Excluded from school sports day Post Reply

[DisabilityDiscrimination]

Hello, posting under another user name. This week our neurodiverse primary school child with an EHCP was not allowed to attend their sports day. Hopefully no one else has been through this, but can anyone recommend a great SEN lawyer? If so I'd be very grateful if you could DM me. 

[grapefruit gin]

 I am so sorry that you are having to deal with something so awful. My daughter had some friendship issues a while back and was being left of things, I found that difficult enough and it doesn't compare. I cannot imagine how your child and you must be feeling. I can't help with the lawyer but just wanted to send a hug. Hope that someone on here can help.

[ASD2023]

This is absolutely outrageous. Your poor child.

You could try the SEN teams at:
Russell Cook
Geldards
Simpson Millar
SEN Legal
Langley Wellington
Rook Irwin Sweeney
HCB

I think Russell Cooke (eg you could try Eva Akins there) is in Putney but the others are national firms, although that shouldn't matter.

[Cantgetanyworse]

talem law

Huge amount of experience and she set up the firm having experienced difficulties with her own child who is SEN - go to one who knows - Mandy Aulak - used to work with her and she’s a lovely lady.

[Ippyevie]

That’s gravely unacceptable!

I second that Eva Atkins at Russell Cooke is excellent. We have won the councils in many points due to her help, they at the end conceded without progress to further court actions. It wasn’t cheap but it was worth it. I highly recommend her.

[SW18_Dad]

This is unacceptable by any standards.

I feel terrible for the hurt this has caused your child. Particularly if they *wanted* to participate.

The issue is that mainstream schools often taken on SEN kids but haven’t got a clue what to do with them and the ‘solutions’ always revolve round 1-1 which actually socially isolates kids more.

If you have a reasonable level of comprehension then you don’t need a lawyer as all the case law is set out in this handy PDF from Matrix chambers.

[I’ve edited to post to correct the link as it was to an outdated version]

https://www.matrixlaw.co.uk/wp-content/ ... arch-2.pdf

[parentpractice]

That is so shocking and discriminatory. I would definitely get a lawyer involved here. Try Simpson Millar SEND lawyers. An EHCP plan covers not only educational needs but also emotional well being, and for a child to be excluded from their sports day, will almost certainly have a huge impact on them, not to mention the impact on the family as a whole.

If it's a private school, unfortunately they don't have to adhere to the SEN Code of Practice, but I think this would be covered by the Disability Act 2010. I also can't imagine what the rationale could be from a school to exclude a child from Sports Day, unless there were safeguarding issues of some sort.

Given this is half term week, hoping this can be resolved swiftly and sensibly.

 

[SEN Mum]

I'm so sorry you have had this experience - it is heartbreaking, I know, when your child is badly failed by the very place that supposedly exists to support them, and help them thrive.

This is straightforwardly unlawful under the Equality Act, which binds all bodies, private or not. If it's a state school, then you are also looking at a clear breach of the Public Sector Duty of Equality.

Solicitors are much more expensive than Direct Access barristers due the business model - barristers don't charge for emails, to or from, for a start. We use Alice de Coverley at Three Paper Buildings for our disabled child and she is wonderful. She's had considerable success in discrimination cases for SEN children.

Finally, I would strongly suggest you look into alternative settings. We moved mine from somewhere equally dreadful and it was the best thing we ever did.

[SEN Mum]

SW18 Dad, the Noddy Guide is brilliant around EHCPs, but as the law (especially caselaw) changes very fast it is updated every few months. I think the most recent one is March 2023 - you are linking to a 2019 version.

[Scottov]

These are such emotional situations, particularly when you feel your child is being denied what you think are formative experiences

I would caution against taking too much notice of anyone on here confidently asserting the legalities as we don’t know the circumstances or the position of the school

What are their reasons? Sometimes a school might lack supervisory resources given certain activities or profile of the child with an EHCP, and they are entitled to restrict access on that basis

Hopefully these matters can find a simple solution as the legal route can be expensive and unproductive

[Happymummy2014]

What a shocking experience - I am so sorry for you and your child. I also have a child with an EHCP and can’t imagine how distressing it would be for them to be excluded from sports day.
As a mediator, I just wanted to pick up on Scottov’s comment about the legal route. It is always good to know your legal rights, but talking through lawyers can feel very hostile (us v them), even if you succeed in your arguments. It is sometimes more helpful to use mediation to work with the school to agree what will be done differently in future (us and them v the problem). Many SEND lawyers know and use specialist SEND mediators - if you like the idea of mediation, ask them (they may not mention it automatically).
Best of luck resolving this.

[Nappyparent]

School probably had very firm reasons to do this. Neurodiverse might have a lot of different aspects of behaviour. It might have very disruptive aspects of behaviour, aggressive towards other kids? Considering that Sports day is usually quite exhausting for kids participating in it all day there might be something where interests of all kids should be taken into account.

[Bevvers]

Before you go down the legal route, I would recommend you speak to the school to find out exactly why your child was excluded. As already mentioned, it could have been for reasons that are not obvious and maybe they just weren’t communicated to your or your son properly. Equally, it could have just been a bad decision on their part, but worth checking first.

[Kemi Konstantinova]

Dear Parent,

I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to personally reach out to you regarding your child's recent exclusion from the sports day event. I understand that it must have been disappointing for both you and your child, and I want to express my sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused.

As a gesture of goodwill and to ensure that your child continues to have positive experiences in sports, I would like to invite you both to our free sessions every Saturday during term time at Roehampton University Froebel Gate. These sessions cater to children up to 8 years old from 4 to 5 pm, and for children aged 9 and above from 5 to 6 pm. Our aim is to provide a safe and inclusive environment where children can explore a variety of sports and activities.

By participating in these sessions, I believe that your child will have the opportunity to gain valuable experiences, enhance their skills, and most importantly, maintain their love for sports.

I understand the importance of catering to individual needs and ensuring that every child feels valued and included. I hope that this gesture will help make up for the recent exclusion and provide your child with a positive and enjoyable sports experience.

If you have any questions or would like more information about these sessions, please feel free to contact me directly. I am here to address any concerns or provide any additional support needed please call me 07963519846 - Kemi.

Thank you for reading my post, and I look forward to welcoming your child to our Saturday sessions at Roehampton University Froebel Gate.

[SW18_Dad]

Good spot

I’ve updated the link.