A school which gave a dyslexic pupil with ADHD more than 250 detentions, exclusions and isolations has been forced to apologise to the boy’s family.
Kian Mills’ school discriminated against him and put him at a ‘substantial disadvantage’ compared to his classmates, an educational tribunal found.
His parents Aldon and Julie Mills claim their son was ‘persecuted’ at St Joseph’s Catholic School in Port Talbot, south Wales and his mental health not adequately supported.
By the time Kian was ultimately pulled out of the comprehensive he had racked up more than 250 sanctions over two years, WalesOnline reports.
Julie said: ‘We took him out of school in June of year nine because they were going to give him isolation again and I thought enough was enough.
‘The system is not working for many, many families. At school Kian was so unhappy he was getting depressed.’
Aldon and Julie said Kian would get in trouble whenever he struggled to sit still and work, which led his mum to suspect he had ADHD.
Matters were compounded by strict Covid lockdown rules, which meant pupils had three 100-minute lessons in the same classroom each day.
Julie, who works for the NHS, ultimately spent £950 to get her son an ADHD diagnosis the followingyear.
But she says St Joseph’s did not provide the help Kian needed once they were informed his condition.
It took one parents evening for her to realise not all of Kian’s teachers were aware of his diagnosis.
Even after his parents then contacted the school, its governors, the local education authority and the Children’s Commissioner, they felt support never came their way.
Kian did eventually get an Independent Development Plan in June 2023, but by then his relationship with the school had irreversibly broken down.
After he was pulled out of the school, Julie and Aldon, who works for the probation service, took their son’s case to an Education Tribunal for Wales.
Their claim was brought under the Equality Act 2010 on the basis the school discriminated against Kian.
Julie argued the system failed her son and she instead wants to see change to help others children in similar situations.
The tribunal agreed with the Mills family on January 9, and this week they rejected an appeal from the school.
In its final order, the tribunal said: ‘St Joseph’s Comprehensive School has discriminated against Kian by failing to put in place reasonable measures to support him at school and by its application of its behaviour policy.’
In his conclusion, tribunal judge Paul Allen said: ‘[The school’s] approach that pupils should be on time for lessons, should be present in lessons, should not fidget or move around or distract others, and should all produce the same amount of work, would put a disabled child at a particular disadvantage, and put Kian at a substantial disadvantage compared with pupils who were not disabled.
‘From the evidence presented the breakdown of mainstream education was entirely preventable’.
He did credit the headteacher and senior management at the school for their ‘reflection and taking a fresh look at policies’.
Despite this he ordered St Joseph’s to update their behaviour and additional learning needs policies and train staff on the challenges faced by neurodiverse pupils.
The judge also told the school to write a letter of apology to Kian, in age-appropriate language, and a separate apology letter the parents.
In their letter to Kian, the head teacher Dr Felton said: ‘To start I would like to tell you that you will always be welcome to come back to our school and I have told your mother this many times.
‘As you know, recently, your mother went to the Disability Tribunal of Wales.
‘Your mother was not happy with the way that we tried to help you whilst you were in school.
‘The judge in the case acknowledged that the school had put in a lot of interventions to help support you.
‘However the Judge decided that these interventions weren’t enough to help you and sometimes weren’t put in place quickly enough and for that we are sorry.
‘Despite trying to work very hard for you, we sincerely regret that our efforts didn’t achieve what we wanted for you and for any stress this could have caused you.
‘We wish you will for the future and repeat that you would be welcome back to our school at any point.’
But aspiring chef Kian now prefers life outside of St Joseph’s, saying: ‘It’s a lot better not being in school.
‘No one was listening to me. It was frustrating.’
Mum Julie said they will continue to home educate Kian, adding: ‘There was nowhere we could turn when things went wrong.
‘Home education is not a choice and we do it with great difficulty.
‘With the right support in place I would love him to be in school with his friends – it’s sad that he’s not with his friends and learning social skills.’
Julie, who went to St Joseph’s herself and whose three older children also attended without issues, said isolation was a particularly cruel punishment.
Julie said ‘Things go wrong for children like Kian and they can be failed.
‘We will try our best [at home education] but some parents don’t have a clue.’
Aldon agreed and said: ‘I really did not want him to go to school because of the way he was treated.
‘No one seemed to be listening. Children going through this don’t have a voice. Sometimes things are just allowed to continue.
‘There is no clear way to complain or make a query and no obvious route to navigate what happens if a child has additional learning needs.
‘Kian was in a dark place and it was not him to be that low.
‘He did not suit the system because he was persecuted. He lost his trust and confidence, but it’s coming back now.
‘Councils should do more to support schools. They seem so defensive if you question them.
‘The bottom line is Kian has gone through damage. To prevent other children being affected we want to highlight this.’
A spokesperson for Neath Port Talbot Council said: ‘The council is unable to comment on individual cases and it would be inappropriate to comment on specific issues.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
