School trips again

[taylor]

Hi all

Can you tell me if a mainstream school can refuse to take a child on a school trip. The school do not seem to be coping and are saying that they cannot control him so there for have to exclude him from such trips . Which is a shame as all the other children will be going . We are waiting for a dx of asd . My son is already in special school but my friends son is 4 and already they are not coping . We are also starting the slow process of statementing .

Edited November 4, 2011 by taylor

[Sally44]

It is a difficult one, because the school has to keep him safe. And if they cannot do that, or for some reason he is not coping what would their plan B?

 

I think the best way to 'use' this information is to ask the Head to put the schools decision not to allow him on trips in writing to you. And you also want her to explain WHY they cannot take him.

 

You really need as much written evidence as possible, for the Statementing process, to identify each and every 'need' so that provision is quantified and specified in part 3. This letter from school would prove that they cannot support him on out of school activities.

 

Does your son want to go?

 

What kind of Special School is it? Do they have increased staff:pupil ratios?

[Suze]

Agree with Sally, ulitmately this will prove that they cannot cope and need extra funding to enable him to access trips etc.It will be good evidence for a statement.............however I hope the school are not trying to fob the parent off...when they could go the extra mile and provide some extra help out of their own budget.

[Kathryn]

I'm confused - is this about your son or your friend's son?

 

If the child in question has a disability such as AS, not taking him on a trip because they cannot cope with his behaviour could be disability discrimination.

 

They are treating him less favourably than other children (who can go on the trip) for a reason (bad behaviour) which arises due to a disability (AS).

 

They could however justify this if they could show that excluding him from the trip is a "proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim". So they might be able to argue that a legitimate aim is ensuring the welfare of all the children and taking him would disrupt the trip for other children, or endanger his and others' safety.

 

However, even if this is the case they still have a duty to make "reasonable adjustments" for his disability or to show that there is nothing different they could do to accommodate him on the trip. A reasonable adjustment might be deploying an extra member of staff to be with him all the time, for example.

 

So the answer is yes the school could refuse to take him but if they have not gone through the steps above to show how this is justified they could be discriminating unlawfully.

 

As a parent it's always good to try and reach a solution informally. Discuss with the school what could be done in the way of reasonable adjustments to enable him to go on the trip. If this doesn't work you could:

 

Get hold of the school's disability equality policy to see if it is following its own guidance with regard to disabled pupils.

If the school cite health and safety as the reason for not taking him, ask if a risk assessment has been done and ask to see a copy.

If in the end the school do not take him, and cannot justify this, make a formal complaint to the school.

 

K x

[cmuir]

Hi all

Can you tell me if a mainstream school can refuse to take a child on a school trip. The school do not seem to be coping and are saying that they cannot control him so there for have to exclude him from such trips . Which is a shame as all the other children will be going . We are waiting for a dx of asd . My son is already in special school but my friends son is 4 and already they are not coping . We are also starting the slow process of statementing .

 

Hi

 

AS someone has rightly pointed out that the school has a duty of care to ensure he's safe. But (and it's a big but), they also have a duty to meet his needs irrespective of whether he has a formal diagnosis or not. Don't know the history, but does kiddo have an Ed Psych? Have the school put anything in writing? If not, it's important for you to get this in writing as it could help with e.g. the diagnostic process, etc. Does he have audit hours for a learning assistant? If he doesn't that's the route I'd go down given school deem that he can't manage school trips. If he already has all of that in place, I'd continue pushing for specific support during school trips. I feel that children with ASDs in mainstream schools are all well and good, but the success of it is very much down to the support they receive in all aspects. I think some education profesionals place to great an importance on academic, when in my view I feel strongly that social skills are much more important (followed by reading, writing, etc). My son used to behave abominably and trips used to fill me with dread, however, I feel the only that he was able to learn how to behave appropriately and cope was because he was put in those situations but with a high level of guidance. The temptation was certainly there to take the easy way out, and I did that on occasions, however, I think it's about weighing things up and although something might not work, doesn't mean it's not worth revisiting. Perhaps social stories (see Carol Gray's website) might help. Given that people with and ASD can take in visual information better than spoken or written information, it's a good way of setting out this is what we're going to do and this is what you need to do.

 

Best wishes

 

Caroline

Edited November 5, 2011 by cmuir

[taylor]

Hi sorry it took me so long to reply but it's my friends son who we and the school think he has ASD . He is compeatly out of control. He gets out of school on a day to day basis and they are talki g about statementing . My son is already in special school , but did attend the same mainstream as my friends son . The school can be quite slow at getting things done . I am in the process of helping my friend getting him diagnosed . He licks cars , bins , windows. Runs into roads he is uncontrolable. The school can't cope with his behavior . They are waiting for reports from professionals before going ahead with a statutory assessment . He is very abusive to staff and adults , spitting at them and calling them names, he screams and is very disruptive . He will think nothing at kicking a teacher or the head teacher. His speech is delayed as well . He has 1to 1 all week at school already but this is still not enough.

Edited November 8, 2011 by taylor

[taylor]

The school have said that a school trip is not part of the curriculum and that it's only meant to enhance what they are learning in class . Is this right ?

[Kathryn]

Hi Taylor

 

It depends on the trip.

 

Some school trips are part of the curriculum and some are extras. Even if a trip is an extra though, the school still has a duty to make reasonable adjustments to enable a disabled child to take part, or to show why they are justified in excluding him from the activity.

 

If the school cannot cope with him on a trip, it's good evidence for a statutory assessment request.

 

Your friend does not have to wait for the school to start the statutory assessment process. She can make a parental request to the LEA herself and this is a good idea if the school are being slow. It takes 6 weeks for the LA to make a decision so there is plenty of time to submit professional reports if these are done in the meantime.

 

K x