Mum's battle to move her disabled son out of school 'which feels like a prison'

SHE IS TAKING COUNCIL TO TRIBUNAL OVER 'DISTRESSING EXPERIENCES'

- By JOEL MOORE

A NOTTINGHAMSHIRE mum is taking the county council to a tribunal amid a years-long battle to move her disabled son to a new school.

Sabrina Johnson said her eight-year-old son Charlie's “emotional and physical care needs” have not been met since enrolling at Ash Lea special education school in Cotgrave in 2021.

The Radcliffe mum-of-two alleges staff unnecessarily restrained her son on multiple occasions and let him play with a substance that caused his skin condition to flare up.

Despite repeatedly asking for Charlie to move school, Nottinghamshire County Council has been unable to accommodate the request, blaming it on “exceptionally high levels of demand” for special school places.

Charlie is non-verbal, has developmental delay, an eating disorder and is severely autistic. Ms Johnson said she immediately regretted enrolling him at Ash Lea, recalling going in one day and finding her son “on his own crying and distressed”.