Colchester mum wins fight to get son into special school

Stacey McShane, of Parson’s Heath, Colchester, has spent nine months taking on the education system in an attempt to have her son, Noah, allocated a school which caters to his academic ability, autism and ADHD.

Mrs McShane worked out 11-year-old Noah has missed 139 school days over a period of 43 weeks in her fight to get him into a special school.

It came after Mrs McShane was told by Essex County Council that Noah, who went to Roach Vale Primary School, had to attend Colchester Academy to see if it would be suitable.

But Mrs McShane argued that Noah, who is particularly sensitive to loud noises, would not be suited to a school with large classes and school bells – and after months of stress, took the case to a special educational needs and disability (SEND) tribunal.

It was only after the tribunal that Noah was granted a place at the Ryes College and Community, a school for children with emotional behavioural and social difficulties, in Sudbury.

She said: “It’s a triumph on my side, [but] this is what makes it worrying, because some parents don’t have a clue what they’re doing – I didn’t have a clue what I was doing.

“I’m confident, and I ring phones and send emails, but some parents can’t do that and don’t want confrontation.

“I’ve been going through it so long, [and] I understand it must be difficult for schools and professionals because there’s such a high demand – a lot of parents have children with autism but the children are all so different.

“A child might have the same diagnosis but have completely different needs.

Mrs McShane added: “It comes down to money.

“It works out [for the authorities] to send Noah to the mainstream school because it will cost about £10,000 [to educate him], but it would cost £30,000 at a special school.

“Were it not for the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCo) at the tribunal, we would have struggled to get our point across.”