Watch as dad of deaf and autistic Sunderland boy claims 'system is broken' after recommended school placement upset

‘Frustrated and angry’ parents of a deaf and autistic child who has learning difficulties have said they will take him out of school and home school him if he is "forced" to go to a mainstream school without suitable provision for his needs.

It’s a situation which has led the family describing the City Council and Together for Children as “needing to take a look at themselves because the system is broken”.

Last week Paul and Gemma Gibson spoke to Echo about feeling ‘left in limbo’ to find a suitable school place for their son Joseph, 11, who dad Paul described as being judged as “not disabled enough” to go to a special school but unable to cope in a mainstream secondary school.

Joseph was born at just 24 weeks and three days which resulted in damage to his white matter - the deeper tissues of his brain. 

He battled through seven operations but has been left deaf, at risk of seizures and also has an abnormal pain threshold which means he isn’t always aware if he has an injury. He also had an operation on his vocal cords which makes it more difficult for Joseph to communicate.

Joseph has also been diagnosed with autism and learning difficulties which means he's around three years behind where a child of his age would be expected to be. He’s also currently being assessed for dyspraxia after suffering a number of falls at school.

Joseph currently attends Thorney Close Primary School and Paul and Gemma have spent the last two years trying to secure a place with provision to meet his needs.

Despite Paul and Gemma’s protestations, the family have now received a letter recommending that Joseph is allocated a Year 7 place at Sandhill View Academy.

Paul, 40, said: “We feel like Joseph is being forced to go to a school which doesn’t cater for all his needs. We’ve spoken with teachers from both schools and they’ve told us this.

“He has already been assessed as being three to four years behind where he should be and he simply won’t cope in a mainstream school.

“If he ends up being forced to go to Sandhill then I will have no option but to withdraw Joseph and home school him until suitable provision is in place.”

The letter sent to the family stated: “It is recommended that Joseph attend Thorney Close Primary School, a mainstream primary school which caters for pupils with hearing impairments until July and then Sandhill View Academy, a publicly funded independent mainstream secondary school which caters for pupils with hearing impairment, from September 2024.”  

A key area of dispute focuses on Joseph’s updated draft Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), which parents say focuses solely on his hearing impairment and, as such, is preventing him accessing the full provision and placement he needs.

Paul added: “Sandhill may be able to support Joseph with his deafness, but not fully for his autism and learning difficulties. There’s no mention of these diagnoses is his EHCP or the letter recommending his placement 

“We’ve already been told Joseph needs an alternative curriculum. If he’s going to be placed in mainstream then he needs a school with a special educational unit, such as the one at Washington Academy, which from what we’ve seen is best placed to meet all his needs.

“I also don’t understand why the placement panel used the report from his deaf teacher at Grindon Hall Infant school. He hasn’t been there for several years. Surely it should have been from his current school.”

Paul and Gemma have shown the Echo official documents verifying Joseph’s autism and learning difficulties diagnoses.

The first letter from Sunderland Royal Hospital is from consultant in paediatric neurodisability, Dr Madhuri Dasarath.

He stated: “I am writing to confirm a diagnosis of learning disability following receipt of Joseph’s formal Educational Psychology Report undertaken on November 24th, 2022.

“Given that his general cognitive ability falls more at the level of a Year 2 child than a Year 5, I would confirm diagnosis of learning disability so that Joseph is well supported according to the detailed recommendations.

“He already has an EHCP in place and hopefully this will allow exploration of the appropriate school placement for secondary school years.”

An earlier letter from the Niall Quinn Children’s Centre, dated October 6, 2022, also confirmed Joseph as having an “autism spectrum disorder”.

Paul and Gemma say copies the same reports were sent to them from the Council along with his new draft EHCP - a situation which has left them even more confused as to why it’s not reflected in his plan.

Gemma, 39, said: “They have all the documentation and so why is this not on his plan? We just can’t understand this.

“The reports are from nearly two years ago but until we get this on his EHCP, he is not going to get the school placement and support he needs.”

Paul added: “Sandhill may be able to support his hearing impairment, but don’t have sufficient provision to support his autism and learning difficulties.

“His reports show 99.5% of children Joseph’s age are working at a higher level and he’s going to get left behind.”

The parents have submitted a letter to Together for Children saying they do not agree with his draft EHCP and object to his recommended school placement.

They will have the right to appeal any placement, but the family are concerned about the time this will take.

Paul said: “We firstly have to wait to see what comes back from our objection. We’ve explained the situation to Joseph’s neurologist and he has said we must appeal this recommended placement.

“However, any official appeal will take months and Joseph will probably already have started at Sandhill before anything is finalised.”

Gemma added: “Schools like Washington Academy only have limited spaces in their special education units and by the time any appeal is heard, we are worried all the places will be gone.”

It’s a situation the family said is having a detrimental impact on their wellbeing.

Gemma said: “I’m so stressed about this and feel we are no further forward. I’m angry and frustrated.”

Paul added: “It feels like we are talking to a brick wall. Numerous professional people are telling us what Joseph needs but the people that matter are not providing it.

“I personally think Together for Children and Sunderland Council need to have a long hard look at themselves. I know parents of other children in similar situations and the system is broken for children with deafness and autistic needs.”

A spokesperson for Together for Children and the City City Council said: “While not appropriate to discuss individual students, places for pupils with special educational needs are allocated according to needs identified in an Education Health Care Plan.

 “This is always shared with parents and proposed settings in its draft form for feedback and comment.

 “Once finalised, parents and carers are fully advised of their options in terms of mediation and appeal.

 “We would always encourage parents to discuss concerns with their caseworker throughout this process.”

Previously referring to provision for hearing loss at Sandhill Academy, Together for Children’s Strategic lead for Special Educational Needs and disabilities, Pamela Robertson, said: "We  operate a Hearing Impairment  Additionally Resourced Provision at Sandhill School, which is fully staffed by specialist teaching and support staff from the Children’s Sensory  Impairment Team, which includes a Qualified Teacher of the Deaf and specialist support staff.

"This team provides any support required by the children which is related to their hearing impairment and specified within the  child’s EHCP."