Parents in legal bid over son’s education
MUM SAYS STRUGGLING JACK NOW THREE YEARS BEHIND PUPILS HIS AGE
THE parents of a poorly six-year-old who is failing in school are frightened for his future.
Jack Preston is far behind his classmates at Eastfield Primary School, in Thurmaston, and his parents have been desperately trying to get him into special needs education.
However, despite Jack’s various physical and learning problems, he has never been diagnosed with any condition and his parents said he was at risk of getting no education at all.
His mother, Victoria Smilyk, 36, said Jack’s behaviour problems were making him unsuitable for his current school and yet she was repeatedly being told he was not a suitable pupil for special needs education.
She said the behavioural and learning problems followed years of worry about Jack’s developmental issues.
She said: “When I gave birth it was quite apparent something wasn’t right and we spent the first year in and out of Leicester Royal Infirmary with problems.
“He’s immune compromised and has respiratory problems – as a baby he was inconsolable, he wouldn’t sleep. I already had a daughter and I’d managed a day nursery so I knew it was something out of the ordinary.
“Just before Jack’s first birthday his dad, Dom, and I took him to specialists at Sheffield and they agreed there was obviously something wrong.
“They did blood tests, an MRI and genetic testing but they could find nothing they were looking for. They said he must have condition that’s not known about yet.
“Six years later, we’re still waiting for a diagnosis.”
Jack has a number of medical issues, including problems with swallowing and his digestive system.
Meanwhile, at school he is isolated, not mixing with his classmates
and still struggling to learn the basics.
Jack, who didn’t speak until he was three and suffered extreme separation anxiety, went to the special needs playgroup in Birstall after an NHS referral.
But that did not automatically lead to a place at a special needs primary.
Victoria and Dom were told Jack should go to a mainstream school
and Jack was enrolled at Eastfield Primary School.
Victoria said: “The man who was head at the time told me he didn’t think Jack was suitable but Leicestershire County Council wouldn’t let him go to a special needs school.
“At first Eastfield Primary just thought Jack was a slow learner but it soon became clear it was more than that. He’s now been diagnosed
with ADHD and the school has told me that after this school year ends they won’t be able to meet his needs because of behavioural problems.”
Victoria said Jack was now three years behind other pupils in his year but her every attempt to get Jack special needs education has failed.
So she has now decided to take the matter to court, with a hearing set to take place on January 7.
She said: “I tried to get him into one special needs primary school and the head phoned me and said Jack did not qualify for a place. They said no special needs school will take Jack because he’s too able.
“We’re between a rock and a hard place. He can’t read, can’t count, his learning needs are profound and the more this goes on, the more I worry about his future.
“If we don’t get this right now, how will he lead a normal life?”
Dom said: “There must be thousands of parents in the country like ourselves who find themselves battling against their local authorities to have a fair hearing and have their chance to voice their opinions when it concerns their children’s education.”
The Mercury approached Leicestershire County Council for a comment on Jack’s situation but it declined to comment on the case directly.
In a statement, Deborah Taylor, lead member for children and families at the council, said: “Whilst we cannot comment on the detail of individual cases, what we can say is we work closely with families and schools to ensure a child has the right support and placement to meet their needs.
“We will always do our best to resolve issues and concerns, but if a parent continues to be dissatisfied with a school named within their education and healthcare plan then they have a right to appeal to a tribunal, which will make a final decision based on what it considers to be the best interests of the child.”