• Parents claim some special needs pupils are being unfairly treated and raise concerns over staff turnover numbers
  • Head says school is not too 'heavy handed' with SEN children but apologises for disruption from teachers leaving
  • 50 children have left since September 2017, 21 have joined

PARENTS claim children are being taken out of a school over concerns about how special educational needs pupils are being treated and staff departure numbers.

It comes after an anonymously written letter urging Silver End Academy parents to raise their concerns with various groups, including the Times, was left near the school last week.

The letter claimed the school is "in crisis" and that 50 children have left since September 2017 and that "staff turnover has massively increased".

Since then many have spoken out about their other concerns regarding the treatment of SEN children.

Others have also contacted the Times to defend the school.

One parent of a child, who did not want to give their name, criticised the school for its treatment of special needs children.

They said: "They have been quick to exclude and punish the children for things that are out of their control, and not meeting their needs correctly. 

"If anything, their failure to meet the children’s needs and make the necessary changes is the cause of the behaviour the children present for them to exclude them over. 

"For example, displaying unsafe behaviour, when the behaviour they are talking about is the child running away from a stressful situation and trying to find a place to hide away to calm down."​​

Another, who also wanted to remain anonymous, said: "My child is in Year 3 and after Christmas there was no class teacher for the first five weeks of term - they were taught by a higher-level teaching assistant.

"Since half term there have been four different people taking the class, one of whom is, yet again, not a qualified teacher.

"This is very unsettling for the whole class but especially for children with Special Educational Needs and we see this in their behaviour at home."

Another said: "My child also has special needs and has been out of school since November as the school suddenly decided they could no longer meet their needs despite being there since they were four.

"They put them in isolation and this triggered mental health problems. We are now trying to get them into a special school but there are no spaces and it looks like we'll have to wait until September."

READ MORE: Prodigy's Liam Howlett issues message to fans after Keith Flint's funeral

Executive headteacher, Simon Webb, says the academy does not believe it has been heavy handed in excluding a 'very small minority' of pupils.

He said: "We will only ever consider exclusions where another child either places themselves at risk, or that of another child or adult. We also ensure that there is a balance to ensure that the needs of the individual are matched to their behaviours.

"Where we have excluded a child, we have been grateful to the parents for their understanding, in each case."

Mr Webb also addressed concerns about how SEN children are treated saying "may I kindly point out that the academy has sought specialist provision for four pupils, three of which have been successful, as those provisions are meeting their needs particularly well.

"The fourth child is awaiting a placement from the local authority, with whom we have an excellent relationship with, particularly, for children with SEN."

With regards to staff turnover, Mr Webb said the academy has seen staff leave for higher posts at other schools, leave temporarily on maternity leave while two have resigned for 'personal reasons'.

He said: "Where staff do leave, we try very hard to ensure that the incoming teacher settles the class into strong learning habits swiftly, so there is a minimum of learning loss.

"We accept that constant change can be unsettling for young children and regret that this has to happen mid-year.

"Teacher recruitment is a national issue, and we take time and pride with our appointments, as any teacher being appointed into the Connected Learning MAT, has to be of a high calibre.

"There are times, unfortunately, where there is a time lag, between one teacher leaving and the new teacher being appointed.

"This is the case for the class you mention. We can only apologise for this."

Mr Webb said 21 children have joined the academy since September 2017 and that of the 50 who left, 13 of them, from nine different families, left "because parents were unhappy with the academy and the remainder had moved to a school closer to new homes'.

A spokesman for Essex County Council said: "We were made aware of concerns at Silver End Academy earlier this year and have been looking into them.

"We are in dialogue with the school around these concerns and are visiting next week.

"Concerns have been raised by some parents whose children have SEND and we are pursuing these issues with school leaders in order to ensure needs are met."

Connected Learning say the visit to the school is part of routine visits to its five academies.

Parents are invited to attend a meeting at the school next Thursday from 6pm to ask questions.