The mother of Sarah Taylor, 13, accused of aggressive behaviour towards her teachers, has agreed to take her daughter out of school after weeks of dispute during which staff threatened to strike.
Jacqueline Taylor has decided it is not in Sarah’s best interests to stay at the Ridings School in Halifax, West Yorkshire.
Headteacher Karen Stansfield permanently excluded Sarah Taylor at the end of last term, a decision supported by governors but overturned by Calderdale council’s exclusions sub-committee as inappropriate.
The governors appealed against the decision, which was rejected by an independent appeals panel, which meant Sarah would return to school.
Earlier this week, Mrs Taylor took her daughter to school only to walk out after a meeting with LEA representatives.
Mrs Taylor, 33, of Ovenden, Halifax, said the school had insisted Sarah was taught only on a one-to-one basis, with constant supervision.
She added: “Staff threatened to go out on strike if she wandered out of the room. There is no way I am going to put my child through that.”
The chair of governors, the Rev Stan Brown, has called for a review of the whole exclusions procedure, saying that the ultimate responsibility should be left with the governors.
He said there were too many stages in the process and added: “I don’t believe there should be grounds for appeal against a decision made by governors simply because there is a disagreement.
“An appeal should be made if, for example, not all the evidence or facts have been revealed or there has been some kind of gross misconduct in the procedure. ”
