8:49am Thursday 18th October 2007
By Haydn Lewis
PARENTS of children excluded from school are being urged form a help group.
Bob Breen, chairman of ADDept, the Yorkshire support group for people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), is asking parents to contact him for help and advice.
His bid comes after The Press revealed the number of cases of children being booted out of York's secondary schools is set to soar by more than a fifth this year, and blamed council policies for the figures.
The Press reported on Tuesday that new figures released by City of York Council show the number of permanent exclusions is set to rise from 44 last year to about 53 this year - an increase of 20.5 per cent.
Mr Breen said that quite often excluded children had ADHD, or a disorder on the autism spectrum, and this could be overlooked by some mainstream schools.
He said: "These people are scared and don't know where to turn quite often. Sometimes they are blamed by social services themselves for what is going on and need to talk to someone and share their experiences.
"I can sympathise with teachers and schools because they may have 30 kids in a class and they are doing the best they can with what they have got.
"We have got to bring this group together for anybody who is being suspended or who is in danger of being suspended or expelled, because sharing experiences cannot hurt."
Mr Breen would like people to contact him on (01904) 782556 or 07949 627242 as soon as possible to help get a group up and running.
David Ellis, head teacher at York High School, said it was generally Key Stage 3 pupils - 11 to 14-year-olds - who were being excluded.
He said: "Neither the schools nor the local authority want to be excluding pupils if they can avoid it, because it isn't really a satisfactory solution. My own view is that there have been increasing numbers of young people in mainstream school provision now that wouldn't have been in the past and they find it increasingly difficult to cope.
"I think you'll find the increase in exclusions is mainly among younger pupils."
Pete Dwyer, the council's director of Learning, Culture And Children's Services, said: "The incidence of Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC) and ADHD continues to increase nationally and locally. Despite this increase, the authority has an excellent reputation for ensuring that the needs of those young people can still be met through local services."
Behaviour post for school
YORK High School is looking for a "behaviour improvement leader" to join the staff.
The post is full-time and term time only and will pay between £17,631 and £18,811 per annum.
York High School opened in September with 1,000 pupils at its Dijon Avenue site in Acomb.
The school was formed by the merger of Lowfield and Oaklands Schools.
York High School will remain in Dijon Avenue before moving to the former Oaklands site in Cornlands Road following a revamp there in January 2009.
Before the move, head teacher David Ellis introduced new attendance panels - involving staff, governors and council representatives - which thrash out agreed attendance targets with pupils and their parents at Oaklands. If youngsters then fail to stick to the targets, their parents can be taken to court under new legislation and fined £50. Mr Ellis has taken the policy on to the new school.
Applicants for the behaviour post should phone Susan Jennings, the head teacher's PA, at York High School on 01904 791674 or email yorkhighschool@gmail.com
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