Q:
It's an incredibly long story, but to keep it as short as I can, whilst including relevant information... 8 year old ADHD son lifted a girl's skirt up ...
It's an incredibly long story, but to keep it as short as I can, whilst including relevant information... 8 year old ADHD son lifted a girl's skirt up at school, not the first time he's done this. Girl said he put a finger up her bum. Her parents informed the police, police questioned her, police told us that he couldn't possibly have done it cos she was fully dressed. Bottom line, can't accuse an 8 year old girl of lying, have to believe she was mistaken. Parents have told all the other parents that he DID do it. Headteacher advised me to keep him off school, can't guarantee his safety, would have to be in isolation if he returned, the other parents had told school they were worried their kids might harm my child out of anger. He's not been expelled, but has been off since 16th November. The work they have sent isn't appropriate for a child with ADHD (videos, no interaction). No eduction, awaiting new school. School issued a statement that there had been an allegation of child on child sexual assault and it was in the hands of other agencies to investigate. That, coupled with my son's absence, makes it look like he's guilty. Suffered a lot of fear and anxiety over the whole thing, scared of going out. Worried about my son's mental health if this isn't cleared up now, he has ADHD, low self esteem, worried this will affect him when he's a teenager and these kids are at same high school. I want school to issue a statement saying he didn't do it, but they said they can't due to confidentiality. Police said slander and libel from parents is a civil matter. I don't have physical proof of either. I will be writing to governors and ofsted. How likely is it that I can get school to inform the parents he didn't do it? Thank you x
A: SenseCheck
- 1 Yes
- 0 No
- 0 Other
- 11 Dec 2022
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Yes
Other
For reasons that are obvious, this is a sensitive matter which spans a few areas of law. That said, this isn’t a reason not to start an answer with some signposting as such situations are not unheard of in school and often their management could be much better. I hope other legal practitioners and very experienced advocates can also contribute by answering themselves. It is being assumed that the police are no longer involved, and you have parental responsibility for your son.
- if a child has been diagnosed with ADHD it is highly likely they could have a statutory disability and, in such cases, parents are advised, in the first instance, to appraise themselves of the the contents of Support SEN Kids (SSK) “Disability Law in Education No-nonsense guide” – available on this website.
- It is not clear whether your son has an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCp). Given he is likely to have a statutory disability (sic), he may well have. If not, it may well be worth – if you think you need to – looking at SSK’s “Noddy Guide” (again available on this website) to find out more about what an EHCp is and how they are obtained if you think your son needs special educational provision (support to meet his needs) to be made for him that can only be provided in an EHCp. In situations such as the one you describe, there has often been a support failure which has resulted in difficulties and a correctly drafted EHCp can help address this.
- You say that your son has not been “expelled” (which is the terminology people like you and I use for the preferred terminology - “excluded”). Without going through the details of your case, I suggest that parents in similar situations may well, if they need to, start to appraise themselves of the law around this area by viewing, for example, the School Exclusion Project website: https://schoolexclusionproject.com/ . Like SSK they are a marvellous organisation, and they also can offer advice and support.
- I afraid I cannot comment on the prospects of getting the School to inform other parents of your sons inculpability. That said, one thing you may wish to consider while getting advice in this regard is audit the information the School holds about your son in relation this and related matters (see above). All parents can make a subject access to obtain copies of such data, and the ICO website advises how this can be done:
https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/schools/pupils-info/
Further the same website can advise on what action should be considered if data which has been disclosed does not comply with the UK GDPR key principles which are:
- Lawfulness, fairness and transparency
- Purpose limitation
- Data minimisation
- Accuracy
- Storage limitation
- Integrity and confidentiality (security)
- Accountability
And, as you can see, includes accuracy.
Sean Kennedy
Talem Law
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