Bullying - school is ignoring my son's situation.

My son is being bullied at school, on one occasion it was so bad he ended up in hospital. The school refuses to address the issue – they have told me it is due to his poor social skills. I feel that no-one is listening to me or my son and I don’t know what the next step should be. Please help!

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Answers:

use evidence base to change the situation.

Submitted by Gayna on Mon, 05/10/2009 - 21:03.

Hello there.

This must be really frustrating for you. I am sure that you have already done the following but just in case.

. Remember you are the expert here, he is your son.

. Keep an incident diary of any issues your son reports to you but not where he can see your reaction. Keep a seperate diary of any incidents that the school report to you. I take it that your child is in Mainstream but forgive me if I am wrong. Historically it seems there are less challenges at specialist provision.

On the TreeHouse website is a section called resources oringinating from the PSP. I am hoping the resources are still available and will ask Elana or Steve..IT genius .....if they can attach a link to the model bullying letters in the correct format for you. To be successful at getting your school on side rather than off its possible you need the knowledge of who.. what... when.... If that doesnt help let me know. Also ask a freind to accompany you to a meeting with the SENCO to discuss your sons IEP. It clearly should indicate that your son is receiving a level of Social skills groups and that if he is targeted by the bullies he will need to be taught all the appropriate skills on how to deal with that. Perhaps suggest they call in the Ed Psych to help them identify your sons areas of need and turn this around so that your son can begin to have a voice in this. Fighting for whats right can be a challenge and resources are always good!

Hang in there

Gayna

Submitted by Paula Barrett on Thu, 26/02/2009 - 15:38.

Ask if the school has an anti-bullying policy and ask to see it. Ask the Local Authority if they follow ASD Good practice Guidance and whether the school and aware of the Disability Discrimination Act and Code of Practice for Schools.

Linda Dickinson, Redcar & Cleveland