THE grandmother of a disabled eight-year-old boy has accused a council of leaving her grandson behind after failing to secure him a place at a special school.

Brenda Tidmarsh, who cares for little Leon Johnson alongside her husband Michael, fears for the future of her grandson’s education.

Leon, who has defied quadriplegic cerebral palsy since birth, currently attends Frinton Primary School.

But Mrs Tidmarsh says the school struggles to cater to Leon’s exceptional needs.

“They are struggling to manage him and would like him to go,” she said.

“He is in a classroom with 31 children and it is difficult.

“We took him to Market Field School and they have between ten and 15 in each class and can cater to his needs - everywhere is accessible for him.

“He badly wants to go there and tells me he doesn’t want to go to school at the moment.

“It has always felt like a constant fight to get everything Leon needs.”

Leon was born prematurely and suffered from an infection at birth which left doctors certain he would die.

He miraculously pulled through and continues to defy expectations by completing regular sessions of physiotherapy.

Mrs Tidmarsh says Essex County Council has yet to give her an answer as to whether Leon will get a place at Market Field.

She adds Leon, who lives in Kirby, has been offered a place at a special school in Witham, around 30 miles away.

“I really lost my temper with them, it shouldn’t take a year to say whether he can go to school or not,” she said.

“My husband has his own disabilities, so if he wasn’t very well I would have to get to Witham to pick him up.

“We would have to get him up at 4am to get him ready, stretched and fed. He is autistic and has to have everything in a certain order.

“We have been told there are more than 100 children on the waiting list to go to Market Field.

An Essex County Council spokesman said: “Any concerns raised by parents are dealt with according to our established processes.

“We are in touch with the family directly.

“We are committed to ensuring every child receives a high quality education and work closely with families across the county to ensure children’s individual needs are met.”

He added: “A number of factors are taken into consideration when making a final decision about special school places, including whether individual schools can meet a child’s individual needs.”