Couple face huge legal bill after battle over son's school needs

Robert and Jen Manning-Rodgers say that despite winning their battle with Rotherham Council they have been left with a huge sum to pay – and one seemingly unprecedented in such matters.

Their adopted son, aged eight, is now at a special school after more than three difficult years at two mainstream infant schools.

The youngster was badly injured as a baby and and at one point was only given 24 hours to live.

But after spending time in hospital he was looked after by council

foster carers until he was nearly three years old.

The couple from Maltby, were forced to fight to get their son an official statement of his complex needs and enlisted the help of Sheffield legal firm Irwin Mitchell.

"The authority didn't accept the severity of his condition – even though he had been in council care for over two years," Mr Manning-Rodgers said.

"When he was injured at three months old he was only given 24 hours to live, but he pulled through.

"It was clear to us he wasn't going to cope in a mainstream school but for two years they refused to support our bid to have him assessed for a statement.

"What has upset us is that the whole process has been adversarial, simply deciding what is best for his future – it's been heartache all the way.

"In court cases, the losing side often has to pay costs, but that's not what happens in a situation like this. We have been left with a large bill.

"The Council opposed everything we put forward and only reached an agreement with us at the very last minute, the day before our case was due to be heard by a tribunal."

The couple finally withdrew their boy from Maltby Hall Infants and decided to educate him at home until the matter was resolved.

Mr Manning-Rodgers said eventually a statement was produced that ran to 27 pages and which confirmed the high level of care his son needed.

Mrs Manning-Rodgers added: "Why should it cost a family this unbelievable amount of money to obtain education for a disabled child?

"He is now in a class of seven children and has his own one-to-one schooling five hours a day.

"Why have we had to fight for something that he has always and should have automatically been entitled to? We should be able to recover all these costs back from the authority.

"The most bizarre thing is that this little boy was adopted – he was an ex-authority child – fighting for special education from that authority."

A Rotherham Council spokesman said: "We do not comment on individual cases. However, in general with cases of this type there is no requirement for parents to engage legal advice so any costs incurred remain the responsibility of the individuals."

The Yorkshire Post understands that despite the couple's concern over the outcome of the financial situation, the authority is not expecting any further action to recover the family's legal costs.