Parents criticise council after disabled son can only attend school for two hours a day

THE parents of a Frome schoolboy with special educational needs, have criticised Somerset County Council for not providing them with support after their son’s attendance at school was reduced to two hours a day.

David and Sian Larman’s 11-year old son lives with cerebral palsy, ADHD and has frequent seizures. Until February this year, their son attended Critchill School full-time.

In October last year the couple were told by the school that there was not enough money to fund and provide the support their son needed at the school and that his attendance would be cut to part-time – two hours every weekday afternoon.

Since their son began attending Critchill School part-time in February, the family say that they have been given no additional practical or financial support to look after their son at home whilst Somerset County Council search for alternative provision. They describe the situation as their son being ‘excluded’ from full-time education, and say that it has put their family under financial and emotional pressure.

Speaking to Frome Times, David said, “Since July last year our son has been having around 200 seizures a day, which has affected his behaviour. We approached the school and social care to ask for help, but none came.

“In October the school then said that they were unable to meet our son’s needs and that he would have to go part-time. The school said that they don’t have the funds for extra help.

“Meetings were held in October, November and January and then from the 15th February he went part-time, with no additional support provided for us at home. Somerset County Council has said that they don’t have anything to meet his educational needs. So it feels like we are on our own – we have no help for the four and a half hours he is not in school. He is being excluded from school.

“My wife had a hip operation in January, which was followed by a number of complications, so I have had to take unpaid leave from work to help look after my son. This is putting us in financial risk. We’ve asked for help, both practical and financial, but there has been nothing and it looks that way for the foreseeable future.

“If my son had no additional needs and was excluded from a mainstream school, the council would have to provide alternative educational provision. But because he has special needs and they say that nothing is available in the county, nothing is being provided for him. Because of this, I have put in a complaint of discrimination against Somerset County Council.

“The next meeting scheduled is at Easter – I can’t afford to be off work until then. It feels like Somerset County Council are doing nothing to give our son the help he needs and access to a full-time education that he has the right to.

“We are all under pressure, it’s also affecting his sister – it’s putting a strain on the whole family. Our son wants to go to school. We try to stick to a routine for him – from 8am until 1pm when he gets to go to school, he is constantly questioning why he is not at school and his sister is. 

“I am really angry – you hear all the time about the budget cuts that councils are making throughout the country and I understand that cuts need to be made to some services, but this is something that is needed – we are being more affected by these cuts, and it is not fair. No-one is listening to us, and it’s all to do with council budgets.”

In response, headteacher of Critchill School, Mark Armstrong, told Frome Times, “We would not, of course, comment on the personal circumstances of any individual child at the school.

“However, we can say the school prides itself on being inclusive. It can be challenging and take time, but we always work hard to meet the needs of all children with additional needs and disabilities, liaising closely with the local authority’s social care team and other organisations and making adjustments when needed.”

A Somerset County Council spokesperson added, “The local authority has a responsibility to provide education for children with SEN [special educational needs] and has invested heavily in this area is recent years. We will always strive to work with families to achieve this and would not publicly discuss their circumstances.

“Educational settings have to be appropriate and have capacity and all the options would be considered when trying to find the right answer – mainstream schools, special schools or residential placements. This can take time and sometimes interim arrangements may be necessary while this takes place.”