A FAMILY in Dilton Marsh say the proposed closure of Larkrise School, in Trowbridge, will have a huge impact on the health and learning of their daughter Dolly, who attends the school due to her complex medical needs.
Nine-year old Nikita Hughes, known as Dolly to her family and friends, suffers from congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS), a disorder which means she must be supported by a machine at night to help her breathe. She also has global development delay, which is where a child has a lower intellectual functioning than what is perceived as ‘normal’.
She attends Larkrise Primary School in Trowbridge due to needing one-to-one care throughout the day.
Last year, Wiltshire Council announced their proposal to see a new £20million school built in Rowdeford, near Devizes to replace three existing special schools, including Larkrise, in the need for 220 extra special school places in the future.
However, parents have launched a petition to stop the plans, explaining the impact the schools’ closure will have on their children including increased travel times, larger classes and a change in routine. They have recently raised £10,000 in ten days to go towards legal fees to fight Wiltshire Council’s decision.
Kelly Alden, Dolly’s mum said, “Dolly has to get a bus to school every morning where she needs one-on-one care due to her CCHS and global delay.
“Because of these disorders, Dolly does not know when she is tired, or if she is hungry and doesn’t feel pain at all, which is why she requires the specialist attention at Larkrise.
“If the school were to close, Dolly will have to be on the bus longer. Due to her CCHS she has to sleep with a ventilator, but she does not take her ventilator into school, so if she goes to sleep she will die, a risk of longer bus journeys.
“Also, the new school would mean bigger classes. Dolly does not like a lot of people all at the same time. The only option would be to homeschool her, but it will be hard as I have to stay up with her all night to make sure she doesn’t stop breathing. I sleep in the day when she is at school.
“We will have to work something out as we cannot let her go for that long on the bus to school. Also, Dolly will not be able to see her friends and that will have a big impact on her and her learning.”
Westbury Town Council met during an extraordinary meeting on Monday 18th February to discuss the closures. They responded in support to a letter from Aileen Bates , chair of governors at St Nicholas School.
The town council said, “Our members would like to add their support to all the comments made in this communication. There are significant concerns about the size of the schools proposed. Smaller schools are more suited to children with complex needs.
“The schools are outside of the local community and this can lead to isolation. There are concerns that the proposal disconnects children from the community in which they live.
“The length of journeys will be impacted both in time and distance for vulnerable children (and their families). There will be an impact on staff and their work/life balance, travel and transporting resources.”
A final decision will be made at a Wiltshire Council full council meeting in March.
