A mother said she is 'devastated' after her son’s school has shown 'no compassion' towards her epileptic child.

Jemma Slater said that St Augustine’s School in Billington has not asked about the welfare of her epileptic son for the past eight weeks whilst he has been off school and has not provided school work in a way he can complete it.

Zach, who suffers from partial focus seizures, started having convulsion seizures before Christmas and injured himself after suffering the first.

Jemma kept Zach off school while he recovered but after the Christmas break, Zach has not wanted to go back.

While he has been off, Jemma said that her son has not been supported by the school and that he is not being sent work to ensure he doesn’t fall behind.

Jemma said: “This is really affecting Zach, he doesn’t want to go back to school and to be honest, I don’t want to send him.

“He is going through life changing experiences and they show him no compassion.

“During the eight weeks he has been off, there has been nothing.”

Jemma appealed to get Zach a space at the school in September 2021 and was successful and Zach started at the school in October.

Medical staff believe that the cause of Zach’s seizures could be a brain tumour, however, testing is still ongoing to determine this.

Jemma said that in his first year of school, Zach would frequently come home with green slips, which are warnings for detention, because of issues she believes are linked to his epilepsy.

She said some of the reasons, including him not wearing his jumper, is because he cannot stand how it feels, which she believes could be a symptom of ADHD, something which she is trying to get Zach tested for.

The school also spoke about how Zach was falling behind in lessons which Jemma believes is because he is having partial focus seizures and missing part of his lessons.

Since he has been staying at home, Jemma said that the school has not asked about Zach’s welfare and the family has asked about work to be sent home so that he does not fall behind.

The school told Jemma work was available online but she explained that Zach cannot be on the computer for very long because of his epilepsy so asked if they can provide printed work for him, which has not been done.

She said: “I feel like I have been banging my head against a brick wall.

“Nobody has shown me or Zach any support.

“He keeps having convulsion seizures and I feel all professionals are neglecting him.

“We have had no support whatsoever.”

Jemma said that Zach was never in trouble at primary school for misbehaving and believes that what the school think is bad behaviour is in fact a symptom of his disability.

Jemma said he has become much less social due to the situation. 

Jemma said: “He was the most popular, outgoing child you could imagine at primary school.

“He was playing in a team, he couldn’t get enough of it.

“Now he doesn’t want to come out of his bedroom and he doesn’t socialise with his friends.”

A spokesperson for the school said: "We do not comment on individual cases.

"As a school, we work with families to secure excellent attendance and have plans in place for pupils with a wide range of needs.

"We make our expectations about good attendance clear to families and provide targeted support where this is required.

"In line with Department for Education guidance on good attendance, this support may involve referrals to in-school or external professional support, such as counselling services, mental health support teams, specialist medical advice and school nursing services."