'Leo hasn't been to school for seven years': Mother reveals SEND school battle

A mum desperate to get her teenage son into school said she felt abandoned by authorities and lost confidence he would ever get an education after seven years outside the classroom.

Alyssa described how her son Leo used to scream as she carried him to school before she fought for a place in a SEND school. But even there she believes he wasn't given the right care, adding: "We had a lot of staff that didn't know how to communicate with a child that doesn't talk very much - I wanted school to work but wasn't for him.

In the school holidays he would change. He just wasn't coping and it took me a while to realise.

"What Leo has had very little of is actual direct provision."

Alyssa's situation is common.

A survey for ITV News Regions and Nations, carried out by Opinium, found 64% of parents in London whose children have special educational needs had to take them out of school because their needs could not be met. Of those, 38% said their child had missed school for between a month and a year.

"Being at home and sitting at home they're the lost children not something you get over when you turn 18 getting into employment," said Jennifer Peters from Skylarks charity. At the charity's base in Richmond children from 5,000 families across London can access activities and therapies. Jennifer Peters added: "A lot of our young people absolutely can be in a mainstream environment but they need that scaffolding and that require money and the right people with the right backgrounds to meet that need."

To get help parents need to apply for an Education, Health and Care plan but even then many have to fight to get what they're entitled to. Our survey found that 36% of parents in London had to use the legal system to get provision for their child with 35% having to spend between £5,000 and £50,000 on costs. The Education Secretary admits the system is broken and says she will take a different approach.

Bridget Phillipson said: "Educational outcomes for children with SEND are flatlining after years when councils and parents have been pitted against each other.

"This government will take a different approach, whether it’s transforming the early years to intervene earlier and deliver better outcomes for children, or launching our curriculum and assessment review to put high and rising standards and inclusion together at the heart of every school.

"We will restore parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need in mainstream school, if that is the right place for them.

"And that there will always be a place in special schools for children with the most complex needs.

"We have a broken system in desperate need of long-term renewal.

"I won’t make false promises, change won’t feel as quick as parents – or I – would like.

"I will make sure our approach is fully planned and delivered in concert with parents, schools, councils, and everyone who works with children." But our survey found the stress takes its toll. 28% of parents said their mental health had suffered and 32% said their child’s had too. Alyssa said: "It just actually feels a lot of the time completely hopeless.

"I try not to think about it to be honest with you I just try to focus on my son.

"We do some great stuff together and I think in the end I sided with that rather than more fighting." Alyssa is doing everything she can so that Leo can thrive. But she - like so many others - is doing it alone.

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