SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) services offered by the council have been described as a ‘shambles’ by a concerned parent. 

It comes following a recent Ofsted report stating the council had made “insufficient progress” in implementing previously recommended reforms. 

Gemma McDonagh’s son Rudi suffers from encephalitis – a serious condition where the brain becomes inflamed causing seizures. He missed school for a year and has “struggled significantly ever since.” 

Ms McDonagh claims that Bracknell Forest Council had “continued to miss deadlines” on Rudi being assessed for an Educational and Health Care Plan (EHCP), meaning he wasn’t getting the appropriate support required for a student with his condition. 

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She alleges that it took the council 12 weeks to respond to a request to assess Rudi for a bespoke plan, six weeks over the legal limit, only to say they are not going to assess. 

They subsequently agreed after Ms Mcdonagh appealed, but by this point Rudi had already “been left further behind in his studies.” He was still in a mainstream school ten months later where he “struggled to cope.”  

The council says that children can be assessed for EHCP requirement via the Child Development Centre (CDC) and support is available “for a number of specialisms.” 

Cheryl Eyre, assistant director of education and learning, said: “If […] issues develop once a child starts school, then the SEN Code of Practice is clear that schools are required to apply the Graduated Approach.  

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“The Graduated Approach details an approach of Assess, Plan, Do, Review for two terms. This requires the school to assess a child’s needs, put a plan in place, deliver the plan, assess the impact, and then undertake the process again.  

“We are working with schools to endorse this approach and to help develop and improve processes.” 

Ms McDonagh, a teacher herself, was Rudi’s teaching assistant for online learning during the pandemic as the classes were moving too quickly for him, leaving his self-esteem “really low.” 

She said: “I can’t get him to attend school so he is falling even further behind, and I have had to cut down on my working hours to look after him. Someone always has to be at home because we don’t know if we are going to be able to get him into school or not. Financially we are struggling.   

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“I’m appalled about how hard I have had to fight, every step of the way [the council] have resisted. The whole thing has been an absolute shambles. So many children must be being failed and something needs to be done.” 

Since the EHCP was agreed, Rudi has been offered a place at an appropriate SEN school, but Ms McDonagh claims the council are “still dragging their feet” in allocating the necessary funds. 

Ms Eyre added: “We apologise for any distress caused and would like to reassure parents that rectifying those concerns is a priority for the council. 

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“There is a shortage of specialist provision across the country and Bracknell Forest is no exception. Nevertheless, the council has committed significant funding to SEND provision, sourcing and providing provision through a Commissioning Framework.  

“We remain committed to identifying and meeting need as early as possible and will continue working with parents and children to improve the service in Bracknell Forest.”