Families face £1,076 bill per child for summer holiday childcare
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BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Work begins on £3m refurbishment of Hilltop school
Work has begun on a £3m project to transform a school for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).Cramped and outdated classrooms at Hilltop School in Maltby, Rotherham, will be replaced with spacious and accessible facilities as part of the project, with more than 50 contractors working for free on the school, which provides specialist education for children with complex needs aged between two and 19, will remain open throughout the refurbishment work. Charlotte Farrington, founder of Yorkshire Children's Charity, which is co-ordinating the work, said it was "a life-changing project for the children and families" at the school. Half of state-funded schools in England for children with special educational needs and disabilities are oversubscribed, BBC research found in 2011, Hilltop School had just over 80 children enrolled, but that number is now more than 180, according to the Nexus Multi Academy Trust that runs it said the 1970s building did not have the space or features to properly accommodate their needs and that the school could not previously afford to update its facilities. Yorkshire Children's Charity works with SEND schools across the region, but Ms Farrington said Hilltop School was "without question, the worst I've ever been into"."I remember coming in to visit the first time, I cried all the way home from Rotherham to Leeds out of frustration - our most vulnerable children were having to make do with such poor facilities," she called it a "pressure cooker" for staff and students. As part of its transformation, new classrooms and a centre for trampoline therapy will be Sam MacDonald said he was excited to have a designated space for the school's trampolines, as using them led to "higher engagement, higher interaction, and more alertness" amongst added they also gave "massive access to the wider world" to children with physical school's ventilation system will also be Farrington said: "Outside of home and hospital, school for many of these children is all that they know, and we really have to question what kind of society we live in if we are not putting their needs first and foremost." Lee Powell, managing director of Henry Boot Construction, one of the contractors working on the project, said: "We're quite a competitive bunch in the construction and property industry."We're competing against each other for works and contracts, but for us all to join forces and do this here, it's quite rewarding."He said he was impressed by how "upbeat" the school's students and staff were despite the "run down" work is expected to be complete by September 2026. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds or catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Daily Mirror
'I quit work- because I can't find childcare for my disabled daughter'
Ana Chivu worked for a medical company but says she made the difficult decision to leave her job because she couldn't find a holiday club for her daughter Giulia during the summer holidays A mother forced to quit work because she cannot find any holiday clubs for her SEND daughter says the scarcity of places is worsened by her being between school and nursery. After weeks of research, a football group for one hour on a Monday was all Ana Chivu could find for her four-year-old daughter Giulia. The child with special educational needs and disabilities is non-verbal autistic, still in nappies and has no danger awareness. Ana, 30, told the Mirror: 'I love my job and it was family-friendly hours – I worked for a medical company Monday to Friday, 9am to 1pm. 'I want to be working but resigned last month because I had to make the right decision for my daughter. 'I found some holiday clubs that sounded good but as soon as I mentioned she was in nappies and needed help with feeding they said they couldn't accommodate her.' Parents pay an average of £1,076 per child for summer holiday clubs, children's charity Coram revealed. And just 9% of councils in England have enough places for SEND kids. Being in the gap between nursery and school intensifies the difficulty in finding holiday clubs, as kids are often unable to access either sector. Ana said if the government wants to cut personal independence payments and get more people into work, it needs to improve special educational needs support Ana, who lives in Barnsley, South Yorks, with husband Radoslav, 35, a hygiene supervisor, added: 'I've read about respite breaks but because she is not in statutory school age, these do not apply to Giulia either.' Anna Bird, chief of disability charity Contact, added: 'Some families with disabled children dread the long summer break because they don't have access to childcare.' Labour's Peter Swallow, who was at a Parliamentary drop-in last week where more than 60 MPs met families of SEND children, said: 'I want to see better support for vulnerable children and their parents.' The Department of Education said: 'We recognise school holidays can be a pressurised time for parents, particularly for those with children who have SEND, which is why we are continuing to fund free holiday clubs through the Holiday Activities and Food programme. 'Councils must ensure sufficient, high-quality provision is available for children with SEND who are eligible in their areas.'
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Country's 'strictest' state schools revealed – where does your child's rank?
The number of suspensions at state-funded secondaries in England has more than doubled since before the Covid-19 pandemic, government figures show A failing school backed by the Co-op handed out twice as many suspensions in just a year as there are pupils, we can reveal. An astonishing 3,174 suspensions were made at the Co-op Academy Grange in Bradford – nearly 17 a day. The remarkable figure represents the highest at any state secondary in 2023-4, analysis of newly-released Department for Education (DfE) figures show. It comes as the number of suspensions at state-funded secondaries has more than doubled since before the Covid-19 pandemic. There were 22.6 suspensions per 100 pupils in 2023-4 –a rise from 10.7 in 2018-19. It means the overall number has jumped from 357,715 to 829,896 during the period. Co-op Academy Grange – which can educate up to 1,500 pupils – is part of a trust sponsored by the Co-op Group, the UK's fifth largest food retailer. On its website, Co-op Academy Grange boasts 'we strive to create a nurturing and inclusive environment that supports academic achievement and personal development'. But in June 2023, it was warned by the DfE with termination as a letter stated: 'The number of suspensions for poor behaviour is too high and increasing. This is especially true for disadvantaged pupils and for pupils with SEND. This results in pupils missing valuable learning time and falling behind their peers. Leaders should examine more effectively the causes for vulnerable pupils receiving suspensions and put strategies in place which address these.' The DfE letter added: 'The number of pupils removed from lessons for poor behaviour is high. This disrupts pupils' learning and limits their progression through the curriculum.' And a watchdog inspection in February found the school required improvement across four categories. The Ofsted inspection report, which noted there were 1450 pupils on the school roll, said: 'Actions taken by the school have resulted in the number of pupils' suspensions being much lower than in previous years, although it is still too high.' The regulator rated the school requiring improvement across four categories. The number of suspensions at the school in 2023-4 averaged almost 17 a day across a standard 190-day school year. Camborne Science and International Academy in Cornwall had the next highest number of suspensions with 2,976. The suspension rate was highest in the North East of England, with 39.7 for every 100 pupils. A National Education Union spokesperson said: "The rise in pupil suspensions is a worrying development, especially in secondary schools. When you ask teachers what they need to help students who are struggling, they talk about insufficient numbers of staff, an over-packed curriculum, insufficient pastoral staff, and point to the practically non-existent mental health support for children and young people. 'Schools used to have budgets available for staff to focus on working with families, create small group work for pupils, and additional mentoring for those who need it. All these initiatives are gone because of budget cuts. Bulging class sizes in secondary schools are also a factor. The government's current focus on training and other low-cost initiatives will not solve this problem. What they must get to grips with is the historic shortfall in the funding of schools and local authorities to provide the support families and children so obviously need." Co-op Academies Trust said: 'Over the past few years, we have achieved a dramatic reduction in the rate of behaviour sanctions through concerted efforts across our school, including to raise standards in behaviour and attitudes with the support of parents and families. These figures relate to the 2023/24 academic year and therefore no longer reflect the current picture at the school – indeed data for the current school year already show a further reduction of 50% for suspensions. We remain firmly on a path to accelerating these improvements as we work to ensure every student has access to the educational opportunities and productive learning environment they deserve. Indeed, we were encouraged by feedback from Ofsted in February 2025, which highlighted the strong evidence of improvement underway." A spokesperson for Athena Learning Trust, which Camborne is part of, said: "It's worth noting that with almost 2,000 students, Camborne is nearing twice the size of the average secondary school and so the numbers are always likely to be higher than for a smaller school. The figures referenced also relate to the year before last and we are really pleased that the most recent data shows a clear reduction in suspensions across all our schools. In fact, at Camborne Science and International Academy, suspensions have gone down by over 50 per cent compared to the data published by the DfE. We set the bar high - and we don't shy away from that. In fact, we believe children thrive when they know exactly what's expected of them. The fact that suspensions have more than halved this year, while our expectations have remained just as ambitious, shows that when you hold the line and support students to meet it, they rise to the challenge.' A Department for Education spokesperson said: 'Every child deserves to learn in a calm, safe and supportive environment, which is why this government has stepped in to support schools like Co-op Academy Grange through our new regional improvement programme, providing tailored, expert help to improve standards, and reduce avoidable suspensions. More widely, through our Plan for Change, we've wasted no time in tackling the root causes of poor behaviour, including by working to provide access to mental health support in every school, give children the fuel they need to learn through free breakfast clubs and expand free school meals. We are also setting up new behaviour hubs, that will deliver intensive support to 500 schools across the country facing the greatest challenges with their behaviour.'
