Chesterfield mum 'heartbroken' as twins left without a special school place
Noah and Riley are autistic and non-verbal
A Chesterfield mum says she has been left 'heartbroken' as her 4-year-old twins won't be able to attend a specialist school from September.
Noah and Riley are autistic and non-verbal, and are due to start school next month.
Their mother, Kimberley Webb, has spent the last year fighting to get an Education, Health and Care Plan set up for them to get a space.
This is the legal process needed for the boys to attend a school and should take 20 weeks but Kimberley says it has taken Derbyshire County Council 33 weeks. This delay means there are no more spaces left: "I just want my children to go to school, to a school that is suitable for them and their needs and that will help them thrive.
"In three weeks time the boys have nowhere to go because nursery can't keep them. They certainly won't be going to a mainstream school because it's not the right place. My two are not going to sit on the carpet for story time. They're not gonna sit at a table.
Kimberley said it has been a tough year: "I don't think I've ever cried as much as what I've cried and I'm not going away and I won't go away until my children are at the school that I've picked.
"I don't know how you describe that heart-breaking feeling like you've failed. I've put the last twelve months of my life into making sure that exactly this, doesn't happen."
A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “While we can’t comment on individual cases, Derbyshire has had a significant increase in the number of requests for Education Health Care Plans (EHCPs) and for the assessments and advice that go along with these. This is a national issue and other local authorities are facing similar increases in demand.
“As a result of this our performance in completing some ECHPs within the 20 week deadline has been impacted and has led to delays in completing some of them on time. We are extremely sorry for any children, families and schools who are being negatively affected and we are working extremely hard to improve our performance.
“Derbyshire County Council is investing significant additional staffing resources to address these challenges as well as reviewing and restructuring its services to manage the demand in the future. The additional resources are being deployed to both catch up and finalise those that have gone over the deadline and to also keep current and new plans within the 20 week timescale.
“At the same time we have had an increase in demand for special school places. We are working with the special schools to increase the places available. Where there are delays in identifying a special school place for a child we will work with the family and the existing schools or provision to look at what alternatives can be provided.”