Learning 'disrupted' due to lack of premises - mum

A mother says her son's learning has been disrupted ahead of his GCSEs due to a lack of premises.

Lesley Leeson's son Noah attends Northumberland County Council's Education Other Than At School programme (EOTAS), which provides education for children who are unable to attend school full time.

The council planned to move the programme from Alnwick to a new site in Morpeth at the start of the academic year, however due to planning issues, the site is yet to open.

The local authority said it had found a "suitable venue" for face-to-face teaching "shortly after" the half-term holidays.

Noah, 16, has autism and extreme anxiety, meaning he struggles in a normal school setting.

He and his five classmates have been taught both online and at temporary alternative venues. However, Noah finds it difficult to engage with online learning.

Mrs Leeson, who lives in Rothbury, said the class had been using a site in Cramlington for the last three weeks, but there was no provision for after half term.

"I'm really mad - they've had two months to resolve these issues," she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"We're talking about six kids - we just need an empty room.

"This has been really disruptive – it would have been for any child, but then you add it onto kids that find change very difficult.

"What they are doing is making their physical and mental health worse by not providing a premises."

A spokeswoman for the council said: "We fully understand the parent's concerns and we are working very hard to rectify the situation."

Two new teaching venues, one in Shilbottle and one in Bedlington, will be welcoming pupils by the week of 11 November, the authority confirmed.

Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].