Mother details impact of school’s strict “Positive Discipline” policies on her autistic son, who is no longer attending

The mother of a 14-year-old autistic boy who suffers from chronic migraines has said that the behaviour policy of the academy he attends has left him wetting is bed, being heard talking in his sleep saying “I’m trying my hardest” and has now led to him being signed off school.

Lucas* has only attended school intermittently since Easter last year and is now not going back, his mother says, because its academy trust’s uncompromising “Positive Discipline” policy does not work for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

The teenager racked up 56 negative comments – three of which lead to a detention, and 11 of which to a day in “isolation” – during only 9.5 days in school this term, his mother told me.

Lucas attends Boston Spa Academy, near Leeds. This is part of the Leeds-based Gorse Academies Trust, which is known for its strict approach to managing behaviour.

Lucas’s mother, Sarah,*spoke to Education Uncovered in despair at the impact she feels the “Positive Discipline” policy is having on her son, because, when in school, he accumulates negative discipline points many of which she says are a result of his special educational needs, which then lead into a negative cycle of punishments and missing lessons.