'Demoralising' fight to get son a school place

The parents of an 11-year-old boy with additional needs say the fight to try and secure him a school place has been "demoralising".

Mylo, from Abbots Salford in Warwickshire, is autistic, and has ADHD and anxiety, meaning he requires one-to-one support, his family say.

However, the secondary school he was allocated said it could not meet his needs, leaving Mylo without a place.

Warwickshire County Council said it remained "committed to ensuring the best possible outcome" for him.

His parents said they had found an alternative school that could meet his needs, but were told it was too expensive.

Mylo's father Neil told BBC CWR: "They aren't a fee-paying school. There are many schools out there that will charge the kind of fees they charge, [but] they're not approved by the council."

He said one of the schools suggested as an alternative by the council was actually more expensive, but said it could not "handle his needs".

The family are currently appealing his Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), saying it needed to include provision for one-to-one support, as he had received at primary school.

"His condition means he needs continual one-to-one support, not the occasional teaching assistant providing a guiding hand but somebody sat with him for the full educational day," Neil said.

"He is behind in his education by a number of years. The issue is as he's got a little bit older he's aware of the growing distance between him and his peers, so that upsets him.

"He does feel special because of the gulf between the academic achievements."

Mylo needs continual one-to-one support at school, his parents say

Speaking about the toll their fight to get Mylo into school has had, Neil said: "It is draining, emotionally and therefore physically.

"It's demoralising to see that a faceless bureaucratic organisation who talks about putting the child at the centre of things realistically are putting their policy and budgets at the centre of things.

"It does feel sometimes as if he's being punished for not being an average kid."

To keep him in education and to help his mental health, Mylo's parents thought his primary school might give him a place to repeat his final year there.

However, they say this option was refused due to the number of children already requiring special attention in the year group.

Mylo is therefore stranded, without an option for a secondary school, and with no chance to go back to primary school.

A spokesperson for Warwickshire County Council said: "The council is currently following the legal procedure for changes to the child's EHC plan as an appeal has been lodged.

"However, we remain committed to ensuring the best possible outcome for the child and are hopeful that, through continued collaboration with the family, we can reach a joint resolution without the need for a hearing."