My son 14 after some time has recently been diagnosed by a specialist with Chronic Migranes. he gets them on and off, and they are very severe, with light sensitivuty, projectile vomiting, and exhaution/drowsiness.
This has imapacted his attendance and we are now in a awful situation with the school. The school head completely refuses to beleive any of this and I have been told in meetings I need to stop allowing him to pull the wool over my eyes. (I could cry for my son in these meetings as I know he really suffers and they are just belitting him and me) The attendance officer is on another level and is very intimidating. He literally fists the door, banging and banging without even giving me chance to answer. Then when I answer, he is a complete bully.
Today is a example. I amswered and was met with him obviously very angry. He has an interest in my career, I am third year social work and he consistantly refers back to this, but today was horrendous, he was asking 'How is that working out for me' 'do I realise that he has the power to end that for me if he chooses to caution me' 'he kept asking if I have a licence or if I have a case load' but not in a friendly way. Ina very intimidating way, as though to say, if you dont do what I want, I can make life hard for you.
Then he accused me of neglect, stating again what sort of SW would I be if I neglect my own child. I asked what he meant and he said well you SAY you are doing all you can, you SAY that the specialist is dealing with this, but ARE you? Really? If your son is still suffreing that means you are not doing all you can and the medication is not working so you are not taking the steps to make sure it is.
He pulled me to bits, I was shaking afterwards, he is completely obsessed with the fact I am lying or my son is lying. So he demanded he wanted my son out of bed an in school. I was in two minds as he was so ill, but spoke to him, he said he would go in the shower, he threw up again and then went in, I felt ill with guilt .. Anyway when he arrived the head had shouted at him in front of the other pupils stating he was a liar and it was very fabricated. He said he was so embarrassed.
My question is before I put in a complaint, where do I stand legally, what should the school be doing. A few month back, he was so ill, we went to a and e and he lost feeling in his legs, the headache was crippling. So he came back and I refused to send him in that day, this really upset the AO and he again threatened my career, saying the UNI would throw me out if I didnt do as he says. Another time my son was ill I was dropping off the other kids at school/college. When I came back as I had left my son in bed, I heard a bang at the door. It was the police and the attendance officer, he had called them stating he thought I had done something to my son, the police had to go up to his bed, ask him if he was okay, they then apologised and left. I was shaking, the attendance officer stayed and was loving the power, that is only how I can describe it. I tried to complain today, but now see that they have told the head, who has just shouted at my Son. I cant win, who will beleive me over a head and a AO. I have diagnosis letters and medication etc.. but they do not care and are really punsihing him because he suffers migranes.