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Today MLA came home very upset stating that he has been excluded from forest schools because he ate a blackberry!
Above is the copy of the letter I received, today and NOT the date stated. I believe that the delay was deliberate as my contact in Educational Services is out of the office for two days, so I can not talk to her, and forest schools are tomorrow morning.
Needless to say I will not sign it as I do not agree with it and I AM taking matters further, including MLA being educated at home for each and every exclusion as and when it occurs. I will be informing the Educational Services and John Swinney…..they do not need to be in the office to here about it as there is such a thing as emails and the postal service. I not going to be pussy footing around with these people any more. They have breached the Disability Discrimination act in that they are treating MLA less favourably due to his disability and have failed to make reasonable adjustments.
This has also been written by so called intelligent teachers, all I can say if this the standard of their written word than god help our children!
and my email to the relevant parties;
I enclose a copy of a letter received by me today. As you can see this is informing me that MLA is to be partially excluded from forest schools and was handed to MLA today 13th November some 5 days after it was supposedly written. It is my belief that the timing was due to coincide with your absence from your office and giving it to me the afternoon before Forest Schools does not give me time or opportunity to deal with the matter at local level. You will also note I am being asked to sign this ‘letter’, something I am not prepared to do as I disagree with it contents.
The letter highlights several points, albeit written in a rather childish manner for two educated persons. Each point has focused on James’s social and communication problems which have still not been dealt with appropriately and he is receiving an exclusion because of this. I believe this contravenes the Disability Discrimination Act in that he is being treated Less Favorably because of his disability and Reasonable Adjustment has not been made;
Examples of how a pupil may be treated less favourably might be if he or she has been refused admission to a school, excluded from school or not allowed to go on a school trip because of his or her disability. There are three tests to determine whether a child has been treated less favourably.
Is the less favourable treatment for a reason that is related to the child’s disability?
Reasonable adjustments
Failure to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled and non-disabled pupils have equal access in admission arrangements and to education services is unlawful. The reasonable adjustments duty requires schools:
to think ahead
to anticipate the barriers that disabled pupils may face
to remove or minimise them before a disabled pupil is placed at a substantial disadvantage.
Due to this discrimination MLA is missing a vital part of the school curriculum although this is something his community pediatrician expressed he should attend. As such I am informing you that for times that James is excluded due to his disability he will remain out of the school building and I shall take him on a similar activity myself until this breach is ceased.
He is also being excluding from ‘together time’ for refusing to pray and sing religious hymns. In fact on entering the school we were informed by Mrs XXXXXXX herself that if he refused to take part in religious observance he could NOT be enrolled into the school, my mother is witness to this. After discussing this with MLA all parties agreed that he would not have to take part in religious observance but he would sit and be quiet. As the school is non denominational should not compulsory and he should have the right to abstain from religious observance. Mrs XXXXXXX has since broken this deal by trying to force him to pray and gave him an ultimatum “pray and sing the hymns or sit out together time altogether”. MLA is not being one to sacrifice his principals and chose to sit out the ‘together time’ completely as he was given no other choice. He has reported to me that he is unsupervised on a permanent basis when he does not attend ‘together time’ with staff only popping in occasionally to check on him.
This is highly unsatisfactory for a boy with his difficulties!
Once again he is missing out important social interaction and information for not wishing to be religious.
You will also note XXXXX has been reprimanded for eating a bramble and not for the roots growing in someone’s garden which was obviously hanging over the public right of way. Having said that there is the ‘right to roam’ in Scotland!
He is well used to picking wild brambles and found Mrs XXXX’s rantings about it slightly uniformed.
MLA has suffered no ill effects from eating the offending bramble and I am sure that he will remain very healthy despite the fact it didn’t grow on the supermarket shelves!
He was attending country dancing after school, which turned out to be primarily additions for the Day of Dance. He was told he will not be attending the Day of Dance due to his behavior, another breach!
By: mummys little angel on November 13, 2007
at 6:35 pm
and today MLA ate a rose petal and a nasturtium petal…….he thoroughly enjoyed them!
By: mummys little angel on November 14, 2007
at 11:14 am
[...] November 14, 2007 · Filed under Uncategorized Answer when its the fruit of a bramble! [...]
By: When is a bramble not a blackberry? « A gift from god on November 14, 2007
at 12:28 pm
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By: Fat burning furnace on December 3, 2010
at 2:12 pm