A frustrated mum hit out at her local council after her partially-sighted daughter was refused school transport. Shari Richards said she is "angry, disappointed and upset" for her daughter Neveah who also has mental health issues.
Shari said Neveah, 11, needs full-time, adult supervision while she is outdoors. The single mum has three other children to sort on a morning but said she will strive to get her daughter to their preferred school.
Speaking to PlymouthLive, Shari told how how Neveah was accepted in the top 50 out of 300 pupils for Devonport High School for Girls (DHSG). "Nevaeh did her 11+ and she got in the top 50 out of 300 plus kids which I thought was brilliant," she said.
"She has mental health issues and suffers with severe social anxiety and generalised anxiety and uses the mental health team at Livewell Southwest. All of the professionals that work with her have said there's no reason why she shouldn’t be granted school transport by the council."
But Plymouth City Council's school transport department declined Nevaeh's application because DHSG is not the nearest school, and Neveah lives less than two miles away. Shari branded the council's rejection "ridiculous".
"I applied for it and it was turned down despite all of the professional evidence which says Nevaeh can’t be outside on her own as she needs adult supervision at all times due to being partially blind," she said. "Especially on a sunny day - she can’t see at all. I either have to hold her hand, or guide her with my son’s pram when we are out. It’s not like she even goes out with friends, she has a couple of friends but she can’t even do that.
"It’s not your typical 11-year-old child. She is very mature and clever don’t get me wrong but even when catching a bus - she can’t even see a bus or what number is coming.
“The council said download the Citybus app, but it lags and it’s not going to help. If she missed a bus, or caught the wrong bus. She would be so upset and wouldn’t know what to do.
"I feel angry, disappointed and upset for my daughter. It shouldn’t have come to this. I don’t understand how they can refuse her to be honest.
“Recently she couldn’t even go on a school trip because the teachers didn’t think she would cope in the hot weather, so she missed out on that. We are not exaggerating, she can’t be outside on her own without supervision which all of the professionals have said in the evidence report."
She said Nevaeh was refused transport to the school by the council "despite medical evidence". And when they appealed the decision, it was rejected again.
"The reasons were because she isn’t going to her nearest mainstream school which I'm not going to choose to put her in if she has got in the top 50- that school meets her academic needs," said Shari.
“The other reason was because we live 1.9 miles from the DHSG and you need to live two miles or more from the school to be accepted - it’s ridiculous. The other reasons were because she hasn’t got an EHC plan.
"It is actually going through the motions now and will be finalised on August 10 - which the council knows. I have emailed local councillors in the area."
A Plymouth City Council spokesperson said their policy and criteria for support with school transport follow national guidance and locally agreed protocol. Under the current policy, if a child is eligible for support for medical reasons, this will only be provided for the nearest school that meets that child’s medical needs.
"If a parent chooses to send their child to a school that is further away they will not be eligible for that support," they said. “If a parent believes their circumstances have changed since their last unsuccessful application or appeal we would, of course, be happy to consider a new application with the additional supporting evidence.”
Shari said she plans to said she is determined to get Nevaeh to DHFG somehow. She said: “I will do my best for her to attend Devonport High School for Girls because she has done extra transitions, and what the school has done and put in place for her so far has been amazing.
“To make it work for her, I will have to take the bus with her every morning. I have two other children in year six and four and will have to put them in the breakfast club and then take my three-year-old on the bus with me. I’m a single mum so it’s difficult.
“I can only reapply when her ECH has gone through, but that still can’t be promised because we live 1.9 miles away from the school.
"It is a constant battle for what she deserves. I told her I will get her there somehow, and I'm like that with all my children. If they want to do something and if I can get them there, I will do my best.”
