Special educational needs: Parents spending thousands fighting for children's right to education

The parents of a blind and autistic teenager who have spent more than £70,000 fighting for him to get the education he is entitled to say could "never have imagined how hard it would be".

Suzanne Hollinshead said that her son Zac was “desperate” to be in school but that he was being home-schooled because of a lack of specialist school spaces. 

While he waits for a school place in the only setting in the country that can meet his needs, the 14-year-old - who has been unable to cope in a mainstream school - has been out of education for two years.

Mrs Hollinshead said her son's life had been “very limited” and his quality of life "very poor” when he attended a mainstream school.

But she and her husband Ian had not envisaged how difficult it would be to get Zac a place at a specialist school.

“We’re professional individuals, used to dealing with paperwork, dealing with negotiating," said Mrs Hollinshead.

"We’re good communicators ourselves… but we could never have imagined how hard it was going to be."

To fight for their son's education, the couple from Bedfordshire have had to involve lawyers and say they are in about £70,000 of debt.

Mrs Hollinshead said she expected her son to be supported once his school became aware of his disabilities.

"Schools, you assume, have the expertise and the knowledge to reach out and enable your child to get that support and have their needs met in the school environment," she said.

"But that isn't what happens." 

The Hollinsheads are far from alone in their experiences.

Thousands of children and families are facing the same circumstances, united in desperation and forced to fight for their children's education - and dozens have told ITV News Anglia about their struggles.

Among them is Leslaw Darocha from Northampton, who has had to wait over a year for a specialist place for his son Ignacy.

"It's been so, so difficult for everyone in the family. We're just all exhausted," he said.

"The family relationships are not great at all, because you can imagine we are living in a constant stress."

Or Paul Ridley from Milton Keynes, who has battled for years for support for his non-speaking autistic son Keith.

He said the memories of the struggle would not be forgotten.

"It's something that'll be in [my mind] for the rest of my life... having to see what my son went through - which could have all been avoided if they listened to us, the carers."

Chantal Osbaldeston's two children both have additional needs - Hermione is autistic and Noah is dyslexic - and have been out of school since last year, after she decided to take them out.

She had become worried at Noah breaking down in class, and frustrated at the lack of appropriate support for both children.

And the legal costs of fighting for her children's education are mounting up fast.

"By the end of the summer it's projected to be £5,000 just on legal fees," she said.

She said she was "desperate", and felt caught in a situation where she had "one child who is self harming, completely melting down, and then you've got the other side who are saying 'it's going to take you two and a half years on the waiting list'."

In response, the government said it wanted "every child, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, to benefit from a world-class education".

A spokesman added: “We are providing £2.6bn in capital funding between 2022 and 2025 to help deliver new places and improve support for children and young people with SEND or who will benefit from alternative provision.

"This is in addition to increasing our high needs funding by more than 50% compared with 2019 - to over £10bn by 2023-24.”

We want to hear about your experience of the special educational needs system. Have you had to fight for your child's education, or have they flourished after finding the right setting? Email anglianews@itv.com