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Samuel Hills with his parents, Paul and Geraldine
School back in dock for failing disabled pupil
Nick Towle29/11/2007
A PRIMARY school has found itself in the dock again for discriminating against a disabled boy.
Beaver Road Primary in Didsbury has been ordered by a tribunal to straighten out its policies for supporting children with disabilities after it was found to have discriminated against former pupil Samuel Hills.
The school has also been made to apologise in writing to the youngster.
Last year Geraldine Hills took Beaver Road to the first of two tribunals in Manchester, alleging 11 grounds for discrimination against her then six-year-old son between spring and June 2006.
She won on two counts under the Disability Discrimination Act but the Manchester tribunal dismissed the remaining nine.
This week a second tribunal, held on October 18 this year, found in favour of Mrs Hills on four further discrimination claims for Samuel, who suffers from a lifelong condition called septo-optic dysplasia which has left him with poor eyesight as well as speech and memory problems.
It means Mrs Hill, 42 has now won six of the original 11 discrimination claims, including four that were originally dismissed by the tribunal.
Mrs Hills, who lives with Samuel and her husband Paul on Baldock Road, Didsbury, said: “I feel this strongly vindicates the stance I took against Beaver Road.”
In the first tribunal the grounds set down by Mrs Hills – which were coroborrated by tribunal chairman Simon Oliver – included claims that the school had failed to cover up potholes that Samuel could have tripped on due to his poor eyesight. and mobility problems.
After the latest hearing the tribunal overturned its original decisions that went against Mrs Hills after re-evaluating the evidence using the correct legal interpretations.
One of these grounds was that Beaver Road had shown a ‘negative attitude’ towards Samuel during his transition from his old special school, Lancasterian in West Didsbury, to the mainstream.
The tribunal therefore found that Samuel’s parents were correct in removing him from the school.
The youngster now goes to St Cuthbert’s RC Infants School in Withington, where he is said to be flourishing.
Two other grounds related to the school’s failure to use a home-school book which put Samuel at a ‘significant disadvantage‘ and caused ‘fundamental problems’ with his placement.
The tribunal also found Beaver Road head David How had written a communique vis-a-vis Samuel’s needs and suitability for mainstream education based on out-of-date reports dating back to when he was assessed by an educational psychologist at three years’ old.
As well as writing a letter of apology to Samuel, the school has also been ordered to review its procedures regarding pupils with special educational needs.
Beaver Road head David How said this week: “As in the past this school will abide by any tribunal decision.”
He added: “We are happy that Samuel likes his new school and is making good progress. We wish him well.”
Most recent 2 of 2 user comments
As the school has an intake of 90 children per annum and has 7 years, there are over 630 children...plus a nursery. It is one of the largest primaries in our city.
It therefore seems strange that the parents chose Beaver Road (after Lancasterian, which is minute by comparison).There are other far smaller local schools.
By the same token, under the Disability Discrimination Act (now several years old) schools have to be ready to accommodate children of all kinds of disability....can the Council please tell us ratepayers how many schools in Manchester are operating at a surplus to enable those changes to their buildings to happen. And how much do our schools have to spend to comply with this legislation.
It's not just a question of potholes!
30/11/2007 at 02:00
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