Update on on how tge system is failing

I need people to understand what is currently being proposed for my eight-year-old Year 2 granddaughter at Berrinba East State School.

Following her suspension and proposed exclusion, I have now been told that she is to be placed in a Year 3/4 composite class made up entirely of boys. Some of the children in that class are children she has previously identified as bullying her.

We specifically raised that we did not consider this classroom safe or suitable for her. Despite that, I was told the placement came from “higher up” and was non-negotiable.

How is that meaningful consultation?

How is placing a vulnerable Year 2 child with older students she already associates with bullying supposed to support her emotional wellbeing, social development or successful return to school?

I have asked for answers, including:

 

- Who directed the placement?

- What evidence and risk assessment support it?

- Why was placement with her Year 2 and similar-aged peers rejected?

- Were her previous bullying reports reviewed?

- Was she consulted in a way she could understand?

- Who will be her familiar and trusted adult?

- How will she safely leave an escalating environment?

- What adjustments and teacher-aide support will be available?

- How will she maintain age-appropriate friendships and contact with other girls?

- Will she still receive and be assessed against the Year 2 curriculum?

- What alternatives were considered?

Instead of receiving these answers, I feel pressured to choose between accepting a placement that I reasonably believe carries known risks or moving her to another school.

That is not collaboration. That is an ultimatum.

I am not refusing my granddaughter an education. I am asking for a safe, age-appropriate and properly supported education that takes account of her disability, trauma history, learning needs, known triggers and wellbeing—not only how the school wants to manage her behaviour.

I also need complete written information and reasonable time to process it before making such an important decision. Asking questions and needing time to understand the answers must not be portrayed as refusing to cooperate.

For the record, changing schools will not make the outstanding concerns disappear. A transfer will not mean that I accept how this has been handled or that my complaints are withdrawn. I will continue using the proper complaint and review processes until these matters are genuinely examined and answered.

This is my account of what I have been told and the concerns I have formally raised in writing. This is not about conflict for the sake of it. It is about accountability and making sure that vulnerable children are supported rather than treated as problems to be moved around.

Our children deserve genuine inclusion—not predetermined, non-negotiable decisions made without them.

 

#InclusiveEducation #DisabilityInclusion #StudentWellbeing #ReasonableAdjustments #EveryChildMatters