Parents campaign against SEND service closure

Lisa De-Bargeton said she and the other parents would continue to campaign to keep the service going

Parents in Cornwall have started a campaign to save a key support service at a school for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Cornwall Council has launched a consultation on its proposal to withdraw funding for residential provision for pupils at Pencalenick School in Truro.

The overnight boarding service is currently used by fewer than 10 pupils at a cost of more than £500,000 per year, Cornwall Council said.

Lisa De-Bargeton, whose 14-year-old son Louis uses the service once a week, said it had made a "massive difference" to his life.

Cornwall Council has launched a consultation on its proposal to withdraw funding for residential provision for pupils at Pencalenick School

She said. “It would just be awful if the provision was stopped.

"Louis has been boarding for a year and it’s just made such a difference to his condition as well as his life skills and social skills.

"It gives me an opportunity to spend time with Louis’ younger brother, but the most important thing about it is how it going to affect Louis’ life and all of the other children if it’s no longer available.”

Louis, who has autism spectrum disorder, said: “Boarding is great, I hadn’t boarded at any of my other schools, but after going it was amazing.

"I think I’ve been improving with social skills, life skills, you name it. “

'Anxious time'

Cornwall Council said it had carefully considered the situation and concluded it "does not offer the best value for taxpayers".

The Conservative-run authority proposed the money would be better spent on providing more day education places for SEND pupils across Cornwall.

The school, which is run by the Special Partnership Trust, said it was "supporting pupils, parents, and staff during this anxious time."

It said: "Throughout the consultation process, we’ll be working closely with Cornwall Council, and we’ll continue to deliver a high-quality SEN educational residential offer until further notice.”

Ms De-Bargeton said she and the other parents would continue to campaign to keep the service going.

“As parents of children with special educational needs you’re used to fighting, which is not the way it should be, but the way it is," she said.

Parents of children who use the service have until 10 June to make their views known.

'Serious and prolonged underfunding'

Opposition parties said they have concerned about the consultation and proposals.

A Labour spokesperson in Cornwall said: "It is a great shame that financial pressures are forcing [the] council to consider taking difficult decisions.

"This type of residential care makes a massive difference to families and can be very expensive and we know that some councils have been paying huge amounts for such provision."

The Liberal Democrats said: "Good decisions require accurate information, and the Liberal Democrat group has serious concerns about the data presented in the consultation.

"But our bigger concern is the serious and prolonged underfunding of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities by the Conservative government.

"This underfunding makes it impossible for councils to provide the support that our most vulnerable children need and deserve."