'Miracle twins' SEND school places put on hold

Harry and Harley were due to start at a SEND school in September

A mum to "miracle twins" thought to be the most premature to survive in the UK has spoken of her frustration after their school places were put on hold.

Harry and Harley, of Heanor in Derbyshire, were born at 22 weeks and five days and weighed 520g (1.14lb) and 500g (1.10lb) respectively when they were born each in October 2021.

Now aged four, their mum Jade had secured places at a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) school 20 minutes away and the twins were due to start in September.

But she said a building control firm, which was due to sign off on a new modular classroom went into insolvency, meaning the twins, who are non-verbal autistic, could not be accommodated.

Derbyshire County Council said it recognised the delays in assessing the needs of SEND children and added it was working with the school in order to try and get the building signed off.

Jade told the BBC: "They've been left with no socialisation with their peers. It's just a really sad situation."

Jade said she faced a lengthy battle to get both children into the school she wanted

Jade said the twins were due to meet school staff for a transition day.

But the night before they were due to go, she received an email which said the school was having problems getting a new modular classroom signed off by a building inspector.

This was due to a firm, which approves building safety, going into liquidation. The school said they could no longer accommodate the twins and their places had to be put on hold, added Jade.

"We got the email and it was a real shock to us," Jade said.

"The twins were leaving mainstream nursery and were heading off to school.

"I had all the uniforms ready, I had ironed their names into their jumpers, they were ready to go, but we got the email and it was all off. It was really sad."

Jade, 43, said she did not blame the school as it "was not their fault" but said she was "really frustrated" by the situation.

She added her twins had one-to-one support workers at mainstream nursery and had access to a number of other support services like speech and language therapy. Jade said these had now been lost as their new school would have provided them.

Jade won a tribunal so the twins could be at the same school together

The mum of two said she had faced a "lengthy battle" to secure their places at the school after an education, health and care (EHC) plan - a legal document for children and with SEND outlining their needs - said her daughter Hayley could respond to questions.

Jade said the pair were offered places at different schools more than 20 miles away from each other.

She appealed and won at a tribunal which ruled in her favour - a process, she said, took the best part of two years.

"It's frustrating that there is no clear plan in place to know exactly what is going to happen," she said.

"Although I won the tribunal, I feel like I'm back at the start again."

The twins spent almost five months in hospital before they were able to go home

The BBC understands the firm went into insolvency before the final safety inspection on the new classroom on 2 November, which has delayed the start of school for eight new pupils.

Councillor Simon Mabbott, cabinet member for SEND and education at Derbyshire County Council, said a planned report outlining new government policy on SEND provision had been delayed until next year.

He said the Derbyshire Local Area SEND Partnership acknowledged in its Priority Impact Plan, published at the beginning of the year, the challenges consistently expressed by parents and carers and their children and young people.

These related to waiting times being too long for education and health assessments, children and young people missing school, having to wait for specialist health support and that communication and engagement has been poor.

"The partnership has apologised for these failings and is committed to addressing all the areas identified in the inspection report through this Impact Plan," said Mabbott.

"In this case, we have been liaising closely with the school and will know more about when it can open to new pupils after it has been inspected by a new company.

"We acknowledge that this delay must be frustrating for parents and carers and for their children and are hopeful the matter will be resolved soon."