Tag: ADHD

Cheam High School has come under fire by a parent (Image: Google Maps)

Cheam: School Case Sparks Landmark Ruling on Disabled Pupils’ Rights! (23.8.2026)

I have added the single comment this article has a) attracted, and/or b) been filtered-out and included by the paper (who knows?). Although the readership does not possess all the details that the Tribunal considered – The Sutton Guardian thinks it is reasonable to include a comment from an obvious right-wing troll. Presumably the “presence” of a disabled child would be considered “disruptive” (regardless of disability or behaviour) – or perhaps the a “wheelchair” would be considered “disruptive” because able-bodied students have to “make adjustments” by walking around it? Or, the school needs to “ensure” that the alleyways and corridors are “wide-enough”? The far-right speculation is endless and it is interesting that Sutton Guardian feels the need to share it with the general readership.

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Amelia's mother, Kayley (r), says strict school policies resulted in her daughter becoming ill

UK: Parents & Pupils Took on “Cruel” & “Authoritarian” Devon & Cornwall “Athena Academy Schools” – & Won! (4.8.2026)

And Zara says her autistic daughter Hannah, who has hearing difficulties and attends Ilfracombe Academy, was repeatedly removed from class because her needs were not recognised.

“Behaviour is just put down to persistent defiance and bad behaviour, and they’re punished for it,” she says. “It’s never recognised as being linked to their disabilities.”

Athena told us that children with special educational needs are “not routinely sanctioned for behaviours associated with their needs”.

A lot of the anger we heard in Devon and Cornwall is, we were told, down to the lack of accountability.

Academy trusts do not have any supervision from local councils, meaning only central government can intervene.

One of the biggest weaknesses of the trust system is that it complicates the complaints process, says education journalist Laura McInerney, who co-founded Teacher Tapp, an app designed to track educators’ wellbeing, classroom practices, and opinions on education policy.

If parents are not satisfied with a specific school’s response, she says, they have to contact the trust, which could be miles way, and which “you may or may not hear from in anything other than a letter”.

The government says parents can take complaints about academy trusts to the Department for Education.

Across England, there is growing concern about punitive disciplinary practices in schools.

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