Mother of child from Strood with special educational needs appeals for more places at specialist schools

Kelly Smith has applied to two different Medway schools on behalf of her son Louis but says it's unlikely he'll start until September.

Transcript

00:00 Letters, numbers and shapes. There's nothing 5 year old Louis loves more in the whole world.

00:06 But since September, Louis' love for learning has been confined to this flat in Stroud rather

00:11 than a classroom. This is because Louis is non-verbal and has cerebral palsy and autism,

00:17 meaning mainstream schools in Medway would be unequipped for his needs.

00:21 But Louis' mum Kelly says there are no spaces available at special educational needs schools

00:26 in Medway when he left nursery last year, meaning she has had to homeschool her son

00:31 with the help of her sister. She says she doesn't know how long she can continue.

00:38 He's not got, he doesn't understand how to socialise, he's got like with other children,

00:42 like there's no other children, like he's never had other children to socialise with.

00:47 So it's just getting harder and harder for him to then, when he goes to school, how's

00:51 he going to cope? I can only teach him so much and then it's like a door, there's nowhere

00:59 else to go. So it's constant every day the same thing and I do my best, but he deserves

01:05 to go to school like every other child.

01:07 Kelly has applied to both Dane Court and Abbey Court schools. That's when a glimmer of hope

01:12 emerged.

01:14 Kelly was told that Louis would start at Abbey Court after Easter in a brand new class. She

01:20 was later told there weren't enough staff at the school to facilitate extra pupils.

01:25 Having reached out to Medway Council for support without hearing back, Kelly says she has never

01:30 felt so alone in getting the support she says her son needs.

01:34 No one gets back to me. I constantly email and I ring and I just feel like I'm chasing

01:41 my tail all the time and it's really upsetting and I just, sometimes I just want to cry because

01:46 I'm so frustrated and I just don't know what to do for the best anymore.

01:51 Abbey Court and Medway Council have both been approached for comment. In the meantime, with

01:56 no places available until later this year, for now, Louis and his family will have to

02:00 make do with all the letters and numbers they have at home.

02:04 Oliver Leeds and Sacks reporting for KMTV.