(UK) Lancs: Mom slams council for sending severely autistic, nonverbal son to mainstream school

Mar 5, 2026, Rishton mother slams LCC's decision to put son in mainstream | Lancashire Telegraph

A Rishton mother of a child with special educational needs and disabilities has slammed Lancashire County Council’s decision to send her son to mainstream education.

Christine Morton says her son Harvey had been given an education, health and care plan (ECHP), which said directly that he would not be suitable for a mainstream setting.

Harvey is non-verbal and diagnosed with autism, and his mum says that forcing him into mainstream school is “against every need that is on that plan”.

Lancashire County Council said the decision was made after careful consideration and is in regular contact with Christine.

“The mainstream they have named said they couldn’t meet his needs. I cannot begin to understand why they have made the decision that they have made”, said Christine.

“He isn’t going to be given the education that he deserves. He will be the only non-verbal child in that class, and although they will have others with SEND needs, they won't be to the same extent as Harvey has. He will be ostracised in that setting. . . .

Christine had visited the proposed school and said that it was not an appropriate setting for her son, with nappy changing facilities that would require her to come in, should Harvey reject them.

The Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, announced a White Paper in February, which she said would take children with special education needs and disabilities “from sidelined and excluded to seen, heard and included”.

However, Lancashire County Council branded them as “derisory and totally insufficient”.

Christine had repeatedly spoken to the Reform UK-run authority stating that mainstream would not be appropriate, but says she was “ignored”.

“Emails go unanswered, and it takes a lot to get any information out of them whatsoever. If I don’t speak up, who is going to speak up?” Christine added.

“It is not talked about enough, and I just think it needs talking about. He deserves the education that is right for him, and I don’t know why you then have to go through routes of mediation and appeals.” . . .