14 October (Part 1) - Not to be Trusted with your child’s education
It
is a whole year since I first mentioned the saga of Thamesmead’s
Jubilee School where a young lad with mild autism had been slung into something
close to solitary confinement and given a minder, not a teacher. When his
parents complained they were banned from the premises and banned from phoning and emailing.
In retaliation the Head reported the parents to Social Services accusing them of
neglecting their son’s medical needs presumably in the hope of getting the
father into trouble. However both the boy’s consultant and GP certified that
that was nonsense and Bexley Social Services gave the family a clean bill of health.
At my suggestion the father submitted a Subject Access Request but was told by
the Head that it came under the same heading as the ban on emails and denied.
The Trust took a slightly different view and accepted a complaint and hired a
solicitor to look into the case. No doubt mindful of possible future fees she
ruled in favour of the school; and from there the information source dried up.
There is an Index to related blogs.
However in recent weeks I have been advised of a similar case and this parent
has been perhaps more proactive. He has managed to gather together a small group
of similarly affected parents who feel they are being manipulated by Bexley Council and
the Trusts to disadvantage their children’s education. Their leader is a man of
some standing in the borough with links to the news media.
Their struggle for better SEN education is at an early formative stage but they
are already getting some political support so if you too are involved in the SEN
scene, and especially if it is adversely affecting your child, then some way of
getting extra help may soon be available.
A number of communications schemes are being debated and a downloadable contact
form on which to express an interest may soon become available and if anyone
volunteers to run a Facebook group so much the better. Meanwhile a few words via
the Contact page would be welcome too. Nothing more than an “I’m interested”
would be enough for the time being.