Family appalled by school
Family of a special needs student removed from school after threatening a teacher are appalled at the way the case has been handled.
But the school principal disputes the boy’s account of the incident.
Clive Stevens, 16, has missed six weeks of education and was told he was no longer welcome at Feilding High School’s special needs unit after threatening a teacher on May 23.
Clive’s primary caregiver, grandmother Maureen Stevens, said the incident involved Clive holding a pair of scissors to a teacher. He suffered a seizure or panic attack after the scissors were taken off him. Stevens said she had been told a teacher dragged Clive from the room by the collar and he choked for a short time.
Stevens said Clive had a chromosome abnormality with dysmorphic features and intellectual disabilities and that his behaviour was due to a change of medication.
Stevens said what Clive did was wrong, but the alleged collar incident was not disclosed to her in meetings with Feilding High School principal Martin O’Grady. She said she didn’t learn of it until a phone call with assistant principal Cecile Ellery four weeks after the incident.
Stevens also said the Ministry of Education’s communication about Clive’s future education prospects had been poor.
In a statement to the Feilding-Rangitikei Herald, O’Grady said Stevens had been ‘‘fully involved’’ in the process, which had not been conducted ‘‘arbitrarily’’ or in ’’isolation’’.
He said he had a ‘‘body of communications’’ and evidence that contradicted Stevens’ claims, but would not produce it on request.
Ministry of Education head of sector enablement and support Katrina Casey said the ministry was not aware of the claims about how Clive was handled at the time of the incident.
Casey said the ministry would talk with the school about the incident and whether it needed further training to deal safely with physically challenging behaviour.
Stevens said she was told by O’Grady on June 13 that the ministry would relocate him to a support unit in a neighbouring school. However, it took seven weeks before Stevens was advised a new school had been found, where he would start on July 3. During that time Stevens said Clive had become depressed.
Casey said the length of time it took to place a student at a new school after ‘‘an incident of this kind’’ varied. She said it was important to get the placement right so Clive would settle into the new school well.
Stevens said she never received an incident report or any formal documentation from the school, other than Clive’s version of events, transcribed by Ellery.
Casey said a representative who provides support for students had been in regular contact with Stevens.
IHC director of advocacy Trish Grant said long gaps were unacceptable if due to bureaucratic oversight. ‘‘If the case has been sitting on someone’s desk for six weeks, then that’s not acceptable.
‘‘If it has taken six weeks to plan for the transition to the new school and the student and his family are involved with developing the plan, then that is acceptable.’’
Grant said schoolchildren with disabilities deserved a fair hearing. Grant said that would involve a discussion with the board of trustees to determine whether the cause of Clive’s behaviour was a result of his disability or a change in medication.