Mum in petition to have daughter move school

A MUM has launched a petition to have her disabled daughter moved to another school because her behaviour is causing disruption in the classroom.

Patricia Pirrie’s 10-year-old daughter Natasha has an extreme form of ADHD, which regularly sees her hit teaching staff and try to escape from school or home.

The Kelty mum is so desperate to have Natasha removed from the school that she has gathered more than 100 signatures from other parents who are backing her fight.

Natasha, who lives at home with her mum, dad and three brothers, is registered disabled and has one-to-one classroom support for 25 hours each week.

Patricia said yesterday: “I have to keep my keys with me at all times because she’s an escape artist. She’s also escaped from school and ran in front of a double-decker bus, which almost knocked her down.

“She managed to escape from me and ran across the M90. She’ll destroy school property, she’ll hit the teacher, she’ll accuse him of hitting her, etc.

“She could hit the teacher once a week, to every day of the week, it is so unpredictable. She has extreme, challenging behaviours. It’s not her, it’s her disability. The fluid of the brain is imbalanced. She’s registered disabled.”

She added: “Because of the government wanting children with disabilities, like my daughter, to be in mainstream schooling, this is what mainstream schooling is having to put up with.

“I do not think it’s right because it’s not fair on other children. It’s not fair for the classroom to be disrupted. Natasha should be in a support school designed for children with additional support needs, especially challenging behaviours.”

Scott Meal, Fife Council education officer, said yesterday: “While it is never in the best interests of a child to discuss their education through the media, I will say we have been working closely with the school and the family to ensure that the best possible level of support is in place.

“In Fife, we work with many children with a range of additional support needs. Every child is individual and will have a package of support put in place which best fits their needs at any given time in their school years. That support package is regularly monitored and reviewed and can increase or decrease according to the particular needs of the child.”