Send in the City – Disability Discrimination in Bristol Schools Causes School Refusal

Disability Discrimination in Bristol Schools:

 

The Send Code of Practice: 0 -25 Years, sets out the legal duties that must be provided by local authorities, health bodies, schools and colleges in England for those with special educational needs under part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014.

The code is for headteachers, governing bodies, SendCos, school and college staff, early education providers and health and social services staff.

It clearly says that ‘all schools have duties under the Equality Act 2010 towards individual disabled children and young people. They must make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services for disabled children, to prevent them being put at a substantial disadvantage. These duties are anticipatory – they require thought to be given in advance to what disabled children and young people might require and what adjustments might need to be made to prevent that disadvantage. Schools also have wider duties to prevent discrimination, to promote equality of opportunity and to foster good relations.’

There hasn’t been much ‘anticipatory’ going on at my eldest child’s school. It’s been a disaster from the start.

After school refusal started due to stress, we had a meeting with the SendCo and deputy head. During this, we requested a pass for the disabled toilet again. My child had previously been told by a member of staff that he was not allowed one because it was for the use of school staff only.

The deputy head said that my child would no longer have to take part in group PE lessons. And, because the teacher wouldn’t stop shouting in the food tech lessons, my child didn’t have to go. Instead of putting in support in the lesson, they simply said he didn’t have to go to them.

Whilst initially this felt like a good idea, where is the fairness in being excluded from a lesson because the school was not willing to put in support? There is no fairness and this is direct disability discrimination.

For fun, the Equality Act 2010 and Schools says under ‘Harassment’ in section 4.11, that ‘A school must not harass a pupil because of his disability – for example, a teacher shouting at the pupil because the disability means that he is constantly struggling with class-work or unable to concentrate.’

The best idea the inclusion team came up with in regard to being unable to access information about events and clubs during the school day was to have a note in his pencil case. About as effective as me doing flag semaphore from Old Market, but keen to try and repair the damaged relationship between the school and my son I went with it.

I was finally ambushed at the end of the meeting by the deputy head who asked if I still wanted to continue with the formal complaint – of which I have published in full below – and naively I said no. I felt as a show of good faith, I would drop it. It’s also quite difficult to be difficult directly to someone’s face.

I talked about the changes in a positive way to my child and tried to bring him around to the possibilities the school could offer him. He wasn’t convinced, feeling that the school was untrustworthy and staff lied about things. I silently agreed with everything he said.

But come Monday, I managed to get him in through the school doors after an initial anxiety based meltdown. Big mistake. Big. Huge.

By break time he was stressed because things kept going wrong, including a member of staff he claims ignored him when he asked for help.

And, despite an adjustment put in place to allow him to leave class five minutes early to transition to his next subject, individual teaching staff again did not allow him to do this.

He also found out that because he was unable to access information about the school show, he had missed the auditions and would be unable to take part. And still he could not access the disabled toilet. It was only three days later he admitted that in all the days he had been at the school, he had only used the main toilet once and then never again because of his disability.

The next morning, he had a breakdown on the way to school. At one point, it was so bad, I thought I was going to have to get medical help. This was school induced. My child told me he felt ’empty’ and everything was ‘pointless’. He said he was ‘stupid’ and everything was his fault. That he was no good at anything. It’s taken two full days away from school to start getting him back to a more balanced place. Two days to undo the damage of one day in this school.

I sought advocacy help during this time. Going over the events that led to this point in time horrifies everyone I tell.

I left a message on the school’s absence line this morning explaining that my child was off with stress and could someone call me back. At the end of the day I received the following response from the school SendCo:

I believe this goes against the very heart of the Send Code of Practice. There will be no interventions, no additional help or support until my child has self-harmed his way through ten days of school. No further help until his mental health is shattered and his self esteem is damaged beyond all repair.

This is ‘inclusion’ in a Bristol school which they say themselves has an ‘excellent’ reputation. An introduction by the school’s headteacher says ‘we strive to secure the best possible achievement and outcomes for every student and work tirelessly towards achieving these goals every day’.

The Send Code of Practice is very clear regarding organising specialist services including (section 6.61) commissioning specialist services directly including educational psychologists, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and therapists – including speech and language therapists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Why on earth has this not been done? Why can’t it be done? Why does my child have to battle through ten days of hell in a discriminatory school before he can get any more support or adjustments?

It also states in the Send Code of Practice that the SENCO and class teacher, together with these specialists ‘and involving the pupil’s parents, should consider a range of evidence-based and effective teaching approaches, appropriate equipment, strategies and interventions in order to support the child’s progress.’

In reality, schools are a law to themselves. Schools are untouchable and cannot easily be held to account for their failures and disability discrimination. Because that is what it is. Removing a child from accessing education instead of putting in a reasonable adjustment or an auxiliary aid – of which a teaching assistant can be classed as – is disability discrimination. Making a child come into a hostile environment and suffering an attempt at ‘inclusion’ that is not inclusive for him is disability discrimination. My child is not going to make ten days in this situation, but the school will not do anything until he does. He has been set up to fail. This is disability discrimination.

And the complaint I never should have dropped:

Nature of Complaint – Teaching Staff and Inclusion

I am complaining about our experience of inclusion at XXXX School, which less than two weeks in is just a shocking disgrace.

I first met with the school SendCo xxxx in September 2017 prior to putting XXXX as a preference on our application. After the meeting, I felt really confident that this was a SendCo who totally understood what adjustments and arrangements would need to be put in place when my son attended XXXX.

We also chose XXXX School because my child has a strong interest in performing arts and was keen to start dance classes.

After we were allocated the school earlier this year, I met with XXXX again on the 10 May and had an extensive discussion of everything that needed to happen and everything that needed to be put in place from day one. I understood he would be leaving but was not worried about this.

My son attended transitioning days and his year 6 class teacher also met with a member of the inclusion team to talk about his needs.

I also noted on his blue medical form that he has autism and what this meant.

My son arrived at XXXX School on his first day with everyone being fully informed about his autism. He is high functioning, but has sensory processing difficulties, anxiety, communication difficulties and dysgraphia. I completely trusted XXXX School with my child’s education and could see no reason why it would go so very wrong, especially so quickly.

However, a week into term it came to my attention that nobody was fully informed. In fact, the information passed to class teachers, according to XXXX, made no mention of my child’s diagnosed autism saying that he ‘may be on the spectrum’. I spoke to several members of staff in the inclusion department and it seemed to come as a surprise that XXXX has autism at all.

Question 1. How is it that after several meetings, a medical form and information from primary school, that the fact my child has a disability was surprising news to members of staff?

Question 2. Where is all the confidential information about this? Has this been lost? If so how and where because it is a breach of the Data Protection Act 2018.

We had a problem during the second week of school which then prompted school anxiety and missed days. A child with a historic vendetta against my child was unkind during PE when my child fell out of the class line up – something he should never have been in because of his autism – and when XXXX told him to shut up, the PE teacher took him outside the hall doors and shouted loudly at him. I’m not sure what kind of autism training staff are given, but it is always best not to shout at disabled children.

When my child had an autistic meltdown at school the previous week after being called a liar by a member of staff – and yes I do believe him – I spoke to members of the inclusion team who finally put together a learning passport.

Question 3. Why was this not in place from day one?

I was assured that things would improve and all members of staff would be made fully aware about my child’s needs.

So coming to Monday 24 September. My child had a massive meltdown on the school playing field during the afternoon missing at least one more lesson and tutor time. He also has a large bruise on his forehead from where he smashed his head on the ground and didn’t have any food at lunchtime. And why did this happen?

XXXX partner during food technology stole his cooked food which XXXX had made because the other child had broken his.

XXXX because stressed and upset because the child had left him with his broken egg which was not nice to touch due to his sensory processing difficulties.

XXXX tried to calm down by doing deep breaths but the class teacher shouted at him saying – there’s always something to do and you should be doing it.

Autism is a language and communication disability. Firstly, shouting is just a no. Secondly, ‘Something to do’ means nothing, especially when shouted. Do what? Think about that. There is no information in that instruction. In any case there were no written instructions my child could find to follow anywhere in the classroom.

XXXX was at one point working with two other children who were washing and drying the equipment they were using. XXXX was then shouted at for standing doing nothing, but again, he had been given no specific information about what to do.

The teacher told him to wash something else, so XXXX picked up what he thought she meant because again she wasn’t being specific. She then shouted loudly- no not that one the other one. It is a cooking class, not Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares.

The class ran very late so the children missed early lunch and then a further seven minutes of lunch. XXXX was unable to eat the smashed egg or toast due to sensory processing difficulties.

He has a good routine where he goes to lunch five minutes before everyone else to buy his sandwich outside. He is then allowed to eat quietly in the outside area.

He knew if he asked to leave at the early time he was supposed to, she would have said no, and I think this was a fairly accurate judgement going on our previous experience. He felt unable to talk to her because of the way she spoke to him.

From what he tells me about the set up of food technology, he is never going to be able to leave the class either five minutes early, or even on time. Add into this the fact he has mobility difficulties, he’s also going to be slower.

It is disgraceful that subject teachers are allowed to shout at autistic children as well as what appears to be wilful ignorance of both meeting inclusion needs and reasonable adjustments put in by the Send team.

By shouting and not being clear with information, my child missed out on valuable learning opportunities, lunch and a movement break which both OT and Ed Psych say he needs more of not less. He has had a huge meltdown and self harmed leaving a large bruise on his forehead. During this time, he communicated to me that life was pointless. Bravo, what an achievement for inclusion.

I am appalled at XXXX School which has failed my child from day one through incompetence and through the poor inclusive approach by subject teachers.

My child is an honest, mostly polite child who has a strong sense of justice and right and wrong. The fact he is reacting in this way proves XXXX School is not autism friendly. It does not have good working practices in place. Information is lost, misplaced, not passed on or worse still, totally ignored. It is against the Equality Act 2010 to discriminate against disabled people of which I would argue teaching in a manner to cause anxiety, fear and confusion is illegally exclusionary.

I am horrified at how much learning my child is beginning to miss and each time things go wrong, school anxiety kicks in and he starts being unable to attend. My child spent five years under CAMHs and had weekly play therapy appointments to deal with anxious behaviour. Do not allow your staff to shout in his face.

Question 4. I want to know exactly how the school plans to stop teachers shouting at disabled children and…

Question 5. Why lessons allow such belligerence to the exclusion of children with mental health difficulties?

I have put in for an EHC Needs Assessment. At this point, I think it is pointless moving XXXX to another school. He has been let down by XXXX School, not by himself. Children with disabilities who are able to access mainstream education should be allowed to do so, especially when reasonable adjustments like in his case are not complicated or costly.

I expect a fully comprehensive response to this complaint and I expect much, much better from the way your school’s teaching staff communicate with disabled children.

 

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