A MOTHER has failed in her bid to force a Kirklees primary school to accept her son with special educational needs as a full-time pupil.
A High Court judge said it would be "detrimental" to his best interests and questioned why the case was ever brought to court.
The challenge - brought by the pre-teen boy's mother - centred on claims that his head teacher and Kirklees Council acted unlawfully in barring him from parts of the school day.
The court was told that the boy - referred to only as S and who cannot be identified - has recognised special educational needs, but has made good progress at his primary school.
He started with limited attendance, but increased to four-and-a-half days a week.
His lawyers challenged the refusal to increase him to full-time status, saying it was unlawful exclusion.
They said it broke his right to a full education under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Mr Justice Sullivan said that, while respecting the mother's views, it seemed "almost lunatic" to force the school to accept S full-time, against the educational judgement of experts.
There was no question of the limited attendance being a "disguised exclusion".
The judge added: "This is not a school which is trying to achieve exclusion by stealth.
"To the contrary, it is trying its very best to ensure that S is integrated at the pace he can best manage into mainstream schooling.
"Although his mother disagrees with the educational judgement of the professionals, there is simply no evidence - apart from her contrary view - to counter the weight of their evidence."
Attending five days a week would only increase pressure on S, possibly leading him to crack under the strain.
"This would be highly detrimental to his educational development," said the judge. "I state as politely as I can to those representing S that it is important . . . to have uppermost in mind at all times the educational needs of this particular child."
