Mum left a "crumbling wreck" by home schooling her autistic twins says she is one of the lucky ones as demand for special needs provision increases

The importance of special needs provision across the city has been highlighted as parents say they struggle to cope at home.
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While mainstream schools are closed and only open to vulnerable or key worker children, special needs units such as Rainbow Base, which is part of the Richmond Hill school, have fought to stay open full-time over concerns for the well-being of parents as well as pupils.

There are currently around 1500 pupils in Leeds who are classed as having special educational needs but that figure is projected to have increased by at least a thousand by 2023.

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It is leaving a deficit in places available and Nicola Mclean, who has autistic eight-year-old twins says she is one of the lucky ones.

Anna Mackenzie, principal at Richmond Hill and assistant principal Rachel Law.Anna Mackenzie, principal at Richmond Hill and assistant principal Rachel Law.
Anna Mackenzie, principal at Richmond Hill and assistant principal Rachel Law.

The children are in their fourth year at Rainbow Base, where there are 33 places, but now it is much harder to find provision.

Both of them have sensory needs and her daughter has higher level needs than her son. For example, she finds it hard to wear shoes because she needs to feel the ground so it makes being outdoors difficult, she climbs furniture, eats non-edible items and instead of the painting she does at school she pours liquids from shampoo to milk.

Nicola says: "Closing school and COVID is the worst case scenario for anyone with autism. Their behaviour becomes more difficult and they struggle with a lot of things. Because of the communication difficulties they can't express that and as parents and carers you are trying to work out what it might be.

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"You are meeting high needs keeping children safe but you are a crumbling wreck. Throughout lockdown one I was so worried about sending them, nobody knew anything about COVID but after having a lockdown and a few weeks at home - I was on my knees.

"It (Rainbow Base) is absolutely essential. It is very much for the parents as much as for the children, it does not mean you don’t want to look after them, it is respite so you can be better parents to ensure their needs are met because they are not being met at home.

"Unless you are living the life with children with special needs, it is not easy to understand the intensity and anxiety that comes with trying to meet their needs - which can be impossible."

Staff at Rainbow Base said they fought to keep it open in this lockdown because they feared for the well-being of whole families.

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Rachel Law, leader at Rainbow said: "We have fought to keep us open because it is right for our children, it is the best place for them. I have the memory of the last lockdown and how much families struggled. They were very worried about the prospect of doing that again."

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