{"id":72649,"date":"2022-12-01T11:02:35","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T11:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/12\/01\/evesham-mum-torn-over-school-offer-for-autistic-son-95-miles-away\/"},"modified":"2022-12-01T11:02:35","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T11:02:35","slug":"evesham-mum-torn-over-school-offer-for-autistic-son-95-miles-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/12\/01\/evesham-mum-torn-over-school-offer-for-autistic-son-95-miles-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Evesham mum ‘torn’ over school offer for autistic son 95 miles away"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The mother of an autistic boy says she feels “torn” about accepting a place at a special education school 95 miles from home. <\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rhys, from Worcestershire, has not attended school for a year, his mother Kat said, as the council could not find a suitable place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She wants him back in education but was “quite worried” he lives so far from home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The district council says it tried to find a school place locally. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rhys was previously offered a place in Derbyshire, 100 miles from his home in Evesham. Kat said she accepted but was later in tears when it went to another child.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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And this week she was told an internship had been found in Oakham, Leicestershire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“It’s a school for him, but it’s still 95 miles away and almost two hours from home,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Kat said she was considering what to do because there were few options. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I feel like if I don’t accept that, he won’t get anything. I just feel like I’m being pushed into a corner to either accept it or I’ll lose to him.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She said she had a phone call with the school in December and would then visit and find out about accommodation options. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I’m not 100% sure right now, but I’m stuck, I’m torn on what to do,” she said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“I don’t want to feel like I’m giving up on my son, I want to feel like I’m giving him the best chance in life.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Kat said her son was expelled from his primary school and then went to a school 45 minutes away in Redditch, which he left a year ago. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Worcestershire County Council said it was aware Rhys had experienced a severely disrupted start to his education which had affected his learning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“This is not a situation that we want a child to be in,” said councilor Tracey Onslow, cabinet member for education. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“We continue to work with his family to explore alternative options that meet his complex needs and allow him access to full-time care while we continue to search for a suitable school place close to home.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Oxford Brookes University’s Prof Barry Carpenter, an expert on autism and mental health, told the BBC the situation was “unacceptable” but not just a problem in Worcestershire. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“This is being repeated across the country for all types of children,” he said, adding that many children with complex needs have not been enrolled in the school system.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Prof Carpenter, a supporter of the ADHD Foundation, added that there had been positive developments in Worcestershire – for example where he lived in Chaddesley Corbett a new autism resource base had opened at a primary school.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Follow BBC West Midlands on <\/i>Facebook, <\/i>Twitter<\/a> and <\/i>Instagram. Submit your story ideas to: <\/i>newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk<\/p>\n<\/div>\n