[SIZE=7]Parents Of Boy, 12, expelled for ‘pushing teachers to the limit’ Want Answers…[/SIZE]
A boy has been forced to spend the last year at home after being expelled from school. Riley Roberts, 12, was kicked out of school back in October 2021 for ‘pushing teachers to the limit’ which led to several warnings and exclusions.
But Riley’s mum and stepdad have been quick to defend their son, claiming that the behaviour is a result of a lack of one-to-one support in the classroom. Step-dad Dan Walker, 31, says Riley is a “troubled child” and needs to be around people his own age to correct his immaturity.
Both Dan and his mum Katey Cowans, 31, were told that alternative education would be arranged for him within two weeks, but they are still waiting a year on. Dan told StokeonTrentLive: “He was always wanting attention and pushing teachers to the limit. They couldn’t handle him. My partner was constantly called in to talk about his behaviour.
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Riley Roberts with a football in a Liverpool kit outside his Stoke-On-Trent home© Pete Stonier / Stoke Sentinel
“Their answer appeared to be to always exclude him - and that didn’t help his behaviour.” Although Riley was tested and concluded not to have ADHD after he left Haywood Academy, in Stoke-on-Trent, Dan believes that mainstream schooling wasn’t accommodating enough to his needs.
“I have always said that he needs one-to-one work and a special school," he said. "It’s a joke and this should have been dealt with by now but no one is doing anything. There should have been a school board review where we sat down and talked about what’s best for Riley. This should have been done last year when he was expelled.”
Dan, from Burslem in Stoke-on-Trent, added: “I am convinced that he has got something. I’ve been giving him work at home and sometimes he kicks off, he is a troubled child. We waited eight months for a tutor to come out and they only spend an hour a day with him which is pointless. He is very immature and needs to be around people his age. He is not growing up as he is spending a lot of time with his younger brother.
“He needs to go back to school and be around people again. If he puts his head to it then he can do it. They can fine me for keeping him off school for a week - but they can keep him off for a year. I think it’s disgusting.
“He is always fidgeting and never sitting down in class. He needs to be in another place where it is more one-to-one with him. He struggles to understand so if you give him something to read he can’t understand it. They keep palming him off in mainstream schools.”
Haywood Academy has defended its decision. A school spokesman said: "We can confirm that, in the few weeks that this young person was physically on-site at the academy, all agencies and support services were engaged with which far exceeded the limits of the support plan that accompanied him.
“There are no records of parents not being satisfied by the extensive support offered to this young person. Indeed since the final incident which led to the young person no longer being able to attend, academy staff have remained in contact with the family and the agencies to support further.”
