ASD referral and removal from school trip

[PritiPatelsMaker]

I've posted about DD before. She had various troubles in High School with anxiety including school refusal and a time in Y9 when she stopped doing homework.

I've mentioned that I think she has ASD all the way through and they found be less interested.

During her mocks in November she disappeared from school and they didn't notify us for 2.5 hours.

They then promised that they'd take away her lunchtime pass, didn't and she walked out at lunchtime again. This time they didn't notice again, we told them.

She has a school trip booked for Easter. The only one she'll have. They are now saying she can't go as she's a risk and won't supply any risk assessment they've done.

They're also saying that there will be no refund.

I feel like we've had no support and the time when she's found it all too much she's now being punished for.

What do I do?

Make a SAR to get a copy of the risk assessment.

Does DD have 1:1?

Really sorry, I'm not sure what a SAR is.

And no, there's no 1:1z

Thank you for replying, I really appreciate it. Feeling very stressed and upset right now.

Subject access request.

Could you suggest a 1:1 as a reasonable adjustment to allow DD to attend? Although the school may say it isn’t reasonable due to funding, and if they do you are unlikely to be able prove it is reasonable.

Ok so how do I make an SAR?

Here is more information and a model letter. It will need to be DD who sends it.

Thank you @JustKeepBuilding, that's very helpful. Now all I need to do is to get DD to consider sending it 🤦‍♀️

Other than signing the letter you can do all the work. Write a letter as though you are DD requesting a SAR and stating she gives you permission to deal with it then get DD to sign it. Then can do the sending/communicating etc.

Ok so things have progressed. The head emailed to say that she's been removed from the trip and there'll be no refund, which is what prompted me to write the first post.

We've replied, saying that we feel that she's being punished for their safeguarding errors and discriminated for being in the pathway.

Head has now requested a meeting, which in wary of as so far, in our only contact with the SLT what they say verbally is very different to what they say in writing.

Take minutes at the meeting. If you can take someone to do this so you can focus on the meeting. Then follow up the meeting with an email setting out what was discussed.

If you go to the ICO website - information commissioner officer . Gives you a list and a template to use.
Does your DD have an EHCP ?

Thank you @Biscuits01. No she doesn't.

Quote them this from the disability act When schools must make reasonable adjustments

The duty to make adjustments applies to all of the school’s activities and the decisions that are made by teachers and staff including:

admissions
exclusions
access to school trips

at school
help and support in school
learning activities and materials

The problem with quoting the Equality Act at this point, which doesn’t actually say what has been quoted, without seeing the risk assessment or speaking to the HT about reasonable adjustments lies in the fact DD has absconded twice within the last couple of months, so reasonable adjustments may not be able to overcome the risks and the school is likely to argue they have a legitimate health and safely issue for the exclusion.

1:1 may help, although not fool proof, but depending on the specifics of the situation 1:1 may not be deemed reasonable, unless of course you are offering to pay for the 1:1.

Ultimately you have a young adult with a history of absconding. School trip with teenagers and a student who will not do as they are asked = safeguarding issue. Teachers are generally unwilling to take responsibility overnight for a teen who could potentially get up and leave. I honestly don't blame them. I am also guessing there is a lot more to this story. You mention you think she has asd. Have you asked the GP to refer her for assessment?

@cansu going missing twice during her mocks was very shocking and completely out of the blue. I don't think it constitutes "a history of absconding".

As for safeguarding issues. It took them 2.5 hours to notice she was missing from school before anyone was alerted. They then said they'd remove her lunchtime pass, didn't and she walked home at lunch. Again they hadn't noticed that DD didn't return to registration after lunch and we told them she was here.

And yes, I've been asking for a referral since she was 7 but because she has, up until her mocks, behaved beautifully at school we've had no help.

I am sorry that you are having so many ongoing worries, and it is shocking that it takes so long to get any support for students who need extra help so desperately.

However, I can also understand the school's postition here. You say your daughter has behaved beautifully, but in your OP you say she has had varoius issues, including refusing to attend. She has also left school without permission twice recently. As a former teacher I'm afraid the alarm bells would be ringing for me too. I would not be prepared to potentially put my career on the line if something happened on a school trip where you have the health and safety of everyone attending to consider. I do, however, think it is unreasonable for the school to refuse to refund your money, or perhaps offer you the opportunity of attending the trip with your daughter if that were possible.

I refused to take any trip out of school in my last years in teaching - after decades of running many great day and residential trips. The potential for something to go wrong and the complaints I had from parents about very minor issues made them too stressful. Very, very few parents thanked me for giving up weekends and evenings with my own family.

From a risk assessment PoV absconding twice in the last couple of months will be classed as a history of absconding.

Just a little update. We had already decided that if the school were firm about Dd not going on the trip, I'd use the money to take her away myself.

It was more the fact that they were refusing to refund which was the problem. We're not in a diprived area and there a big waiting list for places in the trip. It's fairly short notice but DD walked out of school in November and we were only had her removal from the trip confirmed late last week.

Obviously she hasn't behaved beautifully all if the time. As I said she had a short period of not handing in her homework and then a short period of not want to go into school at the end of last year. We had co-operated with the school fully over those issues but when I brought up that she may have additional it was dismissed outright, again. Just feel that girls who mask at school are totally ignored.

Anyway the school have now said that they will refund. Which is good although I do feel really sorry for DD still.

And lonely I am that parent that always thanks the Teachers for things like trips and holidays

The school are clearly concerned if they don't want her on the trip. If she won't do as she is told then I guess they won't take her.

I think that is a good resolution really.

At y11 pupils are given a lot of freedom on a school trip (depending what it is of course). In y10 DD went to Nice and they did some kind of scavenger hunt while the adults sat visibly in a square or something.

A child who has recently walked out of school due to being overwhelmed who doesn't yet have a diagnosis / EHCP / Ed Psych report indicating triggers would be a pretty high risk from their point of view.

Hopefully you can use this as leverage for an assessment so she gets the support she needs for y12 even if not before.

Hopefully you can use this as leverage for an assessment so she gets the support she needs for y12 even if not before

That's what we're hoping for @TeenDivided. 😊