Schools

What do you do/speak too if you feel the school is totally failing your child, regarding bullying, support, educational needs etc?

[timwilky]

Personal experience with this one.

Go and talk to a decent school. Shift your child/children at the first opportunity and then tell their former school exactly why your kids no longer attend.

Never believe a school will change just because you have made them aware of their failings. It won't.

Ironically I took my kids out of the same school that my father took me out of about 28 years earlier, for almost the same reasons. (Educational standards and a religious education code that I found objectionable).

Unfortunately I could not afford to send my children to the same prep school he transferred me to, therefore I had to make do with a compromise state school.

Local council, education authority?

Had to go to my daughter's school once, and didn't have much luck with the head teacher,as she insisted they had no bullying. Please. And this is supposed to be a *great* school, akin to saying my son would never do that....

with all the standards being set these days, I would imagine it would be hard to find a school which was completely open to the idea.

If it's possible, talking to other parents may help- I found out that the bully had done the same thing to loads of other kids, and it really helped support wise.

Educational needs, if they are specialised, in Scotland, AFAIK need a statement, where the LEA agree to provide extra/different learning support.

Thanks for the responses, my son attended a speech therapy aapointment today and was asked about school and it all came tumbling out, resulting in a tearful child, mother and speech therapist. Maybe just as well it wasn't me that had taken him because on girlfriends returning him to school she witnessed the sort of "banter" that is going on. Unfortuneately I tend to go steaming in and start throwing my weight around. My son was "evaluated" to be around an eight year olds maturity level.
Promises and reassurances before starting have all fallen flat.
An angry and disillusioned father.

If its a huge school there will be problems. The one I work in has over 2000 kids and its a nightmare. Teachers are screwed by legislation and red tape so it makes life really hard for us to erradicate anything. From personal experience I would find a catholic school in the sticks if you can. Even if you arent a catholic, they are generally the best. Big comps and academies fail any kids other than mainstream ones and the government make the job virutally impossible with their inclusion bull****. Basically all kids are supposed to be included now, that means nutters and bullies which makes teaching the good kids hard!!