A MOTHER is worried that her autistic son will have problems after being refused a place at the primary school attached to his nursery.
Brandon-Lee Munn, four, attends nursery at Nottingham Academy but was one of 13 children declined entry to the primary school on the same site, in Greenwood Road, Sneinton after an appeal to an independent panel.
The school received 180 applications, double the 90 spaces it can allocate.
Brandon-Lee's mother, Natasha Mellor, 25, of St Ann's, is worried her son will become aggressive towards staff and other children if he is parted from his routine. She said: "He can be really aggressive and could end up hitting staff members, other kids and even himself."
Brandon-Lee has had help from an autism support worker for the past two months – if he moved schools, he would end up with a different helper.
"Everyone at the school is aware of him and knows how to deal with him. It would take a long time for another teacher to adapt and Brandon would find it difficult too," his mum said.
Nottingham Academy, as an independent school, doesn't have a set catchment area but looks at three criteria when deciding on admissions – how close children live, whether they have siblings at the school and if they are in care.
Brandon-Lee has not been issued a certificate of Special Educational Needs – if he had, the school would have given him a special dispensation.
Natasha and Brandon-Lee moved from Sneinton to St Anne's after he started at nursery and don't meet any of the criteria.
Steve Jones, primary head at the academy, said: "This year, we were overwhelmed with applications for reception.
"We have a very clear admissions policy and so applications that don't meet the criteria are rejected."
