AN EDUCATIONAL tribunal has finally ruled in favour of youngster Zaque Boon being sent to a specialist school.But his furious mother Linda Sheppard is claiming that the Local Education Authority is still failing to meet the guidelines laid down.

AN EDUCATIONAL tribunal has finally ruled in favour of youngster Zaque Boon being sent to a specialist school.

But his furious mother Linda Sheppard is claiming that the Local Education Authority is still failing to meet the guidelines laid down.

The tribunal not only ruled that Zaque must go to a special school but also ordered that he must receive home tutoring until a school is found for him.

Although the LEA has said that they are trying to work positively with her and that they are organising the tutor, Mrs Sheppard claims she has been trying to get hold of them for weeks to find out what is going on.

Zaque has a number of learning difficulties including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Asperger's Syndrome. The LEA wanted to send him to a normal high school with some specialist help but experts said he would not be able to cope in that environment.

He has not been to school since July even though Mrs Sheppard has been trying to sort out what would happen to his schooling when he began his last year at Chantry Junior School special unit last September.

Although she said the tutor was supposed to start on Monday January 5, Mrs Sheppard claims she has heard nothing from the education services and fears Zaque's education will be delayed even further.

She said: "If it had not been me that had gone through this I would not have believed that it could happen.

"Words fail me, it is an absolute disgrace.

"What annoys me is that we heard this case on December 5 and I still have not been able to get hold of anyone a month later to sort out his home tutoring.

"They should have been giving him home tutoring since July.

"To say people are on holiday or just not here is totally unacceptable."

However Vanessa Harvey-Samuel, special education manager at Suffolk County Council, said: "We have written to Mrs Sheppard to explain what action we will be taking as a result of the SEN tribunal's decision, which we received just before the Christmas holidays.

"Our aim is to work positively together with Mrs Sheppard to find a suitable school placement for her son.

"In the meantime we are setting up full time tuition for him to start as soon as possible."

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