Warwick mum's six-month-long fight to get five-year-old daughter back in school

Emily Bufton, who lives in The Chantry, has been trying to get her daughter Lilly back in school after she was told she could no longer attend Emscote Infant School.

Lilly has social attachment and behaviour needs that requires a different style of teaching compared to other pupils.

Lilly started at Emscote Infant School in September 2016, where she was having two-hour sessions every day, but two weeks in Miss Bufton said the school told her that it could no longer help Lilly.

Miss Bufton said: “For two weeks she had two hours a day but then I just got told by the school that the teaching assistant couldn’t do it.

“They said they had contacted everybody they needed to contact but it had gone to their bosses and that it wouldn’t be long to get someone new and they kept leading me on saying they were doing interviews for people and that ‘it wouldn’t be long now’.

“Lilly then went into Early Intervention Service sessions at Emscote for about a month around late November/early December because a educational psychologist said it would be good for her and she did an hour three times a week, sometimes less, but they locked her in a room away from other pupils, and it was cruelty, so I had to put a stop to it.”

Miss Bufton is becoming increasingly frustrated that she cannot get her daughter into another school.

She said: “She is legally entitled to an education and she hasn’t been in school for six months. She has behaviour and attachment needs. She is not a monster. They are discriminating against a five year old.

“They never should have let her start if they thought she couldn’t go back. She still puts on her school uniform every day and sees other children on their way to school.”

Since the end of Emscote Infant School teaching Lilly, Miss Bufton has been trying to find an alternative so her daughter can get some form of an education.

She said: “We have tried and tried. I tried to get funding from the council and educational bodies for Happy Days, who are childminders, and are great with Lilly but I got told no. It is a load of nonsense – they can send her to Happy Days but they refuse the funds. Nobody will help Lilly.

“This is not helping her social state as she is not mixing with other children and her attachment issues are worse because she only sees me all the time. I need help and she is
 legally entitled to an education.”

A spokesperson for Warwickshire County Council said: “Warwickshire County Council’s Education Department is working closely with the family and school to secure a change of education provision, and is currently exploring a number of options to help to achieve this.

“The council strive to work in partnership with parents and the local schools to secure the best possible outcomes for all pupils in Warwickshire.”