My son brought a knife to school

[dentydown]

My 13 year old boy was caught with a pocket/pen knife at school. I get this is serious, I am just zalso concerned how the school are handling it.

Friday, my son comes home early, I ask why. He is cagey. I check the online attendance and he has attended school.

At around 4:30 I get a call from his form tutor asking if my son made it home ok, because of an incident at school. Wouldn’t discuss but said I would be contacted later.

i contacted our social worker. She heard nothing. I dug out an email address of a teacher and asked for further clarification on the incident.

The teacher emailed back a response saying my son showed a pen/pocket knife to another boy and this boy told the teacher. The teachers took him aside and found the knife on him. So we finally found out what happened, but I had to go hunting.

I then got an email on Sunday evening from the deputy head telling me that he has to stay home Monday while they decide what to do. The deputy head said she was too busy to inform me due to teaching and taking the detentions class that day.

My son has ASD, and is very impulsive. He is also very young for his age and his school bag has toy cars and power ranger figures in it. He is also struggling with school work and I am fighting for an echp for him. He doesn’t get on with his age group and hangs out with his brother’s friends who are 11, or younger children who are 6-10. Just to give context

Has DS been formally excluded? If not, you should email the school requesting formal exclusion paperwork.

The school’s communication is lacking, but I think it is unlikely you are going to be able to challenge the exclusion, the school will cite health and safety. You should also prepare yourself for the possibility of DS being permanently excluded - many schools permanently exclude pupils carrying a knife. Although, only in exceptional circumstances can an exclusion be converted to a permanent exclusion.

Where are you in the EHCP process?

There has been no formal paperwork and there has been an invitation back to the school to work in the headmasters office at half days.

I have started to involve Sendiass Because I am a little bit concerned the way they are handling this. They wanted him back at school and then a meeting to work out what to do next with him. I refused and said he will return after the meeting.

We have the evidence from the psychologist. The school claimed that I didn’t sign permission slips for the ACHP but I remember posting them but they claim they didn’t receive them. And basically said I was lying.

If you haven’t been given formal exclusion paperwork it is an illegal exclusion.

Part time timetables should not be used as a behavioural management technique. Unless the school are going to formally exclude every afternoon that is also an unlawful exclusion. If the school are going to exclude every afternoon there will be a limit on how long they can do that as they can only exclude for a maximum of 45 days per year.

Be careful with SENDIASS, some are good but too many repeat the LA’s unlawful policies. IPSEA and SOSSEN are better.

Has an EHCNA request actually been submitted? If not you can do it yourself.