Class standoff

By Shaun Inguanzo
AN ANGRY mother is accusing a Dandenong specialist school of pressuring her to enrol her son elsewhere because it refused to upgrade security fencing when the boy escaped from the school’s grounds.
But Emerson School in Dandenong denies the claim and says it wants six-year-old Ben Ouwehand, who suffers from Down’s syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and verbal dyspraxia, to return as soon as possible after a safety audit showed its fencing and gates were adequate.
Ben’s mother Jo-Anne Sherwin pulled him out of Emerson School in late August during his first year of school after the six-year-old escaped from the grounds and wandered towards the busy Heatherton Road with what Ms Sherwin called ‘little road sense’.
Ms Sherwin told the Star this week that she would not send Ben back until the school improves its safety.
She said the incident was the ‘final straw’ after several escape reports.
Ben has now been away from school for eight weeks and the issue remains unresolved.
After a series of letters between the school and Ms Sherwin, she said the school told her that a safety audit showed the gates and fencing were adequate for keeping children inside the school grounds.
But Ms Sherwin disagreed.
“Well they’re not sufficient for Ben,” Ms Sherwin said.
“He’s got out and if they are sufficient, then it must be the teachers who have allowed him to get out.
“Not on purpose, of course. But along the line, something is not working.”
Ms Sherwin said the school’s reluctance to improve security was making life difficult for her and she believed it was a way of pressuring her to enrol Ben elsewhere.
“He has no road sense,” she said.
“Sure, I’ve chosen to (keep him home) but what sort of choice is it?
“I have chosen to keep my child safe because the school won’t.”
Ms Sherwin said her application to the school council was rejected which lead her to further speculate that the school did not want either her or Ben to be part of it.
Ms Sherwin has since enlisted the help of anti-discrimination expert Julie Phillips and is seeking advice from the Association for Children With a Disability.
She is adamant that the school must improve its safety before she allows Ben to return.
School principal John Mooney replied to Ms Sherwin’s concerns in a statement to the Star this week.
“While, for privacy reasons, I cannot go into the specific details, I can reassure the student’s family, and the whole school community, that the student’s teachers, support staff, myself and the (Department of Education) region have worked very closely with the student and his family to provide the very best education in a safe, supportive and caring environment,” Mr Mooney said.
“It is our view that the student has made progress this year and we encourage his return to school.
“As a specialist school we are very aware of the needs of children with special needs and, in this case, the student’s teacher has skills in communication systems.
“To reassure the family, we recently commissioned an audit of the school’s fencing, which was found to be safe.”