Mother's despair as autistic son is 'failed by school system'

Tobie Williams, aged five from Perton, Wolverhampton, suffers severe separation anxiety and acute distress as part of his condition, but his parents have been told he must make a lengthy car trip every day if they want him to attend a school suitable for his needs.

Now his mother Charlotte Orlowski has launched a petition online in a bid to bring his plight to the attention of education secretary Justine Greening.

She has been trying to get him a place at Tettenhall Wood School, which has facilities and staff geared towards helping autistic children.

But the school is oversubscribed, with Tobie being offered a place at Cherry Trees School in Wombourne.

Charlotte insists the rush-hour commute isn't feasible for someone with Tobie's needs, but claims no-one is listening to her concerns.

Wolverhampton council bosses say they did not make the decision lightly and it was based purely on the physical capacity at the school.

She said: "Tobie's needs are far too great for mainstream school.

"Among the vast array of difficulties he faces are acute distress when travelling in the car and when his routine is changed and severe separation anxiety.

"The nearest special needs school is Tettenhall Wood School which is a 10-15 minute journey.

"To my despair Tettenhall Wood School is oversubscribed and unable to offer Tobie a place," she said.

"Wolverhampton local authority did not ask one question about Tobie and his needs before refusing, and even refused to add him to the waiting list as they would only offer a place to a Wolverhampton child," she claimed.

"Now Staffordshire will not fund his place as they consider the extra cost to be an inappropriate use of funds.

"The only place offered to Tobie has been a place at Cherry Trees School.

"The daily distress and anxiety that the journey alone would cause him would be psychologically catastrophic.

"As a family we have faced one catastrophic regression for Tobie.

"We helplessly watched as he lost his speech and cognitive skills.

"He became withdrawn to the extent it felt we had lost him.

"With endless hours of intervention and hard work Tobie has slowly progressed into the happy and cheeky little boy he is today."

Councillor Val Gibson, Wolverhampton council's cabinet member for children and young people, said: "Tettenhall Wood is currently oversubscribed, and on that basis, we were unfortunately unable to offer a place to Tobie Williams.

"This decision was based purely on the physical capacity at the school, not on cost or the fact that the child's family lives outside Wolverhampton – in fact we currently have four pupils from neighbouring authorities places at Tettenhall Wood, including two from Staffordshire.

"We did not take this decision lightly, and are reassured that Staffordshire County Council has been able to offer Tobie a school place in Wombourne."

County councillor Ben Adams, cabinet member for learning and skills said: "In Tobie's case, we were unable to agree a place at Tettenhall Wood School due to the fact that the school is extremely oversubscribed and cannot accept more pupils without significantly impacting on the education and safety of the existing students.

"There is a place available for Tobie at Cherry Trees School.

"We have remained in regular contact with Tobie's mum who has requested a further meeting with their Special Educational SEND Keyworker.

"There is an appeals process which is available for parents who disagree with a local authority's decisions in relation to their child's special educational needs, and we will advise and assist Mrs Orlowski with this.

"Every child has the right to a good education, and we are confident that Cherry Trees School, which is rated as 'outstanding' by Ofsted, will meet Tobie's needs."

Mrs Orlowski's petition, www.change.org/p/nicky-morgan-mp-my-son-deserves-a-school-place-the-system-is-failing-him, has more than 1,600 supporters so far.

Comments from those who have signed the online petition include: "There is a huge lack of awareness of the needs of autistic children in this country. All schools seem to care about is money."

While another mother says: "I'm signing because my son has autism and it took me over two years to get his special needs place at school."