MOTHER SEEKS FOR HER CHILD WITH AUTISM TO BE HOMESCHOOLED BEFORE BEING ENROLLED IN A SCHOOL IN MELBOURNE
Hackley & Taggett (No 2) [2021] FCCA 849 (25 March 2021)
This is an interim parenting proceeding where the mother seeks that the child, who is ought to repeat year 6, be homeschooled in order to get ready for his year 7 in another school.
Facts:
The dispute concerns the education of the parents' child, X (‘the child’), who is 12 years old.
The child lives with his mother, Ms Hackley (‘the Mother’), who is 53 years old. The parties never resided together or cohabited as man and wife in a de facto marriage or legal marriage relationship, but they spent some time together. That was an acrimonious relationship. The relationship would appear to have ceased in March 2011.
The educational dispute between the parties is unusual. There is not really a dispute between the parents as to the secondary school that the child will ultimately attend. It is clear that H School, a suburban, state-funded secondary school in Melbourne, has good support structures for a child with autism spectrum diagnosis. The child has been diagnosed with that diagnosis.
The dispute today comes down to whether the child should remain being homeschooled by his Mother before progressing to year 7 in 2022 at the agreed school.
The family consultant observed that the child is vulnerable due to his diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and his parents hold differing views on how he should be supported.
During 2020, because of the COVID-19 catastrophe that befell the world, the child was not being schooled for the bulk of that year at school, but rather by distance education and, predominantly, in his Mother's home and by his Mother. It is clear that as at August 2020 there was on foot an agreement that the child would attend H School in 2021 and the Father alleges, and it is not contested, that in September 2020 the child's Mother made the necessary enrolments for that to occur.
However, on 20 October 2020, an occupational therapist who had previously been involved with the child and face to face in the 2019 year, opined in writing and recommended that the child continued to be homeschooled by the Mother, allowing the child to repeat grade 6 at home and set out some reasons.
The occupational therapist's opinion as to the circumstances of the school, which included that he could not repeat grade 6 at his existing school, can only have come entirely from information from the Mother. On 26 October 2020 the child’s treating psychologist, Ms F, also set out a report that made recommendations to a similar effect to the occupational therapist.
Issue: Should the child remain being homeschooled by his Mother before progressing to year 7 in 2022 at the agreed school?
Analysis:
The observations of the school also appear to be discordant with the observations of consistent and persistent bullying that was referred to by the psychologist.
The Mother's position is that the child was not ready for school and that she is supported in this by the observations of the child’s therapists.
In this matter, the court place some weight upon the psychologist’s opinion and the occupational therapist’s opinion that the child has an immaturity for his age and was not ready for year 7.
She is concerned that to immerse the child in the chosen secondary school at this point in time without the transition period runs a real risk of setting the child up to fail. The other risk recognized and grasped is the lack of socialization for the child solely in the home of his Mother without contact with his Father's household and his siblings and without contact with colleagues at school.
The court is concerned that the child's emotional development or emotional preparedness for school in year 7 at a new school with a new bunch of peers is as good as it can be. The court is not concerned that the child would not have been ready academically
The Mother's plan for a gradual introduction of the child to the school over many months and weeks appears to be a good one and, hence, for all of those reasons, the court intends to give the parents the chance to get and, in particular, the Mother the chance to get that together.
Conclusion: The court orders for the parents to do all acts and thing to cause the child, X born in 2009 (the child), to continue with home school while repeating year 6 and getting ready for year 7 at H School.
