Katie Price among parents hit by funding cut

Parents of students at a specialist further education college say their children are being left behind when it comes to funding.

TV star Katie Price's son, Harvey, began attending National Star College in Cheltenham in 2021, but West Sussex County Council has now cut his funding.

Ms Price said her local authority cut Harvey's funding as they deemed him to have "no healthcare issues", despite him needing medicine to keep him alive and being cortisol deficient.

Lynette Barrett, CEO of the National Star, believes "more needs to be done" to ensure young people have "good quality transition opportunities". The NHS says families can request reviews of original decisions.

Harvey has Prader-Willi syndrome, septo-optic dysplasia and learning difficulties, along with health problems, as detailed by his mum.

"They believe, by seeing Harvey, he has no health problems," Ms Price said.

"So they're not funding [him going to National Star], they want him to live in a social care place.

"So now, he has a passport for the hospital, he's on medicine to keep him alive. He's cortisol deficient, so could go into adrenaline crisis at any time.

"If he's ill, he ends up in hospital."

Ms Barrett said approximately 50 National Star students are currently moving away from the Ullenwood college.

However, she added their options are "really limited" as there are not sufficient places for the number of young people that need them.

"Working with employers to try and ensure they are open to engage with young people with disabilities is something we do all the time, but more needs to be done on a national level to ensure these young people have good quality transition opportunities," Ms Barrett said.

"If that was the case, you would have a lot less anxiety from young people and their families around leaving a specialist college provider, such as National Star."

NHS Gloucestershire told the BBC while it is unable to comment on individual cases it does have an appeal process in place, where a family can request a review of the original decision.

A spokesperson said: "We understand that parents and families want the best support available to meet the specific needs of their loved ones.

"Our Patient Advice and Liaison Service would be happy to talk to the parent concerned about her options."

Maya from Essex is currently waiting for a tribunal to start, which will determine whether her son, Isaac, will receive funding to continue attending National Star.

Isaac is a wheelchair user and is fed and receives his medication via a tube.

"National Star is the best place for him to go - the local options, they're not even worth considering, really," Maya said.

She said she is finding it "quite difficult" not being able to tell Isaac, who "needs support with everything", what's happening.

"It's very difficult being in limbo and not making a decision," she added.

While Essex County Council said it "would be inappropriate" to comment on an individual case, it said it is sometimes decided "that it would be more appropriate for a young person to be supported through a social care package" following an assessment.

"In the most complex cases, any such decision would be made after careful assessment of the case by our Countywide Complex Case Forum," a spokesperson said.

“In such cases, we will always work with a young person and their family to explore the most appropriate next steps so they understand the options available to them.

“Essex County Council is committed to ensuring that every child in the county has the support they need to meet their educational potential, and that they receive all the necessary support and resources to meet any special educational needs or disabilities.”

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