No options left for school place for disabled girl, says Bristol mum

A mum has said she's been left with "no options" after a council was unable to find her disabled daughter a school place.

Zoe, from Horfield has an 11-year-old daughter Olive who has cerebral palsy and additional needs.

Zoe said they had been turned down by 12 schools and do not have a secondary school place for September.

Bristol City Council said it is working to find suitable school places for children with complex needs.

Zoe, 44, who is self-employed and a single mother, said: "It means if she's not in school then I can't work and we're stuffed."

She has found it extremely difficult to navigate the special educational needs and disabilities [SEND] system.

She had refused a school offer in Cardiff due to the two-hour commute.

Zoe said she had organised a peaceful demonstration on Bristol's College Green on Wednesday where SEND parents campaigned for better government funding to ensure councils have the means to help families.

Olive has been attending Filton Avenue Primary School for three days a week and spending two days at Peopleton Brook Farm in Chipping Sodbury, an alternative learning provider, which her mum said had been "fantastic".

Olive was born prematurely at 26 weeks in a traumatic delivery which led to cerebral palsy and sight issues, Zoe said.

"She currently doesn't have a secondary school place in September and now we're almost at the summer holidays so that is stressful," she said.

"Her disabilities aren't necessarily obvious to anyone else but it's more the behavioural, social and emotional difficulties that come with her conditions."

She said this year it had become clear she was "not coping" in a mainstream setting where she struggled with attention and felt overwhelmed by the number of students.

Zoe said the city council missed the deadline to finalise Olive's Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and everything evolved "around this document".

A spokeswoman for the authority added its "SEND accelerated progress plan" was approved by cabinet this month, which has been informed by parents and carers, using their feedback.

"With a formal parent carer forum, as well as our community of groups representing over 20 different community and parent organisations, we are already on track alongside the Bristol North Somerset South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) Integrated Care Board (ICB) and our local area partners to jointly deliver this plan."

Zoe said she had to approach Legal Aid for help and it was instigating an appeal against the council.

"It seems a tribunal is the only way of getting a school but I've heard horror stories about the process taking over a year," she said, and fears a long wait could lead to financial and emotional difficulties.

"Olive needs to be in a community of some kind, we are already very isolated and I cannot provide it all," she said.

Alice Marshment, director of the SEND Advocacy in Bristol, said: "There just isn't enough specialist places in Bristol, it is particularly bad in here.

"We are seeing this problem again and again. It's deeply unfair on parents and children."

She added a lot fell to parents to fight to ensure their children receive the education they deserve.

"The local authorities are meant to help but parents are finding the process less collaborative and more combative in a lot of cases and this is an endemic problem - it has been going on for a long time," she said.

A Bristol City Council spokeswoman added: "Bristol is currently commissioning 1,618 specialist places across our special academies, schools, and resource bases.

"In 2021, the mayor pledged to deliver 450 new specialist places. Since that September, we have delivered an additional 270 specialist provision places in Bristol and plan to deliver at least a further 225 specialist places by September 2025, bringing the total to 495 additional specialist places."

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