Bristol Primary School SEND Row Continues
Bridge Farm Primary School Updates Families But Fails To Consider SEND
A Bristol primary school which caused upset with some of its families and the city’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (Send) community this week has addressed issues with a new attendance policy. But, families say it has once again failed to take into consideration the impact it may have with Disabled pupils.
Last week, acting headteacher of Bridge Farm Primary School in Whitchurch, Matthew Flannigan, announced an Own Clothes Attendance Challenge.
This meant that children who were in school without absence from Monday to Thursday would be allowed to wear their own clothes on Friday instead of school uniform.
The initiative met the ire of some families who had concerns with the sudden initiative. At the time, a Send parent – who asked not to be named – said: “This policy penalises our Send kids for things they can’t control.”
Families have been raising concerns across social media about the new policy.
On X, prominent disability spokesperson Adam Fare called the policy ‘horrifically discriminatory and ableist, as well as encouraging children into school when sick which is dangerous and abusive.’
Two days after the challenge was announced, Matthew Flannigan sent home another letter to families explaining the challenge further.
In it Flannigan wrote: ‘As stated in the original letter, any child who is absent due to a medical appointment would still be allowed to wear their own clothes.’
However, the original letter said: ‘If a child has a medical appointment on either a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, and parents/carers can evidence this, they will still be allowed to wear their own clothes on Friday if they can attend school for part of the day of their appointment.’
He wrote in his new update: ‘As with any new initiative, we have received some correspondence with concerns and, we are aware that often new ideas may not be universally popular with everyone and are therefore a key topic on WhatsApp groups or social media.’
He included a list of points to ‘clarify’ some of the ‘concerns raised. These were:
‘The challenge has not been designed to punish any child/children within the school, we want to make school even more enjoyable to pupils.
‘The challenge is not intended to damage the well-being or mental health of any child/children within the school and would encourage any pupils to book a meeting to discuss this if this has impacted their wellbeing in any way.
‘As stated in the original letter, any child who is absent due to a medical appointment would still be allowed to wear their own clothes.
‘With regards to the concern that there will be a significant increase in bullying due to the introduction of a challenge, all staff have been thoroughly trained in the identification and reporting of any potential bullying and this training would be applied in the event of any adverse behavior, should it occur.
‘It is not possible or practical for a school to consult with or communicate with parents on every new initiative that a school is intending to introduce, prior to its introduction, but we greatly appreciate feedback that is provided in a constructive manner.’
The letter also said that the school will ‘temporarily’ replace the Own Clothes Challenge with an ‘Advent Calendar Attendance Challenge’ while it reviews the ‘impact of the challenge on both attendance and outcomes.’
A parent who spoke to us about the second letter said: “Well where is the concerns raised about SEND? OK so they did mention ongoing medical condition. That’s good. But there are really complicated things impacting on Disabled children’s attendance which is not covered here. Neurodivergent children can struggle to attend right? That’s not the same as a medical condition. It’s a disability whitewash isn’t it. We aren’t being heard.”
The school, which is part of the Futura Learning Partnership, is legally required to take ‘reasonable steps’ under the Equality Act 2010 to avoid disadvantaging Disabled pupils when it comes to blanket school policies.
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