My grandson Jacob is 11 years old and has been permanently excluded from school since May 2024. There has been no alternative provision, schooling or support provided. Before this, he had been excluded five separate times.
Since he was 6 years old, it has felt like no one has been doing anything to keep him in school, but everything to keep him out. Exclusion is incredibly difficult, for the child, for the family, for everyone.
Jacob had a bleed on his brain at 2 years old and ever since has had complex needs. He is partially sighted and we suspect he has a special education need and disability (SEND). The surgery to remove the bleeds on his brain, severely affected the right side of his brain which is responsible for behaviour, cognitive, social emotional and physical problems along with attention and concentration.
Throughout his time at school, Jacob has been consistently viewed as the ‘naughty’ child and rather than supporting his needs, he has been labelled as a problem with exclusion as the solution.
All this has done is leave Jacob isolated and added stress and strain onto our whole family. Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) refuses to see him due to conflicting school records, local authorities have failed to provide any support. Jacob sits at home day after day, with nothing and no one to help. There is only so much I can do. He often says that he feels like he has nothing to get out of bed for. I am exhausted from fighting the battle for his basic right to education and from the complete lack of support.
Jacob is just a child, who has additional needs, and he is missing out on crucial years of education and socialisation. I worry about how this will impact him in the future. I feel frustrated by the current system, I feel ignored and am consistently turned away from avenues which are supposed to support us.
If I had one wish, it would be that support had been available when we first asked for it, all those years ago.
