Jane Smith*
Our daughter was having a breakdown. She couldn’t cope with her busy mainstream school. She would lash out, hide under tables until she no longer left her bedroom, hyperventilate to the extent she would throw up. She barricaded herself in her room, using the bedroom furniture she had destroyed to try and stop me entering. At her worst I found her cowering on her bedroom floor with broken glass in her hand.
We pleaded with her school, desperate for help. They essentially off-rolled her. The local authority said the issue was not their responsibility, but the school’s.
Our daughter has since been diagnosed as autistic. According to the diagnosis, “she sits at the more able end of the spectrum, but this has contributed to her challenges, as she has found ways to mask her difficulties”.
After months with no education, we found and funded Kingsmead. A small, inclusive, non-selective private school, in acres of land. It was established by Arthur Watts in 1904 whose dream was to establish a Christian school in which “the environment would be ideal for learning well, for playing good games and keeping physically fit”.
Private schools are often regarded as places that perpetuate injustice, giving those who can afford education an advantage over those less affable. But Kingsmead was many children’s last chance when other settings had failed.
Kingsmead was not a school just for rich children. Fees were £11,175 a year, but many parents made sacrifices in order to fund what was the only suitable setting for their children. Many had ASC (autism spectrum conditions), Tourette syndrome, ADHD and anxiety.
It was not officially a special educational needs school, but this year it was recognised as the most inclusive national education provider by Genius Within, a social enterprise celebrating neurodiversity.
Parents moved across the country for Kingsmead. Children who had been mute started to talk, children who had attempted suicide in other settings were now settled. It really was that wonderful.
Whilst her previous school had off-rolled my daughter, Kingsmead made every effort to support her. Nothing was too much trouble. A child who couldn’t cope in a large mainstream and was off-rolled was welcomed at Kingsmead and came out smiling.
It is natural for teenagers to want to fit in with peers and my daughter’s autism diagnosis doesn’t change that – it just makes it harder. Going to school is so simple somthing that many take for granted. Finally, for the first time in her life, she wasn’t different, she wasn’t weird. Like all other teenagers she too belonged.
The week before lockdown, she asked if she could represent Kingsmead at an event. We cried with happiness. She still had bad days but with the support of this most wonderful school her confidence was visibly growing.
In February 2020 the trustees called an emergency meeting. There was a risk of closure. Parents formed working parties and came up with various ideas to improve the school’s viability. Three parents formed a new limited company to take over the running of the school. Parents came up with new business plans, raised £500,000 in 24 hours and agreed to a 15 per cent fee increase.
On 17th June 2020, Kingsmead announced it was closing for good. The trustees citing Covid as the final nail in the coffin.
Kingsmead trustees have said they looked into a free school years ago but it was not approved.
At the same time, Kingsmead trustees have not recognised their USP. They have gone after foreign boarders instead of recognising what they do best – supporting children who for various reasons will not cope in large mainstreams, but don’t fit special educational needs schools either. Children who are in educational limbo.
Numerous children at Kingsmead were placed under an Education Heath Care Plan by various Local Autorities, many others were on the SEND register.
Now some of the most vulnerable children across Wirral, Cheshire and Liverpool, worsened by the pandemic, have found out their school is closing. Some have found other places, but some are looking at a round trip of 100 or more miles a day. For others like my daughter, there is no other school.
The detrimental impact of children being out of school due to Covid is being discussed. What about the impact on children up and down the country who have no suitable school to go to, for many on the Wirral and surrounding areas, it was only a private school could meet their needs.
These are children for whom a busy mainstream is not right. Why is it ok for my daughter to be left with no school?
Kingsmead was a hidden gem.
I have twice contacted Gavin Williamson’s office. I have asked what happens when the local authority has no suitable provision. The response: “It is the role of the local authority to provide a suitable placement in a school that caters to a child’s individual needs”. But the LA has not found a school for my daughter.
Two SEND schools on the Wirral and two mainstream schools have all refused my daughter a place – they say they are not the right setting and we agree.
Private schools shouldn’t have to be relied upon to fill a gap in state provision. And when parents (and even the LA) have to rely on private provision due to lack of suitable state placements, such inclusive provision should be protected.
I note how the government have just approved millions to build a SEND school in Stockport. There is a school here already built in beautiful surroundings. If we could open an inclusive school once more there, that my daughter will be accepted at, it would change our lives and many others in a smiliar situation.
*This is an anonymous post. The image is a stock image and not of the author.
