Mum hits out in ongoing education row

Apr 3 2008 by Ben Guy, The Journal

A MOTHER is accusing a council of denying her son his right to a proper education after he was refused access to a Northumberland middle school.

Michelle Thompson withdrew her son Harry, 13, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, from Berwick Middle School last November because she said the school had failed to properly address his needs.

Miss Thompson, of Cornhill on Tweed, has been trying to get Harry, who is wheelchair bound, into Belford Middle School for the rest of this term, but has now been told by Northumberland County Council that the necessary work to cater for his disability could not be carried out in time.

Miss Thompson said she had been told by the council that it would be better for Harry to be taught at home until he is able to go to Berwick High School at the start of the next academic year.

County council officers insist they have done everything possible to find Harry a school place.

But Miss Thompson said: “To say I am disappointed is an understatement. When we found out, Harry was in floods of tears because he is desperate to go back to school but is being let down once again by Northumberland County Council.

“Staying at home until September is simply not an option for Harry as, socially, he has become very isolated.

“Socially, it is absolutely crippling him. All he has talked about for weeks is going back to school at Belford. I simply don’t know what to do. There isn’t any school for him to go to, I am basically being told that there is no school place for him. He is devastated.”

While Berwick Middle School was adapted to Harry’s needs, his mother said it would be impossible for him to return after the row last November.

As well as Belford, she asked the council to investigate the possibility of him going to Glendale Middle School in Wooler or even starting at Berwick High School early. Miss Thompson added that the council had offered Harry a place at Grove School, which is a special school in Berwick, but that she did not feel the school was appropriate for him.

She added: “Harry has a physical disability that does not need special schooling. He is currently working on GCSE course work – he needs an education to enhance his academic talents, not five hours of tuition at home each week.”

Timeline

September 4 2007: The Journal reveals how Harry had spent periods of the previous school year being taught away from his classmates in certain lessons, as Northumberland County Council had not installed wheelchair ramps to some classrooms at Berwick Middle School.

September 7 2007: Harry enjoys his “happiest” day at school after the county council install temporary ramps, allowing him to be taught alongside his classmates all the time.

November 2007: Miss Thompson withdraws Harry from Berwick Middle School after he is left to go to the toilet unaided, which she said broke an understanding she had with the school.

January 2008: Harry is told he won’t walk again after falling and breaking two bones in his right leg in an accident at his home.

April 2008: Miss Thompson is told that access work cannot be carried out quickly enough to allow Harry to spend the rest of the school year at Belford Middle School