Islington News: ADHD | Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder | Islington Arts and Media School | Lisa Spall | Schoolboy

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Home

Archive

Competition

Islington Tribune - by PETER GRUNER
Published: 20 June 2008

Mum: ‘Boy thrown out of school needed help

Pupil excluded for ‘persistent verbal abuse and disruption’

A ROW was brewing this week over claims that a 13-year-old Finsbury Park schoolboy who suffers from hyperactivity was excluded from school in a “heartless and bureaucratic” way following a series of incidents.
The boy, who has ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), has been excluded from Islington Arts and Media School because teachers say he is highly disruptive and cannot follow instructions.
Under an exclusion letter sent to his family, the boy was forbidden to go out in public during school hours for five days while his parents were expected to ensure he did work set for him during that period. Arrangements are being made to provide complementary education but his parents feel he needs to be with other children.
His 35-year-old mother accepts that her son has not been an easy child, but feels the school should have made a better effort to deal with his problems. She has the support of her Labour councillor Lisa Spall.
The school insists the boy is a “health and safety risk” to other children and staff.
But his mother, who lives on the Andover estate, said she felt let down by the school and Islington’s education authority CE@Islington.
She said: “My son is not a deliberately bad boy. In fact, academically he’s quiet bright. But he has a disorder which causes his disruptive behaviour and he receives treatment for it.
“He needs help rather than simply throwing him out of the school. It is hard enough being a parent of a child with ADHD. Like a lot of parents with children with this disorder we can be accused of encouraging bad behaviour.
“Like anyone else with a disability he should be treated with respect. Instead, we get an official letter stating he can’t go out for five days and his father and I have to somehow become his teachers.”
In the incident that prompted the exclusion the boy threw a chair in a classroom. It did not hit anyone but in the resulting disruption the police were called.
The boy’s mother said: “I just want my son to get an education. I can’t teach him. And I can’t keep him in.”
Cllr Spall knows the boy from the time she lived on the Andover estate. “He visited me quite a lot and loved my dog,” she said. “He’s a good kid and I know he’s got problems. But chucking him out of school is not going to help.”
In a letter from the school, acting head Diana Nwabunor said the boy would not be allowed back to school unless the governors decided otherwise. They must meet to discuss the exclusion within 15 days.
She added: The decision to exclude was not taken lightly. There was persistent verbal abuse and disruption. He presented a serious health and safety risk to the school with his behaviour and refusal to obey instructions.”
Lib Dem education chief Councillor Ursula Woolley said: “While we can’t comment about individual pupils or schools, I can say the local education authority works hard with all the agencies to meet children’s and families’ needs and keep children supported in school wherever possible.
“In Islington, we have one of the lowest rates of exclusion nationally. All our schools work hard at including children whatever their individual needs.”

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment: