Council accused of neglect as Chesterfield boy, 4, denied special school and offered tent in classroom instead

Ellie Tomlinson, 23, from Chesterfield, applied for an EHCP plan for her son, Ruben, who suffers from autism, sensory processing issues and is nonverbal, in 2022.

Her application should have been considered within 20 weeks – but Ellie waited for 15 months, meaning Ruben needed to stay in the nursery for an extra year, losing a year of education.

After a long consideration the council decided Ruben should go to Spire Nursery and Infant School – a mainstream school – and should have a tent fitted in a classroom in order to have his needs met.

Ellie said: “My son is non-verbal, still in nappies, he's got very high support needs, he's got no awareness of danger. His sensory issues mean he could have a meltdown without support.

"Waiting for his EHCP was ridiculously long and when the plan was finally ready the council consulted two schools – Ashgate Croft, which is a special needs school and our closest mainstream school and Spire Infant School.

“The mainstream school said they would not be able to meet my son’s needs, that it would not be safe for him, that they don’t have enough space for a sensory room, while Ashgate Croft said they would meet his needs.

"And the council still decided to put him in the mainstream school – and offered to put a tent for him in the classroom. It's ridiculous. It's just pure neglect. The school is openly telling the council they can't look after this little boy with special needs and the council is ignoring it, pushing for him to go in.”

Currently, Ruben is in a nursery, where he has a sensory room and a one-to-one teacher.

Ellie added: “I went to view the mainstream primary, and it absolutely will not be suitable. They have an open plan classroom which means there are two classes in one room and there are about 50 children there. There's not enough space for a tent and it's not going to stop the noise.

Ellie is appealing the decision.

She added: “I've been back and forth emailing with his caseworker, but she doesn't have the right to make decisions. I've been sending emails to the head of the Children's Services and complaints – but you only get automated replies. I will need to appeal the decision in the tribunal and the solicitor will cost me about two-and-a-half grant and my son already lost a year of education. It’s ridiculous.”

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “While we can’t comment on individual cases, Derbyshire has had a significant increase in the number of requests for Education Health Care Plans and for the assessments and advice that go along with these. This is a national issue and other local authorities are facing similar increases in demand.

“As a result of this our performance in completing some ECHPs within the 20 week deadline has been impacted and has led to delays in completing some of them on time. We are extremely sorry for any children, families and schools who are being negatively affected and we are working extremely hard to improve our performance.

“Derbyshire County Council is investing significant additional staffing resources to address these challenges as well as reviewing and restructuring its services to manage the demand in the future. The additional resources are being deployed to both catch up and finalise those that have gone over the deadline and to also keep current and new plans within the 20 week timescale.

“At the same time we have had an increase in demand for special school places. We are working with the special schools to increase the places available. Where there are delays in identifying a special school place for a child we will work with the family and the existing schools or provision to look at what alternatives can be provided. All the places that are available at Special Schools are carefully considered to prioritise those with the highest needs and to ensure that they are used appropriately.”