The parents of Portadown boy Mikey Byrne took a number of complaints about the school to the independent Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal, which last week decided to uphold one of the complaints.

Ten-year-old Mikey Byrne, who lives in Killicomaine, has been a pupil at the school since 2005.

The tribunal upheld one of five complaints made by Mikey's parents, Tony and Helen Byrne, and also ordered the school to include in its staff training the issue of different treatment of pupils with regard to unlawful discrimination.

Dr and Mrs Byrne took the action against the school because they believed their son was being excluded from activities and the general life of the school, due to his autism.

The complaint upheld by the tribunal related to a trip to the cinema in December 2006, which Mikey was not allowed to attend. Said Mrs Byrne, "All the pupils in P4-P7 were going to see Happy Feet but Mikey didn't get to go, even though he was in P5. Mikey loves going to the cinema.

"Instead, Mikey and his Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) class were told they would be watching a magician in the school with the P1 to P3 classes."

The Byrnes argued that a distinction was made between children with a disability and those with no disability, and they disputed the school's explanation that a trip to the cinema could expose Mikey to flashing lights, which could induce an epileptic fit.

In oral evidence to the tribunal, Edenderry principal Stephen Doyle also said the main reason Mikey did not attend the cinema trip was because his class as a whole was not going, and there was a limited number of seats on the coach.

The tribunal found that Mikey was treated "less favourably than other pupils of a similar age who were not subject to a disability, that such treatment was directly related to his disability and that such treatment amounts to unlawful discrimination".

It added that the school's decision to exclude Mikey from the cinema trip because of epilepsy was unjustified, and that at no stage did the school ask how any attendance at the cinema would affect Mikey.
Mrs Byrne, a mother-of-five, said, "Mikey has a lot of problems but one of the skills he does have is that he can make a choice. Going to the cinema is one of his favourite things."

opportunity

Mr and Mrs Byrne also made four other complaints, which were not upheld by the tribunal. One of them concerned a separate playground for the autistic pupils. Said Mrs Byrne, "It was a very small area and it separated Mikey from other children who were not disabled, so he had no opportunity to integrate with them.

"I wrote to the school's Board of Governors and told them that Mikey was perfectly capable of being in the main playground, especially as he had the one-to-one help of a classroom assistant."

The tribunal upheld the school's submission that it thought it was best to carry out a phased process of integration to social areas such as the playground, beginning in a secure play area, and that the process was always intended as a first step towards full integration into the playground.

Mr Doyle confirmed that the separate play area no longer exists and that it was used at Mikey's stage because the school was providing for a group of children with severe needs, which was a new area for the school.

activities

The other complaints, which were not upheld by the tribunal, included Mikey having to take his lunch in the canteen at a separate table to those of non-disabled children, and not being allowed to take part in activities, such as music and PE, with mainstream pupils.

The tribunal upheld the cinema complaint, but concluded that Mikey was not "unlawfully discriminated against generally and on a continuing basis by a policy or process of failure to integrate and include".

This is not the first dispute the Byrnes have had with the school over Mikey. In a separate issue last May, the Byrnes were informed by Edenderry Primary School that there would no longer be a place for Mikey that September. However, the Southern Education and Library Board (SELB) overruled the school's decision and instructed that Mikey should be allowed to continue his schooling there, as a pupil in the Learning Support Class.
Said Mrs Byrne, "I want parents of children with disabilities to realise that their children have the right to be treated the same as other 'normal' children.
"Mikey is very happy at school. He knows I am nearby and he is in the routine of going. He goes back to school on Monday for his final year at Edenderry and as parents we hope that the principal and Board of Governors will do everything to meet Mikey's needs, to make sure he is included as part of the school and to make this year is a happy one for him."
committed
Principal Stephen Doyle told the Portadown Times this week that Edenderry Primary School and its staff are fully committed to the integration and social inclusion of all pupils, including those with special educational needs.
He added, "As a consequence, we welcome the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal's conclusions and acknowledgement of the efforts made by the school to make reasonable and appropriate adjustment when a pupil has special educational needs."