School expels eight-year-old boy with ADHD because staff say he is ‘dangerous’

Mother’s fury as school expels eight-year-old son with ADHD after staff say he’s ‘dangerous’ and refuses to ‘settle into classes’

  • Year 4 pupil was permanently excluded from Oldfleet Primary School, east Hull
  • Sarah Lowden was told that her son Kieron would not be allowed back to school
  • Kieron was excluded eight times prior to his expulsion and Mrs Lowden said he needed extra support

An eight-year-old boy has been expelled from a Hull primary school after he was allegedly classed as a danger to staff and pupils.

Sarah Lowden has been left infuriated after her son, Kieron, was told yesterday that he would not be allowed to return to Oldfleet Primary School in east Hull.

The Year 4 pupil was permanently excluded for ‘dangerous behaviour’ and ‘not settling into classes’ according to Mrs Lowden, who believes her son could have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

An eight-year-old boy has been expelled from a Hull primary school after he was allegedly classed as a danger to staff and pupils. Sarah Lowden’s son Kieron (left with his mother), was told on Thursday, May 2, that he would not be allowed to return to Oldfleet Primary School in east Hull

Kieron had been out of mainstream classes at the school – which was rated in its most recent Ofsted inspection as not providing effective enough leadership for children with disabilities and/or special needs – since December 2018. 

The proportion of pupils at the school who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is well above the national average. 

Mrs Lowden says Kieron had to split his week between one-to-one classes at the school and sessions at a pupil referral unit (PRU).

He was excluded eight times prior to his expulsion and Mrs Lowden believes Kieron needed extra support to help concentrate in the classroom.

The 30-year-old, who lives in Wexford Avenue, Greatfield, said: ‘He has shown different traits of ADHD and he hasn’t really settled in at school.

‘The school started making us go to meetings about his behaviour and I put in a referral to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) but I need to do an assessment to get a diagnosis.

‘He has been out of the classroom since December 2018 and he’s just had one-to-ones with a teaching assistant. As soon as his behaviour is a little bit erratic he is sent home and excluded.

‘The school have said they can’t cope so he has gone to the PRU for three days a week and when he comes home from there he has been more calm and relaxed.

The Year 4 pupil was permanently excluded for 'dangerous behaviour' and 'not settling into classes' according to Mrs Lowden, who believes her son could have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

The Year 4 pupil was permanently excluded for ‘dangerous behaviour’ and ‘not settling into classes’ according to Mrs Lowden, who believes her son could have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

‘But now he has been permanently excluded and they’ve said it’s due to dangerous behaviour, not going in classes and not settling down.

‘Kieron was apparently violent towards a member of staff but when I spoke to my son he said they were trying to restrain him so obviously he’s going to try and move out of the way.’

Mrs Lowden now hopes the PRU will take on Kieron for the rest of the week and she says she regrets ever enrolling him at Oldfleet Primary School.

She is worried about the effect an expulsion will have on her son throughout the rest of his childhood and she admits it has put a strain on the family.

The mother-of-three said: ‘I’m not very happy. I need support for my son and it doesn’t look good on the school or the education system. 

‘They need to work with children instead of getting rid of them. They used to ring me all the time and say for instance ‘he is running around the playground’. Surely a school should be making sure he is safe and in class?

Mother-of-three Mrs Lowden said: 'I'm not very happy. I need support for my son and it doesn't look good on the school or the education system. They need to work with children instead of getting rid of them'

Mother-of-three Mrs Lowden said: ‘I’m not very happy. I need support for my son and it doesn’t look good on the school or the education system. They need to work with children instead of getting rid of them’ 

‘I’m hoping I can get him in at the PRU for the other two days of the week but it depends whether they can and there is the financial cost too of getting him there.

‘Kieron doesn’t really understand what’s gone on but he knows he can’t go back to that school. I’m worried because I keep thinking ‘what school will take him on if he has already been expelled at the age of eight?’

‘This has put a strain on us as a family and it will affect not just Kieron but the whole household.’

In an inspection of the school in 2017, Ofsted said that Oldfleet Primary required improvement in four out of five assessment areas.

In an inspection of the school in 2017, Ofsted said that Oldfleet Primary, in east Hull, required improvement in four out of five assessment areas

In an inspection of the school in 2017, Ofsted said that Oldfleet Primary, in east Hull, required improvement in four out of five assessment areas 

This included the need to use additional funding to ‘accelerate the progress of disadvantaged pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities’, Ofsted said.

They added that leadership of the provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities was ‘not effective enough’.  

A spokeswoman for Hull City Council said: ‘We are unable to comment on individual cases. There are appeals processes in place for any disputed exclusions’. 

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