(UK) Stoke: 6yo with severe autism only gets one hour of school per day

Oct 9, 2025, Birmingham Mail: Mum's despair as autistic son, six, attends school for just one hour a day

Cheryl Yoxall is worried her son will fall behind

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/mums-despair-autistic-son-six-32640183?int_source=amp_continue_reading&int_medium=amp&int_campaign=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target

A mum said she was 'heartbroken' over issues with her young son's education.

Daniel Malpass, six, has severe autism and a limited vocabulary, a short attention span, and behavioural issues.

As a result, his mum Cheryl Yoxall said he was allowed to attend mainstream school for just one hour per day.

The youngster has been attending Kingsland CE Academy in Bucknall in Staffordshire and Cheryl said he needed more specialist one-to-one support.

The mum-of-three said: "He doesn’t learn anything while he’s at school. He just runs around under the supervision of one of the teachers while they’re on a break.

"Everyone has been aware of his difficulties from an early age, they’re very apparent. Kingsland CE Academy have been saying that they can’t meet his needs for years.

"The council kept applying for a large variety of schools, but they all just kept saying they were full. Last year, they gave me the list of all the potential schools. So I personally rang each one and did a number of visits.

"In the end, I managed to find Daniel a place at Rugeley School. I visited and I was just blown away. It was perfect. The whole school is specially catered to autistic kids. They have amazing facilities and wonderful staff. I knew it was the perfect fit.”

Cheryl said Rugeley School had confirmed it would be able to accept Daniel for the 2025/26 academic year and she even bought a new car in preparation for the daily 40-minute drive.

But her excitement was soon ‘crushed’.

The 39-year-old told StokeonTrentLive: “I went back to the council after doing the searching for them and gave them the good news. But then they turned around and told me they were going to just carry on making applications for mainstream schools.

 “I was very disappointed. They wouldn’t tell me why at first. I kicked up a fuss and we had an emergency meeting. They basically told me they weren’t willing to pay for the fees. I literally don’t know where I stand with them anymore. They’re driving me crazy. It feels like I’m working with a bunch of incapable people.

“I’ve done a lot of work for them here. I send them emails and it takes them months to get back to me. I understand they might be overwhelmed and understaffed, but I was happy to help. So for them to just turn around and shut everything down has just crushed me.

“The handling of this situation has been absolutely terrible. I only get anywhere when I’m assertive and kick up a fuss. It shouldn’t have to be like that. I should be able to get help without having to get all mithered.”

She added: “I just want him to get a proper education. It’s really unfair. I’m really worried about his development.”

A spokesperson for Stoke-on-Trent City Council said: "We are committed to working with mainstream schools wherever possible to give children the best chance of success in their local community, alongside their peers.

"Evidence shows that, when properly supported, children tend to achieve better outcomes in mainstream settings than they would in specialist provision.