Daniel: Expelled three times by age six

By Fran Abrams
BBC Radio 4's File On 4

Daniel Cowans is the picture of a normal, contented child. But the six year-old has been labelled as one of Britain's most difficult pupils after being excluded from three schools in his first two years of education.

Daniel was formally suspended twice before his fifth birthday. According to his mother he spent more time out of school than in class.

His teachers accused him of throwing tantrums of such ferocity that they could not contain him. He punched, kicked and spat, they said, and on more than one occasion he left staff with cuts or bruises.

Now Daniel is taught on his own in a special unit with two full-time staff to control him.

From September his local authority will send him 150 miles from home to a residential special school in Cumbria with fees of up to £94,000 a year.

'Over-reaction'

Daniel's case is just one of several uncovered by a File on 4 investigation to be broadcast on BBC Radio Four this week. The programme will reveal massive failings in the system which is meant to deal with unmanageable pupils.

I really don't know what the future holds for him - it's very worrying Sharon Cowans

Daniel's mother, Sharon Cowans, admitted he was a difficult child but said his daily outbursts were just an extension of the "terrible twos".

"Something seems to trigger him off. He'll be sitting playing nicely and all of a sudden there's a full blown temper tantrum. You can't calm him down - there's just nothing to be done. You've got to restrain him. Then he's forgotten five minutes later and he's happy again," she said.

Mrs Cowans said Daniel's teachers over-reacted to his bad behaviour, and she accused North Tyneside Council of failing to provide an adequate education for him.

Between Christmas and Easter this year he received just one hour a day of home tuition, and there were periods stretching into many weeks when he was not educated at all. After two years, Daniel could only just write his name.

"It's all wrong," she said. "It was a big transition for him going to school, and they should have got him in gradually. He should have stayed in school with a special needs teacher.

"With being out of school, learning to read went out of the window. His home tuition was more play than lessons and he hasn't had the national curriculum at all.

"I told them he needed a school, but they said there no special needs places for children Daniel's age. I really don't know what the future holds for him - it's very worrying."

We are confident Daniel can make progress but we need to ensure it is made in an environment that is safe for him and everyone else John Scott Education officer

John Scott, Assistant Chief Education Officer for North Tyneside, admitted an hour a day of home tuition had not been adequate to meet Daniel's needs. But he insisted the council had done all it could.

Daniel had been moved from three different schools but his formal exclusions had all been temporary rather than permanent, he insisted.

"We want to ensure he can catch up the schooling he has missed. We would never say it was good enough for pupils not to reach the potential they are capable of," he said.

"We are confident Daniel can make progress but we need to ensure it is made in an environment that is safe for him and everyone else.

"The provision we are moving to now is quite costly but the important thing is it is going to be appropriate to meet his needs."

Common problem

The BBC's File on 4 programme discovered thousands of children all over the country were missing long periods of school after being excluded, despite new regulations introduced last September requiring local authorities to provide them with a full-time education.

Last year 220 children aged between four and six were permanently excluded from school.

The Chief Inspector of Schools, David Bell, told File on 4 cases like Daniel's were becoming increasingly common.

"We are seeing more signs of poor behaviour in schools at an early age. This is not to suggest youngsters are running riot, but we do know in extreme cases some youngsters behave badly at an earlier age."

Despite their problems these children must be provided with full-time education, he added. Local authorities which failed to do so were not fulfilling their duties.

"I think it would be very worrying if we weren't able to provide appropriate support for a very young child. Unless we sort that out the prospects for that child don't look particularly encouraging in the years ahead."

Mr Bell told the programme a fifth of local authorities inspected during the last school year were failing to provide these youngsters with the 25 hours a week of lessons now required.

These councils were being asked to address the issue as a matter of urgency, he said.

File on 4 will be broadcast on Tuesday July 15 at 8pm on BBC Radio Four.