10-year-old boy moved from Riverwalk School in Bury St Edmunds after tribunal rules that his needs were not being met

A mother who raised concerns that her son’s needs were not being met at a Bury St Edmunds special school has won a tribunal to have him moved to a new faculty.

Stephanie Flack, 32, has raised questions for the last three years about her son Lewis Addison’s Education Health and Care Plan, which was made by Suffolk County Council to be carried out at Riverwalk School.

Stephanie claimed that Lewis, who is autistic and has various social, emotional, communication, and sensory processing difficulties, was not being treated or taught properly at the school under the plan.

“None of Lewis’ needs had been met and he has been historically failed unfortunately,” she said. “He’s never going to get those years back and it has taken him to be seriously failed to get moved school which is sad.”

Evidence put forward at the tribunal in January by a solicitor representing Stephanie and her husband Darrell Brown showed that Lewis had ‘regressed in academic progress’, with an educational psychologist and a speech therapist both noting that he had gone from knowing 25 common words to remembering just six.

It was also said that, despite having been prescribed a special ‘peanut chair’, Lewis was left on the floor. As a result had developed hard callouses on his legs.

The tribunal, which was held in Cambridge on January 23, also heard that the 10 year old, who was in a class of nine children with a range of needs at Riverwalk, ‘requires a very small class size due to his needs’.

The council said that Lewis ‘did not need small class sizes throughout the day’ and Riverwalk was the ‘correct placement’ which could ‘meet his individual educational needs’.

But the judge concluded that Lewis was ‘not being taught’ and that ‘only some of his sensory diet is being delivered’ at Riverwalk School.

As a result, Stephanie’s request that her son be moved to Acorn Park School in Banham, which the council described as an ‘inefficient use of resources’, was granted.

The judge described Acorn Park as ‘the only school able to meet Lewis’ needs at this time’.

“We’re really delighted with the outcome. We felt that at Riverwalk we had to fight for the bare minimum but now he’ll get the therapy and teaching he requires ,” said Stephanie.

Suffolk County Council declined to comment.