Crewe couple angry as disabled son excluded from school trip

A couple from Crewe believe their son was excluded from his year six school trip because it was not disability-friendly enough for him.

Archie Harrop, 11, has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.

His classmates all went on a trip to the Lake District organised by Mablins Lane community primary school in Crewe.

The school said it was aware of accommodating all pupils but had to make "reasonable adjustments" to enable them to "participate fully and safely".

As a result, Archie's mum Jo said she was told the trip wasn't accessible enough for him, and he wouldn't be able to take part in activities.

Mrs Harrop said when she received the letter she was "absolutely gobsmacked and "couldn't believe that they'd done it to us, to him".

Archie's parents said they fought for him to be able to attend the trip, and even suggested they would provide transport and accommodation for him, so he could be included.

But they said the school would not change its mind.

Kathryn Stringer, chair of the school's board of governors, said: "[The school] is clear about the need to actively support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities to take part in school trips and not prevent them from doing so.

"In all cases we consider what reasonable adjustments are needed."

Archie was disappointed to miss out on a trip and said the school had taken the "easy way out" and "could have let my parents go with me, you know, they could have helped out".

When the trip went ahead last month, Archie's mum took him on days out, so he wasn't sat in school by himself.

A social media post his dad James had put up attracted more than 800 comments from around the world.

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