It's recognised by the Department for Education (DfE) that children with SEND (and especially those who have not been identified) are more likely to be excluded from school. It's also easy to see that these groups of children are more likely to receive sanctions within school (such as detentions).

Barnsley has a high number of exclusions when compared to the national average.

What to do if your child is having problems

The DfE does allow schools to exclude or sanction a pupil for poor behaviour. If this happens often, the DfE expects schools to consider whether the sanction is having an effect to modify and improve this poor behaviour.

If your child is receiving a significant number of sanctions or exclusions, something is not working and the DfE expects schools to be proactive in understanding why.

You should contact the school's SENCO (SEN Coordinator) and ask for a meeting to discuss your concerns. Schools must consider whether there are any underlying reasons or causes. This could be that your child has an unidentified Special Educational Need.

Disability discrimination

If any organisation treats an individual differently because of a Special Educational Need or a Disability, there's a risk that the organisation is discriminating against the individual and family. This is very serious.

An organisation, such as a school, cannot simply state it didn’t know that a child or young person might have a difficulty.

A child or young person might find it difficult to follow the expectations, rules or policies of an organisation. They may act-out, refuse to do work or appear rude. Any organisation must make 'reasonable adjustments' to their criteria, policies and practice.

Disability discrimination: What is the definition of a disability? 

There is no list of conditionsthere is no diagnosis needed. 

The Equality Act 2010 defines a disability as: 

"A physical or mental impairment that has a 'substantial' and 'long-term' negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.