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We adopted two children in 2012 and like all adopters had been through the training and done some homework. The older child who is not 11 has had no issues and she is doing very well generally and at school. The lad who is two years younger was and is a different issue - he was boisterous when we first met him but that's no bad thing for a wee four year old. Nursery school couldn't handle his behaviour and as he entered school they worked with us to obtain a statement for almost full time support. So far so good as a novice adopter, the system was reacting to the problem with our child and was putting in place support albeit CAMHS shrugged any involvement away as it appeared that his issues were down to attachment problems although this remained undiagnosed. His behaviour was disruptive and could blend into tantrums which could involve him lashing out and hitting other children and teachers and this was recorded in the very earliest Behavioural Support Services reports. This pretty much went on like that for four years with the family seeing improvements in behaviour at home but the school not so much. And then there was a change in head teacher and suddenly there was not enough money to do all the support. A temporary exclusion followed for exactly the same behaviours they had been working on for four years. And then from nowhere, just as the lad started play therapy (pursued and arranged by the family), the head teacher permanently excluded the lad without any meetings or consultation with the family, the professionals or the SEN Manager. Gone. Into a Pupil Referral Unit which is as near to a prison as a 9 year old child will get. And the system agree that this is right despite the DfE Guidelines. At least it is so far with the Governors appeal and the IRP having ruled against the family! So that is the background - the reason for the post is just to try and make some points that hopefully adopters will bear in mind. Despite being told to nail down agreed support in the Adoption Plan we didn't - it isn't of course easy when an issue is not present at the time of the adoption but you cannot go back for another go - if you have any concerns then get something agreed for future support Don't leave things with the school - they will assure you about how professional and competent they are but as in our case they have the ability to throw the child out which we cannot. You have to hold them to task at all times and if SEND with a statement then take the annual reviews very seriously The protections that you believe your child may have in terms of the school continuing to teach them are misleading. It is not unusual for adopted children to have attachment issues resulting in disruptive behaviour and anger which can involve hitting other children. The school can remove your child pretty easily using exactly those criteria as reasons for permanent exclusion and indeed if your child has been hitting other children then they also can lose the protection of Equality Act 2010 if this is included as a reason for exclusion as protection for this is excluded under the Act. We worked very honestly with the school and had great trust - this should still be something to aim for but incidents that are alleged to have happened should be properly recorded and investigated The school finally accepted that they didn't have the resource to cope so this should be very high on the agenda at review meetings and like it or not a planned, managed move should then be arranged as this has to be much preferable to an ejection without notice. (by the way although the school stated that lack of resource was a reason for exclusion in their Governors Appeal decision the Independent Review Panel upheld the decision to exclude despite the fact that it is unlawful to exclude a child because you have insufficient resource!). This is an ongoing issue with our family - I would be keen to share any experiences along these lines that other adopters may have had as I feel that this is being abused by head teachers as they know that there is little that can be done to them (the rules mean that they cannot be forced to reinstate). I am complaining to the Minister of State for Vulnerable Children and Families as a next step. Hawthorn