teen, ADHD SPLD and school exclusion ( - also in education)

[Duritzfan]

Hi , I have a 15yr old ds who, quite honestly, a really good, sweet boy .. He was dx'd with Semantic Pragmatic Language Disorder aged 8 and put on school action plus .. His primary school were exceptional with him so we didn't ever need to go down the statement route ..when he started secondary we asked for support from the SEN dept - never got it.. He was then bullied- very badly for a year until we removed him from the school...
Finally moved him to a new school to place him with his peers from primary - after a fight, we got him into an out of area school with his friends ..
We Have been increasingly worried about his mental health and have been to the GP's and been referred to CAHMS .. ( GP wrote to school asking for an ed psych evacuation as GP suspected ADHD )
However - school didn't ever organise an assessment
Finally ds was suspended - poor behaviour - lack of respect for teachers etc ..
We asked if he could have a "leave of absence " which we waited for CaHMS referral ...answer was no..CAHMS referral is said to be six months away at least ..so we chose to bite the bulletandgo fora private consult ..
Private consult confirmed ADHD and ds now on medication ......
School have now excluded him ...

Don't know where to head now -can anyone help?
School knew all his issues when they agreed to take him - it took them 4 months to put support in place for him
, support was in place for one session before they excluded him..
Have been to governors - they have upheld decision to exclude .trying to decide what to do next ...

Help ! The meds are really really helping him ... He is so much calmer ... I feel he has been so let down by the school system - he's such a clever boy but at the moment stands to get kicked off his course ( he's 15) and ruining his chances of decent GCSE s...
I'm so angry, frustrated and scared for him ,...

Hi Duritzfan

This is awful and something that schools seem to be able to get away with. I had similar experiences with my son's previous school, however he's now at a very supportive school.

Do you have anything in writing from before your son started this school? And something in writing regarding his exclusion? Is he on a short term exclusion? As far as I understand it, there are certain procedures they have to go through before making it permenant. I would gather as much evidence as possible and try to email or write to people to keep a record of any correspondance or at least get peoples full names. Phone your local council's education department and see if they can offer any advise. It may help to get Education Welfare involved as your son needs a school place and I found them very helpful in getting my son a place at a new school.

I would also request a meeting with your local MP as they all hold regular surgeries. Take all the evidence along with you and get them on the case. You could also try Parent Partnership (I think that's what they're called) for some advise.

I also found out on this site about some legal advise you can get as I have a transport issue for my son that I'm still trying to sort. Have a look at www.ipsea.org.uk and you will find info for their advise line.

My main bit of advise would be...don't be fobbed off and keep on at people until you get what you want! Its a shame that it has to be this way but it seems the most successful! Stay strong and have a rant on here when things are tough. Good luck :)

Thank you , I am shocked that it has come to this tbh .. He's a very bright boy - predicted all b' and c' grades at GCSE so he's not all bad !
He hasn't broken any laws, done anything terrible - just has a distinct lack of respect due to his ADHD .. He can be impulsive and seem rude ..
But I don't feel they have even tried to help him .....
Will try parent partnership ..

I know its shoking and makes you wonder why some teachers bother to become teachers. With my son's previous school it seemed that if I child did not fit in with their way of doing things then the school want rid of them by whatever means possible.

Let me know how you get on.

Phew .. Sounds like i am in a similar state .. Feels like they think he is a resource drain on their limited resources .. So its easier to kick him out .......;(

Unfortunately you will have a fight on your hands to get the LA to do anything now that he's 15.

They will just be playing for time - waiting until he reaches 16 , when he will no longer be their responsibility as he's over teh age of statutory education.

If I were you I would write to the LA immediately requesting an assessemnt for a Statement.

He meets the criteria for an assessment i.e. long-standing SENs, undetermined difficulties, failed to make progress on SA+, now excluded and not in a suitable placement.

They will probably refuse to assessas he's so close to 16 but you can then appeal. With a Statement they may be responsible for him up to age 19.

you need to be extremely proactive here as you have very little time. IPSEA can help. Ask for a meeting with your local councillor.

Ring the LA and demand that he's entered for GSCEs -as because he's not in school the school will almost certainly not have registered him with the exam board. The LA will probably offer you a Pupil Referral Unit placement. Until he can attend that the LA should be providing home tutoring - a min of 5 hours per week but more than that if he's studying for public exams - which he is.

If you can I would also consult a solicitor. As you have prove that his school failed to heed advice and failed to make those referrals he may have a claim for educational negligence againast the school.

Best wishes

Disability discrimination act - they've broken it.

thank you so much ...especially WetAugust

I was concerned about his age - and that the LEA may try and get out of their responsibilities that way ..right ..will apply for a statement ...

thank you so much all of you .....