Posted By Messy Shaw Andy Sorry but I cannot offer direct advice, but my son suffers from a mild form of autism and had a few issues during his schooling - many involved bullying, but none involved assaults such as you describe. Obviously the key is a responsive and helpful school management. However since the introduction of various league tables, many heads seem to have lost sight of the needs of the child and seem to focus more on achieving the highest possible position on the tables. One thought did cross my mind is that there are numerous excellent support networks and charities out there that can offer impatial advice of such matters. Google may be the best tool to find what you may need. We found the Nation Autistic Society were a very useful source for us, as were Afasic (which deal with those with communication difficulties). Their website has contact details and a discussion forum. http://www.afasic.org.uk/ I wish you all the best as I am aware of the stress involved when living through these sort of problems. Good luck

Posted By AHS Heartfelt sympathies speak to a good lawyer its ironic that this post appears after I was lambasted about supervision being inadequate in some schools.

Posted By Alan Haynes Try talking to the Head of Governors - that may galvanise the school head into doing something.. If that doesn't work - talk to the Council member with responsibility for school;s

Posted By Steve IOM Andy Sounds desperate for you. You did'nt say age of child! As I see it you have two choices: (1) see solicitor and inform school that it is failing to keep your child reasonably safe from harm, and write to them; (2) move to a safer school; Document the injuries, photographs, trip to doctors etc. Document the visits to school, keep copies of letter and e-mails. Any promises the school makes, write to confirm the meeting/promises etc. When one of my own sons was having a hard time the school itself had policies and kind words but in the end did not do enough. Things got so bad I went up one day, went to see the Head teacher and got my kid and walked out, next day I had him in another school and never looked back. Because the kids involved were bang on the age of when criminal charges could be brought, I went to see the parents and said any more and I'll go to the Police and give statements and it stopped. Ironic, but about 5 years later, my son was a big strapping lad and bumped into the little sh** that had caused him most of the problems and he sorted his deamons out himself. Best wishes, it's one of the harder things to get through as a parent.

Posted By Robert K Lewis Andy Unfortunately there is more going on here that you do not know about and as a sceptic I think you may find the governers closing ranks around the Head. My best solution is to talk to your local MP asap. The fact that they managed to resolve matters and then had a problem as soon as they stopped almost means that they really do not know what to do and are hoping it will go away. One area as yet unexplored has been the HSE use of Section 3. The education of youngsters is after all the business of a school and it must meet section 3. This is where many of the supervision prosecutions have arisen and perhaps there is a need to have an anonymous discussion with the local area office. The problem here is that low level assaults can rapidly and suddenly escal;ate without warning. One should also not forget the role of OFSTED Inspectors in all of this either. Quite frankly this head does not seem to realise the risks he is exposing the school to in not taking effective action. Bob

Posted By Sally It is not necessarily inaction on the part of the Head Teacher or the school/ authority not wanting to do anything. We have this type of provision within our local area and have children who even with 1 to 1 or sometimes 2 to 1 supervision can manage to injure themselves, staff and other children. Measures can be taken to reduce incidents but with many children with Additional Support Needs serious enough to be in special school the only way to guarantee they can't injure themselves and others would be to shut them in a padded room on their own - obviously not an acceptable solution. You should be looking for the Head to tell you what measure they are putting place to protect your child but there can be no promises due to the nature of the school - it is very different from a mainstream provision.

Posted By Ian Blenkharn Contact Ofsted or the CQC, whichever if most appropriate for the particular establishment. The regulator is there to ensure the highest standards. Where necessary specific additional inspections or investigations can be made as part of a case investigation, with recommendations for improvement and a rigorous follow-up to make sure that whatever is required actually happens. In extremis, they can put an establishment under special measures and/or close it down if there are serious deficiencies and the welfare or well-being of individuals is at risk. They are the experts, and will act upon your documented concerns. Ask the Head for details of the appropriate regulator - they are obliged to give you full details - and take it from there.