A FURIOUS mum whose 15-year-old daughter has not been to school
for 18 months is considering legal action against education
chiefs.
Elizabeth Bell says her daughter's future has been "ruined" in a
wrangle with education bosses.
Jennifer Bell, who celebrated her 15th birthday yesterday, has not
spent a full day in a classroom since November 2005.
She left Stretford High School after being accused of dealing
cannabis - accusations her mum says were "ludicrous". Jennifer
refused to return to the school "out of embarrassment", although
she was never suspended or excluded.
The local education authority, a Trafford Council department,
instead included her on the roll of Lostock College, in Stretford.
But when that high school refused to allow Jennifer to attend she
was left in limbo.
The family is now looking for a solicitor who can force the
authority to provide Jennifer with another school place. But the
LEA insists she is on a "reintegration" programme with an
"appropriate education support package".
"It's disgraceful," said mum-of-three Elizabeth, 36, who lives in
Sefton Crescent, Sale.
"If it was the other way around, I'd have been prosecuted for not
sending my daughter to school.
"The accusations of dealing cannabis were a load of rubbish, just
ludicrous - she was only 13. But now she's missed vital years of
her education that she'll never get back.
"Lostock College will not let her go there because they say she's a
bully but I don't know how they reached that conclusion and the
headteacher has never even met her.
"The education department has provided her with two hours of
education a week, basically copying from leaflets and textbooks at
a centre for difficult children in Flixton."
Jennifer should be in the first year of her GCSEs, Year 10,
studying to take her exams next year.
Elizabeth added: "I'm so worried about her future. She's not
getting any education in maths, sciences, English, or anything else
and will struggle to find a job eventually.
"She wants to go back to school. It's not just about the education,
it's also her social development."
Chris Pratt, Trafford's children and young people's services boss,
said he could not give detailed information about individual
cases.
But he added: "In this case an appropriate educational support
package has been introduced. It involves a variety of environments
away from the school, with a focus on key curriculum subjects such
as maths and English. While there have been issues along the way,
over recent weeks there has been significant improvements."
He said Jennifer's progress will continue to be monitored with a
commitment to seeing a return to school at the earliest
opportunity.
"The council is committed to supporting pupils and schools where
there are problems that have resulted in lengthy absences and sees
the careful reintroduction to education, initially away from school
itself, as an important element of achieving a successful return,"
he said.
"This return cannot be achieved without the commitment of everyone
concerned, careful monitoring and clear expectations, as well as
regular meetings and discussions between the school, pupil and
parents to assess progress and the timetable for return."
The Department for Education and Skills expects all students to
achieve at least 90 per cent attendance levels. If there is no
genuine reason for absence, education welfare officers can
prosecute parents.
Lostock College declined to comment.