Boy banned from Christmas play

Lee was left out of several school activities

A disabled pupil who was excluded from his primary school's Christmas play was unlawfully discriminated against, a tribunal has ruled.

Lee Buniak, six, was also not allowed to make a Christmas card at Jenny Hammond Primary in Leytonstone, east London.

He was the only child not allowed to go on a school trip and was not asked to be on the class photograph.

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal ruled the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act was broken and ordered a written apology.

The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) said it was a "heartbreaking" case and accused the school of forcing Lee to lose a year's education by failing to provide the support to which he was entitled.

It was a year of trauma for Lee - he couldn't understand why he wasn't allowed to join in Helen Buniak, mother

His mother, Helen Buniak, told the tribunal that he was the only child in his class not to go on a trip to the Bethnal Green Museum in March.

His disability meant he had no sense of danger and was a risk to himself and others unless properly supervised.

He also had speech and co-ordination problems and the school had extra cash to provide him with a full-time qualified assistant in class.

But the tribunal's ruling, published on Monday, said the school failed in its legal duty to provide a suitably qualified assistant.

His mother, at one stage, was forced to do the job herself every day for a month in the summer of 2002.

Between January and February this year he was left out of activities such as assemblies and cake making.

'Substantial disadvantage'

Mrs Buniak said: "It was a year of trauma for Lee. Not being in the school Christmas play was the lowest point.

"Before he started at school he was happy and chatty, but he became upset and frustrated because of the lack of support.

"He couldn't understand why he wasn't allowed to join in."

Making its ruling, the tribunal, chaired by Judith Allright, said: "We consider that some of the incidents were so blatant as to be a substantial disadvantage in their own right, but also that collectively they amount to Lee being placed at a substantial disadvantage."

'Lessons to be learned'

The school has been ordered to apologise in writing to Lee and his mother and to put all its staff through "disability equality training" by next April.

It must also revise its policy on disabled pupils by the beginning of next February.

Sally Labern, the school's chair of governors, said in a statement: "The governing body of Jenny Hammond Primary School is in the process of a sensitive, internal investigation and as such cannot make detailed comments at this time.

"However, as chair of the governing body, it is already clear to me that there are lessons to be learned."

She added she had written to Mrs Buniak and that the school would be making changes.

But Lee now attends another school, where he has a major role in its school play.