'Living hell' of parents seeking special schools

Dr Sumaiyah Hayat with her eight-year-old son

Parents of children with special educational needs (SEN) say fighting to get their children a school place has been a "living hell”.

Katy Halliday, 41, from Bourne, Lincolnshire, said she was becoming “increasingly concerned” about her 10-year-old daughter’s mental health while she remained in a mainstream school.

Dr Sumaiyah Hayat, 33, of North Ferriby, East Yorkshire, said her eight-year-old son, who has autism and a developmental delay, had only just been given a place after waiting for one since March.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council said it was “working hard” to create places, while Lincolnshire County Council said it had seen a “significant rise in the number requiring support”.

Katy Halliday, from Bourne, is becoming “increasingly concerned” about her daughter’s mental health

In January last year, it was found that there were 1.6 million school pupils with identified SEN in England. The latest figures from the Department for Education show 517,000 children and young people had an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in 2023 – the highest on record.

Ms Halliday said her daughter, who has triple X syndrome, sensory processing disorder and learning delays, could not function in her current classroom.

Her daughter often did one-on-one learning in the corridor, the kitchen or sensory areas of the school.

“She has huge amounts of anxiety being in school. There was about two weeks in school where they couldn’t get her to do any work, to the point where she was completely shutting down,” Ms Halliday said.

“She shut herself in the toilet, hid under a table, not physically able to do anything."

When distressed and anxious, her daughter could bite herself or pull her hair out, Ms Halliday said.

“You feel terrible,” she added. “Getting to a point where she’s so distressed and she can’t tell you that the only option is to literally take a chunk out of her wrist.”

Katy Halliday with her daughter at home

Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) has approved specialist provision, but Ms Halliday said she was told in April that all local authority SEN schools were full and the placement team would be contacting independent schools.

Since then, she had been “left in limbo”, with no response from the council.

Martin Smith, LCC’s assistant director for children’s education, said: “Over the last few years, the council has invested £100m in improving and expanding Lincolnshire’s special schools, creating about 500 additional places.

“Demand has been significantly higher than anticipated in recent years. Lincolnshire has seen a significant rise in the number of children and young people requiring support. The number of children with an EHCP has more than doubled, from 3,326 in 2016 to 7,899 currently.

“As a result, Lincolnshire’s 12 special schools are now at capacity, and we are having to use a variety of provision to help meet demand. Finding an appropriate placement can be a complex process and does take time.”

Dr Sumaiyah Hayat says her son has been "trapped" at home

Dr Hayat moved from West Yorkshire with her family and had been waiting since March to find her son a school that could meet his special educational needs.

“It's like he has been trapped in a jail. He’s just been trapped at home. It’s been a battle and it’s been a living hell because I’m watching my son at home regress,” Dr Hayat said.

“His mental health has been going down, he can’t express how he feels, but I can see that he has been wanting to go to school.

“He’s been struggling with the lack of routine and being stuck at home. I’m just helpless as a parent, so all I can do is fight for him.”

She said she had “begged” the council for interim support. Recently, she received 2.5 hours of home tuition over four days, but said it was "not enough”.

'National shortage'

Merlin Joseph, the director of children’s services at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said around 3,500 children in the county had an EHCP.

“There is a national shortage of SEN placements, but we are pleased to have secured two new 120-place special free schools in Bridlington and Welton,” she added.

The council had been working with Dr Hayat and her son now had a place with the correct provision, Ms Joseph said.

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