Parents of child with non-verbal autism ‘kept in dark’ by Highland Council after incident which resulted in staff suspension

Parents of a child with autism have hit out after being denied any details of an “incident” involving their daughter over which a member of staff has been suspended and is currently under investigation.

Lauren and Sean Selkirk, parents of five-year-old Ayla – a non-verbal child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who attends primary school in Inverness - are calling for answers after Highland Council education officers shut down requests for details of the incident which took place in the middle of January.

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Ms Selkirk, mum to two non-verbal children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who both require a high level of care, says she feels “distressed” and “lost” after repeated attempts to find out what happened.

Non-verbal autism is a form of autism that involves limited or no use of spoken language, meaning Ayla cannot tell them what happened herself.

Ms Selkirk says the first she knew of anything was on January 27 – a week after the “incident” - when the school’s headteacher contacted her to advise that a staff member had been suspended and was now under investigation.

While she assured her that her daughter “hadn’t come to any harm” and was safe, Ms Selkirk says she remains in the dark about what actually took place.

She has no information either on whether the suspended member of staff is a teacher or member of support staff at the school.

“Social work deemed that my child was safe, and police didn't need to get involved,” she explained. “So, they didn't get involved any further and were happy for Highland Council to investigate.

“But hearing all of this was obviously very distressing. Ayla is only five years old, so after finding out that social workers had to be involved and a member of staff had been removed, you automatically think the worst.

“I went in to the school the following day but their hands were tied, and they couldn't tell me anything other than it was to do with policies and protocols.

“I then had a phone call with one of the the council’s area educational managers who told me that because it was a pending investigation they couldn't tell me anything as they must protect teacher confidentiality.”

Ms Selkirk was also told that even after the council’s investigation was complete, she may still not have the right to know.

She said: “The name of the member of staff who has been suspended is completely irrelevant to me at this stage, all I am asking to find out is what exactly my child has been involved in, and what the severity of the incident was.

“But they won’t budge and refuse to tell me anything more.”

And she added: “We have never had the luxury of Ayla being able to come home and tell us anything about her day.

“We rely heavily on the staff to communicate fully with us so we know what has been going on and how her day has been.

“We feel that Highland Council has totally disregarded their duty of care towards my child, and our family.

“They have also completely disregarded the Equality Act 2010 by withholding information from us and refusing to be transparent, preventing us from being able to advocate properly for our daughter who isn't able to do that for herself.

“Having a child with additional needs comes with a lot of emotions at the best of times, however, this past week we have really struggled to keep our daughter in her usual routine that she thrives from, going to school, and we have had to try to keep this normal for her.

“The whole situation has left us feeling devastated. Our child is vulnerable and this is the last thing we ever expected to hear.

“No parent should ever be told that they do not have the rights to know exactly what has happened with their child.

“But as parents, until we know the full story, we are obviously extremely concerned.”

The Inverness Courier knows the school involved, but Ms Selkirk has asked us not to identify it.

A council spokesperson said: “The council does not comment on staffing matters.”

Highland Council has been approached for further comment on policy relating to disclosure of child protection cases to parents.

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