Row over college funding goes to watchdog
A MOTHER'S battle with Lincolnshire County Council to get her home-educated son into college is being taken to the local Government watchdog.
Astrid Jordan, of Moulton Seas End, is making a formal complaint about the LEA to the Local Government Ombudsman after her son Kieran (14) was refused funding to study music at Boston College.
The council has no legal duty to fund further education of home-schooled children, but Astrid claimed an officer told her he would be approved and knows of other home-schooled children who have been successful.
"We are taking this to the Ombudsman because of the treatment we have had. We are being discriminated against and the LEA led us to believe we had got the funding," she said.
Astrid, who has taught Kieran at home since he was nearly five, said he is desperate to move on. Boston College would accept him on to the BTEC music course, but the council has refused to fund it as he is not in mainstream education, and has been offered a place at Spalding's Gleed Boys' School.
"On the LEA's advice we tried to get Kieran on the student roll of the Gleed Boys' only to be refused and offered a place in year ten instead," she said.
"We refused as it would be detrimental for Kieran. School wouldn't suit him and what would be the point going over everything he has learnt already when he knows it's a future in music he wants to pursue?"
Following a review of Kieran's case and a visit from a council officer in July, Astrid claimed she was told Kieran would get funding.
A month later she received a letter saying they couldn't fund Kieran and he should take up the school place.
Astrid is now concerned Kieran's enthusiasm to learn will deteriorate if he has to wait until he is 16, when the course will be available to him for free.
Penny Richardson, the council's interim strategic manager for inclusion, said: "We have looked at Kieran's case carefully and while we can't provide funding for the further education course, a mainstream school place has been found for him.
"While we have reconsidered the decision not to fund an FE course for Kieran, there are no exceptional reasons that would lead us to consider we can provide funding to his parents for the course they have chosen.
A course at FE college will be available to him at no cost when he reaches school leaving age."
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Weather for Spalding
Saturday 04 February 2012
Today
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Temperature: -1 C to 2 C
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