Parents at 'breaking point' over threatened closure of Doncaster's Seedlings SEND nursery

• Video report by Jonathan Brown

Parents of children with special educational needs say they are at "breaking point" after being told the award-winning nursery they attend could close within weeks.

The Seedlings nursery in Balby, Doncaster, caters for children with autism and social communication difficulties.

Last year it was named the best pre-school in the country at an awards ceremony in London.

However, just 12 months later, parents were confronted with the news it was due to stop operating in December.

Doncaster Council said it has yet to make a formal decision.

But Will and Jessica Sanderson, whose twin boys Casey and Cole attend the nursery, say they are devastated at the prospect.

Mrs Sanderson said the news had "injected fear" into them, leaving them "at breaking point already".

Mr Sanderson said: "Everybody has a right to an education, regardless of your sex, gender [and] disability - so why is it this difficult?

"Why is it always coming down to money provisions? Our children should be prioritised. We all pay council tax, so why is there no money for this?"

Their boys are non-verbal and autistic and previously struggled in mainstream school.

Mrs Sanderson said: "In a class of maybe 15 to 20 children they're unable to stay safe because they've got PICA [a mental health condition where a person compulsively swallows non-food items] so they will eat non edible objects."

Craig Ravenhill, whose three-year-old son Archie has a rare genetic condition, said he would have to be home-educated if Seedlings closed.

Mr Ravenhill has set up a petition calling for Seedlings to be saved which has been signed by almost five hundred people.

He said: "They could have waited until the end of the year and they've given us such short notice we couldn't get any EHCPs [Education, Health and Care Plan] in place, any other specialist provision in place. Since we've kicked up a fuss they've backtracked, saying the decision isn't final."

Doncaster Council said it has been consulting parents about early years childcare across the city.

It said in a statement: "We want to reassure all parents that we are listening, parents' voices are very important to us, and the results from all consultations will be at the heart of any decisions we make in the future."

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