Dec 1, 2021, Hertfordshire Mercury: 'The system is absolutely broken' - The Hertfordshire children with special education needs unable to find a place at school https://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/news/hertfordshire-news/the-system-absolutely-broken-hertfordshire-6241138?utm_source=sharebar&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sharebar
Near London
Children with special education needs are allegedly going months, and sometimes years, without access to a full-time school education in Hertfordshire.
Parents have told HertsLive that they have had to pay thousands of pounds in legal costs to fight for their child's right to an education, and some claim that the system designed to support their needs is "broken".
At a recent Hertfordshire County Council meeting, it was heard that there were around 240 children in the county who had been allocated special school places that were not available.
Instead, the children were placed in mainstream schools which parents claim cannot cope with their needs.
Some parents have had to take their children out of school altogether.
Helen, an 11-year-old who lives with her mum and twin brother in Hertford, has not had a school education for two years. She has a complex form of autism called pathological demand avoidance (PDA), which means she faces incredibly high levels of anxiety….
A spokesperson for the SEND Crisis Hertfordshire group, who campaign for the rights of children with special education needs, said: "We've got a lack of schools. There is not one ASD [Autism Spectrum Disorder] school in all of Hertfordshire….
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