Hundreds of special needs pupils out of school across West Midlands

A mother has spoken of her frustration about the lack of suitable spaces for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Jodi has been teaching her son Jensen, who is autistic, at their home in Warwickshire for more than nine months.

Home teaching had been "awful" and "mentally draining," she said.

Warwickshire County Council said securing the right provision could be a "complex and lengthy process". 

The seven-year-old was in a mainstream school, but they could not cater for his needs, said the mum.

Hundreds of children with learning difficulties and disabilities in the West Midlands are out of school, a BBC investigation has found.

Some have been waiting for years to get the correct educational provision.

"It has not only impacted me, it's impacted Jensen massively," Jodi said.

"He's so confused, he misses his friends massively from his old school. It's just really took a toll - he can't understand why, other than he knows he's got autism and is out of school."

There is a growing number of children assessed as needing extra support without suitable places, said campaign group Send Reform.

"The places just simply aren't there for many of the families," said Rachel Wright from the group.

She said children were "being forced back into mainstream classrooms that simply can't cope with the needs of the children".

"A lot of children now simply have had such a poor experience within their mainstream setting that they actually now don't really want to attend," Ms Wright added.

Jensen has been offered a place at another mainstream school, but the family said it was not appropriate, partly because of a lack of outdoor playing areas.

The county council said it was unable to comment on individual cases, but said it had "processes in place to support families and make every effort to ensure children can access appropriate provision". 

A Department for Education spokesperson said the government would intervene where local areas were failing children.

It added that "significant investment" was being made into supporting children with high needs.

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