Yeadon number one folks inform of ‘sleepless nights’ over faculty closure

Folks and carers have mentioned they’re “devastated” through plans to near a Leeds faculty, as they raised issues over the affect on kids with further wishes.

Queensway Number one Faculty in Yeadon is ready to close on the finish of the college yr, after town councillors subsidized the transfer in a vote remaining week.

A session was once opened in January over plans to close the college, which has simply 72 kids at the roll from a capability of 210.

Vicky Lancaster, whose daughter is autistic, mentioned the “maximum susceptible” kids could be suffering from the closure.

A protest through folks and academics stopped Queensway Number one from remaining in 2022.

Ms Lancaster has two kids these days on the faculty and a 3rd who has moved directly to secondary faculty.

Her youngest daughter is autistic, she mentioned, including she was once “devastated” on the prospect of the college remaining.

Ms Lancaster mentioned she was once frightened “she’s now not going as a way to settle in in addition to her brother”.

She mentioned: “Is she going to enter a special surroundings the place she’s now not going to manage and he will thrive, and I will have to split my kids?”

“It is price me sleepless nights as a result of I have no idea the place the youngsters are going to move,” Ms Lancaster mentioned.

“They mentioned they have got learn each and every letter and it is heartfelt, however if you happen to’d learn each and every letter and in reality felt this for your middle, you possibly can know that is the improper factor to do.”

Sibel Ansell mentioned she was once focused on how any other faculty would meet the wishes of her son, who may be autistic.

Personnel at Queensway Number one are specifically educated differently of finding out language, which her son makes use of, she mentioned.

He was once “firstly positioned in any other faculty together with his brother, and we briefly established it could not meet his wishes, which is why we got here to Queensway”.

“We’re evidence that the mainstream faculties [councillor] Helen Hayden is making an attempt to ship our kids to can’t cater for the youngsters this faculty can.

“We are in reality dissatisfied, in reality annoyed and simply devastated at this end result.”

Greater than 90% of respondents to a session strongly adverse the closure, she mentioned, making “the entire thing completely nugatory”.

Foster carer Nicholas Humphrey mentioned his personal kids had long gone to Queensway Number one, in addition to quite a lot of looked-after kids.

One these days attending had further wishes and an training, well being and care plan (EHCP), he mentioned, and “there is not any plan for the place she’s going to move locally, who can accommodate her”.

“This faculty has been an enormous a part of her circle of relatives since she began faculty and it is been the only consistent in her lifestyles… now they are asking us to place her into an unknown position, in an unknown time frame, the place there isn’t a provision present,” he mentioned.

Mr Humphrey accused the council of “smoke and mirrors”, over a forecast deficit of £1m on the faculty over 3 years.

“There is not any manner they may be able to rehome the entire kids on this faculty, 40 or extra of them with particular tutorial wishes, for lower than 1,000,000 kilos within the subsequent 3 years,” he mentioned.

Helen Hayden, Leeds Town Council’s govt member for youngsters and households, mentioned remaining a faculty was once “now not a call we take evenly”.

She mentioned the council understood the power of feeling, and recognised the “tireless paintings of everybody concerned” in making improvements to the college’s place.

“As a neighborhood authority, we now have a duty to believe the viability of the college and as such, we at the moment are in the hunt for to development to the following degree of session,” she mentioned.

“There’ll now be additional alternative for other folks to turn their make stronger or objection to the proposal all through the brand new statutory understand length.”

Hayden emphasized that the authority would “paintings intently with all affected households” and supply “complete and bespoke make stronger” for youngsters with further wishes or EHCPs, “to verify their wishes endured to be met.”

A last choice can be taken on the council’s June govt board, and if authorized, the college will shut on the finish of the summer time time period.