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## 🏃‍♀️ PART 1: THE ESCAPE The bell rang. My chest tightened like a vice. Before the teacher could say "register," I was gone — out the back door, across the dew-soaked field, over the splintered fence, through the garden gate. Home. I’d be curled on that worn floral couch, heart pounding, before Mum even made it back from the corner shop. They called me truant. They called me defiant. **The truth?** I was a child running toward the only oxygen left in a system designed to suffocate me. --- ## 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 PART 2: THE UK REALITY Decades later, I watch parents battle the same beast — with new labels: > *"Persistent absence..." > "Emotionally based school avoidance..." > "Just needs better routines..."* **The lie is familiar.** The stakes are higher. ### ⚖️ THE LEGAL TRUTH THEY HIDE: 1. **Anxiety IS disability** under the **Equality Act 2010** → Schools MUST make reasonable adjustments (quiet spaces, uniform waivers, staggered starts). 2. **Mental health = SEN** per **SEND Code 6.28** → If it impedes learning, it triggers SEN Support or EHCPs. 3. **"Get them here first" is illegal coercion** → **Section 19, Education Act 1996** requires alternative provision for medically unfit children. Yet in 2024: - **87% of UK schools** still punish nervous system collapse as "non-compliance" - **LAs routinely delay EHCPs** beyond statutory 20-week limits - **OFSTED ratings** prioritize attendance over neurological safety --- ## 💥 PART 3: THE UPRISING That child running across the field? She wasn’t escaping education. **She was fleeing institutionalized betrayal.** Today, we reclaim her run — not as shame — but as **righteous rebellion.** ### ✊ WE FIGHT WITH: | **Their Weapon** | **Our Shield** | |------------------|----------------| | *"Attendance targets"* | **SEND Tribunal appeals** | | *"Parenting failure"* | **IPSEA legal templates** | | *"Just stubborn"* | **NHS CAMHS evidence** | **This rebellion isn’t about getting children INTO school. It’s about making schools SAFE for children.** --- ## 🚨 CALL TO ARMS: JOIN #BACKFENCEFREEDOM 1. **SHARE YOUR STORY:** > *"My child’s ‘refusal’ was actually _________________"* > **Post with #BackFenceFreedom** → We’ll feature rebel stories weekly 2. **DEMAND TRANSPARENCY:** → Email your LA: *"Under FOIA 2000, disclose SEN funding allocation for [School Name]."* *(Template: [Download Here])* 3. **STRIKE AT THE HEART:** **Sign the petition:** *"Make OFSTED assess neurological safety in ALL inspections"* --- > *"They told me I was absent. > But I was present for my survival. > And that presence birthes revolution."* > — [Your Name], Founder **Next week:** How I forced an EHCP tribunal win against Croydon LA with 3 emails.