A five-year-old Tavistock girl has yet to be offered a school place despite being due to start reception in April.

Penny Reid has an autistic spectrum disorder and requires a specialist school setting, but Devon County Council has yet to find her a suitable school which will be able to cater for her needs, meaning Penny will be left in limbo once she finishes nursery in a couple of weeks.

Chelsea Gatcum, Penny’s mum, said the family has been fighting to secure a place for over 71 weeks since October 2024, when they first applied for an EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) – a legal document describing a child’s needs and the provisions needed to meet them.

Chelsea added that Penny has limited understanding and requires a phased transition into school, which cannot currently happen.

“Now in April, Penny will see her little sister dropped off at the same nursery she once attended with no understanding as to why she’s no longer attending and with nothing put in place for her. This will be detrimental to Penny’s wellbeing, which Devon County Council are very aware of but continue to drag their feet in finding her somewhere suitable,” she said.

Penny’s time at nursery has already been extended, explained Chelsea, after the county council previously rejected a suitable school setting for financial reasons. Instead, Devon County Council informed the family that it would work with the local mainstream school, Tavistock Primary School, even though the school had already stated it was unable to meet Penny’s needs.

Chelsea has argued that the council is in breach of several regulations, including the Children and Families Act 2014 and the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Regulations 2014. Local authorities have a legal duty to secure the special educational provision set out in an EHCP, which normally identifies the school a child will attend. National SEND guidance also states that the process of producing an EHCP should normally be completed within 20 weeks, except in certain limited circumstances.

In response, a Devon County Council spokesperson said: “We are unable to comment on individual cases. However, we know that there are significant pressures for special school places and like other local authorities we are working to secure suitable local provision for all children.”

With the new school term only weeks away, Chelsea is now questioning whether she will need to take her youngest child out of nursery or give up work to care for Penny, and is turning to Torridge and Tavistock MP Sir Geoffrey Cox and the local press for help as she continues to fight.

Chelsea said: “Every part of this process has been a battle for my daughter’s needs to be met. In the middle of this is a vulnerable five-year-old girl whose wellbeing is at risk if the council do not correctly place her. This is a massive mental load, but I will not stop till my daughter is in the education she deserves.”