As some of you know my child has struggled with school phobia for 3 years. The school system refused to assist him for two years and then when they made some accommodations they were too little, too late and then didn't carry out their promises. My son has been grieving the death of a friend and then the deaths of two grandparents this year. After the second grandparent died he could no longer attend school at all. He was hospitalized for anxiety and depression the week my dad died. At the same time the school filed legal charges against him for truancy.

I got action by hiring an attorney. It wasn't cheap but it was necessary. The school lied that they had no knowledge of his medical problems. When I showed written proof that they have known about it for years the attorney got things turned around. Now he has a tutor and is slowly trying to adjust to go back to school. I honestly don't know if he will ever go to that school again but he wants to try. That is where his friends are.

The court officer was very understanding and outraged that the school would do this to an ill child. The attorney made sure all those charges were dropped. The school waited until the day of the hearing to drop the charges as if to rub it in and make us more distressed.

This school year has been a complete waste and it is the school system's fault. If they don't continue to be helpful then I will pursue legal action as far as possible. I don't care how much it costs. My attorney says I have very strong legal grounds for the school to do much more for him as he becomes able.

I should have hired an attorney earlier but I was naive and didn't understand that the school would avoid helping my child as much as they could get away with. They view their job as doing as little as they can get away with.

Despite the very difficult path you have been down, this is good news indeed. What a terrible shame that you had to go to these ends to get something out of the school system. You are right - it seems schools are just not interested in the individual welfare of individual students and until they start including this as part of their overall plan and policy - we are going to see the same thing happen again and again.
Your advice, however, is welcoming to others who may be faced with this.
I hope your son continues to take small steps and gets and education in some form even if not from the same school.
Good luck and do let us know how things go for you.
All the best
Linda

You have been through so much and I admire how you have had the strength to deal with it, I hope after all this you get somewhere with the school. I myself am going through something similar and the school has alot to answer for and they are still bullying me with threats of court and fines.

The system is wrong in so many ways and the whole thing needs rethinking, I think a big part of it is the introduction of academy school status's, they have stopped caring about the pupils and only care about statistics now.

Amanda