(UK) Slough: 12yo with autism has had no school place past 2 years

May 8, 2025, Slough Observer: Boy in Slough left without school place for almost two years

Near London

A boy with special educational needs has spent almost two years out of school because Slough Borough Council hasn’t been able to find him a place.

Leighton Ludlow, 12, has autism and was supposed to start Year 7 in September 2023 – but, now he’s supposed to be in year 8, he’s still without a school.

His mother, Louise, said the time out of school has left him feeling ‘very confused about why everyone is going to school and he’s not’.

Leighton spent his primary school years at a specialist school, and was supposed to continue in a specialist school when he graduated to secondary.

Slough Borough Council said it found him a place when he was due to transfer, but Ms Ludlow said she felt the school wasn’t suitable for him.

Ever since then she says she’s been told the council has been trying to find him a place somewhere else – but that she hasn’t heard whether any schools have accepted him – and that he’s had to have tutoring instead.

Ms Ludlow said the time out of school has left Ms Ludlow said the time out of school has left him without crucial social interaction with other children – and that he’s nervous around people. . . .

 “He holds my hand when we go out, squeezes my hand and asks to go home. During the holiday I wanted to take him to Windsor, but he didn’t want to get out of the house.” . . .

She said his education health and care plan – which sets out what the council needs to do to provide for a child’s special educational needs – expired during the pandemic, and that he’s still waiting for the results of his reassessment.

A Slough Borough Council spokesperson said the council is taking ‘proactive steps’ to find Leighton a place.

They said: “While the council regrets that Leighton has not been in full-time education since Year seven, we have throughout the process taken a number of proactive steps to find a suitable placement for him including securing a secondary school at the point of transfer from primary to secondary that the council felt was an appropriate school for Leighton.”

The spokesperson said the council had asked ten schools if they could take Leighton in October 2024, but none of them were able to.

They added that they consulted four more schools this year, and while one has said it can’t take him, the other three are still considering the request.

The spokesperson said: “We remain committed to finding a suitable educational placement for Leighton and to working closely with his family to meet his needs.

“We appreciate their patience and understand the impact these delays have had, and we will continue to do everything possible to support Leighton’s educational journey.”