Boy feeling 'unimportant' over school place limbo
PA MediaA 10-year-old boy with special educational needs was left feeling "not important enough" over delays to his secondary school place offer, his mother has said.
Laura Courty's son, from Endmoor, near Kendal, is among a number of children who were not allocated a spot on Monday.
Courty said "it broke her heart" as the boy feared he would not get into the school he wanted.
Westmorland and Furness Council said the delay was due to school capacity and a significant number of children in this year's cohort.
The Liberal Democrat-run local authority said all families would be contacted this week and most cases would be resolved within two weeks, but more complex ones could take longer.
Courty's son has ADHD and she said they had submitted the necessary documentation in October.
Supplied"On Monday morning when all the other parents were sharing where their children were going, we were left confused and wondering why we didn't know, which prompted several hours of phone calls on my behalf to get to the bottom of that," she said.
Courty said she still did not know which school her son would go to from September.
"His immediate response was 'I'm not important enough to be offered a place," she told BBC Radio Cumbria.
"It is building frustration in him, because the longer it is, the more concerned he is that he won't get into that school.
'Quite stressful'
The council said it had 1,979 applicants and more than 96% of pupils got their first choice.
But about six children with complex needs have not been given a place yet and several more families who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan are still waiting for a decision.
Lisa Tallon and her 11-year-old son Oliver have also been left in limbo.
She said Oliver, who has ADHD and autism, was now the only child in his class who did not know where he was going to attend secondary school.
"He finds it quite stressful," said Tallon, who is also from Kendal.
"He can struggle with transitions and so going from primary school to secondary school is quite a big change in his life."
The local authority apologised for any upset and uncertainty caused by the delay.
"All families are being contacted this week with their update, and we are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible," the council added.
