Bradford mum speaks out on fight to get son into school

Michaela Brook, of Wyke, has told the T&A about her fight to try and get her son, Cohan, 5, who has a range of special education needs, into a special school.

Michaela said: “Cohan’s still in nappies. He’s non-verbal, autistic and he wears a helmet and weighted vest. He also likes to have a bottle all day long.

Mum Michaela Brook has been fighting to get her son, Cohan, 5, into school. (Image: Newsquest)

“He has tremendous meltdowns and there are times when he won’t go out of the house.

“He’s been out of school since September 2022. Developmentally he was not ready for reception.

“The special schools are at capacity. We were offered a mainstream school, but they didn’t have a breakout room and couldn’t commit to the provisions we would need.

“They told us: ‘We can’t meet his needs’.

Mum Michaela Brook has been fighting to get her son, Cohan, 5, into school. (Image: Newsquest)

“We’re on a waiting list for a specialist setting, but there’s been nothing to accommodate his needs.

“I’m not willing to let my son to be out of learning for a whole another year.”

She wants Bradford Council to place him into a special school.

Mum Michaela Brook has been fighting to get her son, Cohan, 5, into school. (Image: Newsquest)

Michaela explained: “We noticed there were going to be concerns when Cohan was a little baby.

“I wanted to put him into the nursery so the professionals could do their assessment.

“I tried to get the ball rolling when he was really little.”

Michaela’s mum Pamela Brook, of Bradford, added: “My daughter has been fighting this for three years since he was in nursery.

“My grandson is being lost in the system.

“He’s not in school and he’s going to be six in August.”

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “We cannot comment on individual cases but we highly value and recognise the importance of education and are fully committed to working with parents and schools to ensure that children have their needs identified and met.

“The placement of children in specialist provision is not dependent on a medical diagnosis, including a diagnosis of autism and many children are placed in specialist provision without a diagnosis.

“Placement in specialist provision is based on the needs of the child and the suitability of the education provision.

“We are more than willing to continue to meet with this parent and will be contacting her to resolve the concerns.”