School defends detention policy after family look for boy with special educational needs for hours

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The family have appealed the school’s decision, after their complaint was not upheld.

Parents and grandparents of a boy who attends Springwell Community College in Staveley say they were ‘terrified’ when he failed to return home from school.

His family were looking for the boy who has autism, ADHD and mental health issues, for nearly three hours, before he turned up at his grandparents’ house in tears, explaining he had been in a Behavior Intervention Class (BIC) after school.

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The mum of the boy, who cannot be named due to concerns for his wellbeing, said: “I was at work and had a call from his grandparents saying he failed to come back after school. They were out looking for him and his dad had left work to help find him. We didn't know where he was, we spent almost three hours worrying, looking for him. Me and my husband tried contacting the school many times with no answer.

Parents and grandparents of a boy who attends Springwell Community College in Staveley were terrified when he failed to return home from school in November.Parents and grandparents of a boy who attends Springwell Community College in Staveley were terrified when he failed to return home from school in November.
Parents and grandparents of a boy who attends Springwell Community College in Staveley were terrified when he failed to return home from school in November.

"Finally, my son turned up at his grandparents at 4.30 in tears, utterly heartbroken. He said he was in BIC but didn’t understand why.”

Following the incident, the student’s mum submitted an official complaint to the school. Further correspondence with the school following the complaint explains that the student was put in BIC in November for using inappropriate language during a lesson in October.

His mum added: “Why didn’t we know about this incident earlier? Or about the plan to put him in BIC? It didn’t happen on the day of the isolation. The school didn't tell us anything until after my complaint.

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“I'm not happy with how they treat children, never mind children with additional needs. It’s disgusting. They need support, help and guidance, and they're putting them in isolation instead.

"My son has an EHCP, it states in his medical records that he should not be isolated due to his serious mental health. Where are the considerations for his wellbeing?”

In response to the complaint, the school said that BIC is a ‘calm and quiet place where students are well-supported to complete their normal curriculum work’ and the complaint was not upheld.

Springwell Community College explained they tried to contact the student’s mum and left her a voice message in October after she failed to pick up the phone.

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The school has apologised for the upset this has caused as well as for the difficulties parents had with contacting the college in the afternoon.

Springwell Community College promised to look at the capacity to accept calls, so families can speak to someone about their concerns more quickly. The family also was invited to attend a meeting with the headteacher who apologised for the upset caused.

The family has appealed the decision and is awaiting a panel meeting in January.

The student’s mum added: “I want the best for my son and for him to excel in school. I am a concerned parent who only wants her son to feel safe and supported. I will not allow this to happen again."

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A spokesperson for the school, said: “The wellbeing of all students is our absolute priority, a responsibility which we take very seriously. Whilst we do not comment on individual cases, we do communicate regularly with the families in our school community, and we are proactively working with the family in this case.

“We pride ourselves on students feeling happy and safe at school and work hard to ensure we have strong relationships with families, and we are committed to ensuring this continues.”

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