WEST Somerset parents Charlotte Finch and Matt Kingdon are fearing for their son Teddy’s future education after Somerset Council refused to find him a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) place from the autumn.

Teddy, aged nine, attends St Peter’s First School, Williton, and is due in September to move to the village’s Danesfield Middle School.

But, Ms Finch said Danesfield accepted it would not be able to meet Teddy’s needs as set out in his Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) - a statutory document with which the council is required to comply.

Ms Finch, an NHS healthcare assistant, said: “Our son has an EHCP, a legal document designed to ensure children with additional needs receive the support they require.

“On paper, it represents protection and provision.

“In reality, we have found it does not guarantee that a child’s needs will actually be met.

“In communities like ours, we trust that children will be supported, nurtured, and given the opportunity to thrive in school.

“For families of children with special educational needs that trust is increasingly being tested.

“Like many families, we entered the education system hopeful that the right support would be there when needed.

“Instead, we have spent years fighting to secure something as fundamental as a suitable school placement.”

Ms Finch said St Peter’s School had done what it could within its limitations and the staff were honest and compassionate, acknowledging they could not meet Teddy’s needs.

She said: “This is not a failure of the school, it is a failure of a system that places children in environments that are not equipped to support them.

“Despite this, our local authority has declined to provide a place in a specialist SEN school.

“The consequences are real and deeply concerning.

“Our son is currently on a reduced timetable and has never attended school full-time in his entire five years of education.

“This is not by choice, it is because the setting cannot safely or effectively support him for a full school day.

“As a family, our daily lives have been significantly affected.

“We have both been forced to take breaks in our careers in order to support our son and be available when school cannot accommodate him.

“We are unable to progress in our careers because we must remain at home to meet his needs.

“This has financial implications, but also emotional ones, feeling as though our lives are on hold while we fight for the basic support our child is entitled to.

“There is also the constant uncertainty.

“Without appropriate provision, it is difficult to see a way forward or how things will improve, not just for our son, but for us as a family.

“The strain of navigating this system, advocating continuously, and watching your child struggle takes its toll.”

Ms Finch said she was aware many families across Somerset were facing similar battles as the gap grew between what was written in an EHCP and what was delivered in practice.

Somerset Council told the Free Press it could not discuss individual cases.