Mother at 'all-time low' because of Oxfordshire County Council battle

A mother said her mental health is at an "all-time low" after a two-year battle with a council to get her son more support for his special needs.

Natalie's son has autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy and learning difficulties.

She said he needs to attend a special school but has not been given a place, and that they will appeal.

Oxfordshire County Council said it is improving but does not receive enough funding from central government.

The authority expects its "high needs block" to be in a deficit of £47m by next March.

Parents held a protest ahead of the authority's meeting on Tuesday to demand urgent action to improve services for children with special needs.

"It's been long, hard and drawn out," Natalie said.

"The trouble we have is that [council staff] don't listen. They're very good at minimising children's needs and the provision he needs on a daily basis.

"It's two years in, it looks like we are going to easily get to three, four years. It shouldn't be this hard."

"My mental health is at an all-time low, my son's mental health is at an all-time low," Natalie added.

"Trying to deal with that, seeing your son go through that on a daily basis, it's heart-breaking. No parent should have to witness that."

Liz Brighouse, the council's deputy leader and cabinet member for children, education and young people, said on Tuesday that the authority is letting some children down.

But she said it cannot deliver what parents want without a "very large injection of extra money".

She said some staff are dealing with unsustainable workloads, including some who are working on between 200 and 250 cases at one time.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We have increased high needs funding to a record £9.1bn overall this year to help councils with their costs and will continue to work with them in targeted ways, offering direct support and intervention where necessary, so all families can feel supported."

Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].