Mum’s despair after son left without school place
BOY WITH SPECIAL NEEDS ‘LET DOWN’
A MUM has spoken of her frustration after her son was deemed not “special needs enough” for a special school and “too special needs” for a mainstream school – leaving him without a place.
Maria Coward, of west Hull, is facing the prospect of homeschooling her five-year-old son after she says Hull City Council has “failed” to find a school place for him.
Her son Blake, who has the mental age of an 18 to 24-month-old is still in nappies, cannot talk, has complex special needs and requires two carers at school, yet he was turned down by a Hull special school because he “operates at levels above the current cohort of pupils attending”.
However, several mainstream schools have rejected him, too, because they do not have the correct SEN provision for his needs.
“My question is, if he isn’t special needs enough for a special school, and mainstream say he is too special needs for them, then where does Blake go?” Said Ms Coward.
The mum-of-one said she does not blame the schools, and places the blame firmly with Hull City Council after what she describes as a failure of the SEN team.
She said: “The council’s SEN department have let my son down massively. I’m raging at the council.
“This [an email in October which confirmed there was still no place for Blake] is the first I have heard from them since August.
“The schools have been sent the ECHP and they can’t look after him. It’s none of these schools’ fault.
“It’s really quite heartbreaking, I felt like my son was rejected, it’s really hard. I’ve been really upset, but now I’m angry.
“What do I do? I can’t find a school. I’m getting nowhere. What is it they are doing? They have failed my child.”
Ms Coward is still waiting for Blake’s autism assessment, despite being on the waiting list for 18 months, but Blake has a complex Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in place.
Since the age of nine months old he has attended Cherubs Nursery in west Hull, and was due to have a phased plan to go from nursery to a school between September and December this year.
But with no school place, Ms Coward said she will now need to homeschool her son, but says she does not feel equipped to do so.
She added: “I’m not equipped to teach my child, I’m equipped to be his mam.
“Blake is used to nursery life, when he goes to Cherub he knows their routine and when he’s home that’s a different routine, so if I bring education in at home, it will confuse him.”
A spokesperson for Hull City Council said: “We are currently discussing the options for Blake with his parents so that we can achieve an outcome which best suits his needs.”