Worried parents at a Cumnock school say their children will miss out on vital support due to council cuts.
A popular summer scheme has been axed just days before the holidays, leaving frustrated families high and dry.
Pupils who attend Hillside have been told their specifically tailored schemes for children with additional and complex support needs have been binned.
Schools in Kilmarnock have also been hit by the reduction to important summer support services.
Hillside, which offers specialist provision for children and young people aged 5 to 18 with complex needs and disabilities, has previously operated a summer scheme for parents of up to 40 hours in July.
Instead, children are now being offered just one day in the entire month, with council bosses pledging to introduce a broader programme of activities to children across the region.
But parents say the new model is completely unsuitable for the majority of kids with additional needs.
East Ayrshire Council acknowledged their summer schemes wouldn't be for everyone and said that parents of additional support needs parents can contact schools to "commission specific activities".
Kaye Donoghue, chair of the parent council at Hillside, told Ayrshire Live: "The support offered throughout the summer is vital and to cut it back like this is devastating.
"The council claim they're now offering more activities but most of them are totally unsuitable for children with additional needs.
"There is a lot of anger among parents and rightly so. We feel like the children have just been forgotten about when they rely on these services."
East Ayrshire Council pointed out that its education department wasn't solely responsible for the provision of summer activities.
The local authority also said changes were made after receiving "significant criticism" for not including all families of young people with additional support needs.
Elena Whitham, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, is among those to have taken up the case on behalf of angry parents.
She said: “I have been contacted by a number of parents and I am concerned at the way these changes have been communicated.
“For many ASN children, routine and structure is important and the council should have had a better plan in place to communicate the changes that it plans to bring in this summer.
“Further support and guidance regarding the commissioning that parents are being pointed towards must also be provided by the council.”
A spokesperson for East Ayrshire Council said: "The remodelled Summer Scheme aims to provide a greater range and location of activities across East Ayrshire for young people in both mainstream and ASN settings.
"The scheme is offered on a multi-agency basis and was worked on by teams from education, including ASN head teachers; Vibrant Communities, the Health and Social Care Partnership’s Children and Families Service, Active Schools and third sector partners.
"Over 400 fun activity sessions for children and young people will be on offer this summer but it is absolutely recognised that not all activities will be suitable for all young people.
"Parents and carers of young people with ASN have been invited to contact their schools to commission specific activities where these are needed.
"The previous programme had received significant criticism for not including all families of young people with ASN and the new model seeks to ensure that all families of pupils with ASN have a menu of activities and locations, as well as the commissioning offer.
"In addition to this work, services and partners are seeking to provide dedicated support to pupils of our special schools and communication centres including activity sessions and commissioned activities.
"All families with young people with ASN have also been offered family experiences, such as leisure swims and cinema tickets, again recognising that these experiences will not be suited to all needs.
"Colleagues from the Children and Families Service are also offering targeted activities over the holiday period for families of children with disabilities.
"It is worthy of note that the education service is not responsible statutorily for the provision of summer activities or respite care for young people but has always sought to do so in recognising the difficulties that some families can face over the extended summer break.
"The council has not changed the offer stated to parents in regards to time allocated in host schools, this was always planned as part of the provision in our ASN schools.
"The 400 plus activity sessions can be registered for through the council’s website www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk/events and represent an exciting and active holiday offer for East Ayrshire’s children and young people."
To sign the petition, visit: https://www.change.org/p/willowbank-summer-scheme-getting-it-right-for-every-child
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