A mum claims that her daughter is being punished for her mental health issues after she was banned from her school prom by education bosses.
Angela Downes' daughter Holly-Jo Memory has been diagnosed with mixed anxiety and depressive disorder, emotional dysregulation and a history of trauma. She takes medication for all three and has attended cognitive behavioural therapy for help with her issues.
But her school, Noel-Baker Academy, says that the 16-year-old does not deserve the "reward and privilege" of attending her prom on June 24. Speaking to Derbyshire Live, Angela said her daughter had been "discriminated against" for feeling unable to cope with going to school.
She said: "I think prom is a major part of ending school life. It's the ending of one chapter and the beginning of another one. Every child should have that entitlement whether their behaviour has been wrong or right. If I'd been given genuine reasons, I'd accept it and work with it."
Over the last two years, Holly has struggled with her attendance and behaviour at school, which has led to her being suspended two times. But Angela says the school is failing in its duty of care because it is not considering Holly-Jo's own feelings when staff are, for example, seeking to carry out searches on pupils.
She added: "I'm not saying she's not capable of effing and jeffing but there's always a reason behind these outbursts. I have been called into school probably three times a day for the past six months. It's been dreadful. They can't cope with her but they're not managing her at all. I've been called and asked to come and do their jobs for them."
Angela had already bought the ticket, which she has now had refunded, and admits she was aware that the threat of being banned from the prom had loomed for some time. Despite working with her daughter to improve her attendance and behaviour, she says the youngster "just couldn't do it".
She continued: "She's not there long enough to achieve any positive points because she's always either coming home or she just doesn't get out of bed because she can't face going in. I end up emailing the school to tell them she's not well.
"I'm a reasonable person, I'm a youth worker, and I understand both sides of the fence. But it's her mental health that has led to these problems. Barring her might just send her over the edge.
"I'm just totally angry about the whole way my daughter's been treated throughout this school. I'm strong-willed. I will shout this from the rooftops. This is like the final nail in the coffin."
A spokesperson for Noel-Baker Academy, in Alvaston, said: "At Noel-Baker Academy we respect, encourage, nurture and push students to be the very best they can be. This means we set high expectations across all aspects of school life, not just our proms, and we expect our students to follow these expectations.
"Our end-of-Year-11 prom is a reward and a privilege. We do our very best to help our students to attend and provide additional support for those students who require it. Staff look forward to welcoming our Year 11 students to the prom, however, we do not comment on individual circumstances."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - sign up to our daily newsletter here.
