she said that maybe he could go on the coach with the other children in which case I would have to go with him and be prepared to pay for a taxi home if he "kicks off". I just feel that this is unfair.

This IS unfair. He has every right to go and if he needs support to go he should have it. Get parent partnership in to talk to them. I feel so angry that they are putting you through this. THEY need to do a risk assessment for your son and THEY should staff it.

Pink, they are not allowed to exclude him from school trips due to his disability alone. Does he have a Dxed SN? That is contrary to the Equality Act. I'd ask them to put in writing that he is excluded from the trip unless you agree to pay for a taxi to bring him home, and I bet they won't do it. They aren't allowed to insist you pay towards school trips, either. They can ask for a voluntary contribution and the trip may not go ahead if not enough contributions are made, but asking you to pay for a taxi isn't on. If they feel they can't guarantee his safety or you feel he won't benefit from the trip, that's slightly different but they should be taking measures to safeguard him. Have they produced a risk assessment?

It's illegal for them to exclude him on the grounds of his SN, and that includes insisting that you go with him, let alone drive him
Contact PP, but also contact the LEA Inclusion team and tell them what is happening and that you are unhappy about him not having equal access to the trip. The school obviously need support from them if they think it's OK.

He does not have a diagnosis of anything as of yet but we are working towards one. It has been suggested that he may have some form of autism or anxiety issues. We actually have an appointment with an OT on Monday. He does have an IEP and is on the SA+.

He has been on school trips before and I haven't had to go- in Reception they went to a childrens farm for the day and he went on the bus with everyone else and was fine.

pink

I can only reiterate the other respondents here; the school cannot discriminate like this and their actions are illegal.

I would also suggest you now apply for a Statement for him now as well from the LEA as SA plus can be very limited in terms of overall support.

I am considering just keeping him home for the day as it is easier. But then it is not fair for him to miss out on what everyone else is doing. They will probably discuss it in class afterwards too. He already misses out on a lot of the other stuff they do as he only does half days. A few weeks ago they went on a walk around the local neighbourhood. They planned it for the afternoon and as he doesn't do afternoons he didn't get to go.
What should I say to the school when I take him in on Tuesday?

Pink the problem is that keeping him home for the day sets a precedent for the school. They need to be challenged on this one, and quite firmly...and in writing. Send them in a "signed for" letter, spelling out what you were told by the school, including the whole "pay for a taxi" thing, and insist in the letter that they respond immediately with either confirmation or, if this is incorrect, then the correct information. Also point out that you have not been asked to assist in any risk assessment, nor were you given a copy of any risk assessment made, so you can only think that it has not yet been done, in which case you do not understand why these decisions have been made without A- consulting you and B- doing an actual risk assessment.

FWIW, DS's school (when he went to MS) always included him in school trips, made sure there were at least 2 TAs along that were used to working with him (and that he was very familiar with), and met with me prior to the trip to discuss the risk assessment that they had done and gave me a copy, after checking to see if there were any additional concerns or aspects of the trip that needed to be addressed. It was actually ME that pulled him out of one activity, simply because it was something that was so sensory overloading, I felt it would actually be detrimental to him.

Just wondering though.. why is he only going part time?

He does part time as the school believe he cannot cope with being there full time. When he started in year 1 he got excluded quite a few times for hitting staff. He doesn't like not getting to do what he has planned is going to happen. He managed full days in nursery and reception without being sent home so the school thinks it is the extra structure that comes with being in Year 1. He doesn't premeditate hitting people he gets angry and it happens. When he used to stay the full day they said lunchtime was a trigger time for him and they couldn't get him to come inside.

Are they providing an education for him in the afternoons? The school can not do this otherwise. If they can't cope with him and it sounds like they can't then you need to apply for a statement to get either extra help or an alternative school. The exclusions and the part-time schooling are more than sufficient grounds even if he is doing academically OK. We have agreed ds2 does not go on some school trips but only whilst we are waiting for the statementing process to take place although he is going on one in a couple of weeks. If he doesn't cope with lunchtimes is coming home for lunch and then returning an option. It helps with ds2 - he is the only child in the school that does so but the headteacher agreed readily when I suggested it.

No they don't provide anything for him to do in the afternoon. They cover literacy and mathematics in the mornings so he does at least get to do that. We had tried picking him up for lunch then taking him back for the afternoon for a few weeks, then progressed to me and DS2 coming in to have lunch with him then him getting to go back for playtime and the afternoon. They tried doing it one day at a time starting with the afternoon they do IT as he loves computer time. They sent him to a short stay school 3 days a week for a 6 week course and he was perfectly behaved there even with the full days. Whilst doing that course he was still doing Thursday and Friday at his normal school. His first day back there after the course and he got sent home for hitting the teacher. We had a meeting at school with the teacher from the other school as well and she said he's not a naughty child and its not the parenting but she thinks it could be anxiety to do with being in their school.

This sounds uncannily like what happened with my ds (wondering if you're in the same county?). He was put on part time hours as school felt he couldn't cope, also prevented from going on a trip,also sent to a short stay school for a 'course'. He has severe anxiety issues too.
I would be getting a copy of their complaints policy and complaining to the Gov's. He is entitled to a full time education and the local authority have to provide this.
What were the reasons given for him attending the short stay school? We were told it would help with his self-esteem but also threatened with exclusion.

We are in Worcestershire. The teacher from the short stay school had been involved previously as they were after suggestions for things they could try for him to keep him in class. Thanks to her he got put back into the classroom with everyone else rather than doing his lessons in the hall. The head has said before that they were considering permanently excluding him as the next step if the half days didn't work.

I think the reason they gave for putting him into the short stay school was for him to learn ways to cope with his anger.

So what was different about the short-stay school that reduced anxiety? I am guessing small classes and higher staff ratio. Works wonders for my ds1 too! Again, demonstrates that in a suitable setting your son can access education but that unsupported, mainstream is not the right place.

ds1 was permanently excluded - we were heartbroken - but in all honesty he is far happier at the EBSD school where he is now than in mainstream. If it accesses help then it is not the worst thing to happen, however, much you think it is at the time.

In the short stay school there was only him and one other boy in his class with the teacher. The whole school had 12 pupils at most. The school had asked them to keep him longer but they were full for the next course.

Pink will pm you.

How long has he been part-time? Is there a PSP in place?

Hi, all sounds spookily familiar to me too. My little man was pt for almost the whole of foundation. We did the come home at lunchtime thing but in hindsight that was causing him more stress as it created extra transitions in the day. In those days I was in such a fog about what was going on. I kept him home for school trips, Xmas performances and the foundation teacher even tried to hide the list of what snacks parents were bringing for the Xmas party by clutching the clipboard to her chest when I came along, I kid you not. By yr 1 we were on our way to getting the diagnosis and school applied for statutory assessment. They also started making noises to me about not naming heir school on the final statement, before the application had even been submitted. We held firm all the way and said we would make a final decision once we had all the reports in and the final statement. I kept them informed all the way along that we were consulting with IPSEA - amazing what a difference mentioning that organisation can make. As it happens we did choose a special school and we got the place we wanted, despite them trying to influence us towards a different special school. And now we are riding out the last few weeks until we can put the whole sorry nightmare behind us. Our son is 6, has ASD and is gorgeous to boot. If it wasn't for the lovely teaching assistants who have cared for him, I don't know how we would have got through the last year. If we hadn't chosen special school, I think they were laying the foundations for exclusion, but this has never been said outright and it never got to that stage.

He has been doing part time since October. When I agreed to it it was explained to me as doing 2 weeks finishing at 12 then increasing by an hour fortnightly.

They had a trip to the panto last year that they were going to exclude him from unless I took him there and picked him up. They also had a service at the Church in town for the harvest thing that they didn't want him to go to. Luckily I was able to take him for that too or he wouldn't have been able to go. It's fortunate for the school that I am a SAHM as I don't know how I would fit it around work.

All of these exclusions are appalling

here is info from childrens commissioner on unlawful exclusions - excluding him every afternoon is unlawful

IPSEA info

info on disability discrimination. Leaving him out of special events and trips is almost certainly discrimination as they can make reasonable adjustments eg assign him 1:1 helper so he can join in.

See NAS info here

Know the law is on your side and what the school is doing is very very wrong

agnes in my case, I think my own denial and procrastination in pursuing the diagnosis made me a sitting duck for this type of crap. I think the school have realised I am more clued up this year, but all I want to do is walk away. I've composed the 10 page letter to the head and governors in my head several times but ultimately, I think making a fuss would backfire on me. Plus I have another child in the school who is still young enough and lovely enough to think the world is a wonderful place. I think many parents walk away rather than fight for a quiet life and also fear of the implications of speaking up. That's the reality.

I know a child who was excluded from a school trip (overnight) for having diabetes! Private school and, despite making every accommodation and suggestion under the sun, his mum decided not to push it. Shocking.
They could well be playing into your hands in the longer term if that's any comfort.

I rang the PP today and they reiterated what has been said here about the school having to write a risk assessment.