Black Country boy with amputated leg rejected from secondary schools

His "exhausted" mother is now taking the matter to a tribunal at Dudley Council, after she said he received multiple rejection letters.

Eleven-year-old Daniel Webster, who lives in Halesowen, has missed school for two years due to illness and 'school phobia'.

Now he has turned 11, his mother Trina Webster, age 44, said she applied to multiple mainstream and special secondary schools in the area, but all responded saying they could not cater to his needs.

Eventually, she said she was told Daniel had a place at Earls High School in Dudley – despite staff previously saying it did not have the facilities to cater his needs.

Mrs Webster, who has seven other children aged 26 to nine, said: "Daniel is amazing, he really is. Academically he's amazing.

"He's doing mental maths at about a Year 6 or 7 level, but his other subjects, like English and history, he's at about a Year 3 level.

"But that's why special schools won't take him. And mainstream schools aren't suitable because he needs to be around calm, and he doesn't like to be touched.

"And some of those school sites are just huge, even my other children come home exhausted. It's unfair to expect Daniel to have to walk all the way across the grounds."

Tumour

Daniel was six when doctors found he had a tumour in his hip and thigh. He was signed off from primary school in 2017 as medically unfit when he was given morphine and other drugs to manage the pain. In 2018, he had to have his leg amputated.

Mrs Webster added: "He had the operation in March and then in May we wanted to see if he was ready to go back to school but it was too soon. He was exhausted and soon was refusing."

School refusal is a recognised psychological condition in which children develop an inherent fear of attending school.

Daniel also suffers with selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that affects the ability to speak and communicate.

He did not return to primary school but has been receiving an hour's tuition a day from Cherry Tree Learning Centre, which helps children who have emotional and physical needs.

Dudley Council has said it was committed to giving children "the means to reach their full potential." The family will now attend a tribunal in July at the council to try to find Daniel a suitable place at a special school.

Councillor Ruth Buttery, cabinet member for children and young people, said: "Working in conjunction with health and education providers, we are determined to provide the best possible outcomes for pupils with Send or additional health needs and we have recently appointed two specialist education officers to support and advice parents and carers."