A MOTHER has criticised education chiefs for refusing her disabled daughter access to her chosen special school – leaving her with a potential 40-mile round trip every day.

Kirsty Flintoft, from Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire, wants to send her fiveyear- old daughter, Isobel, to the nearby special school at Welburn Hall.

Mrs Flintoft says education chiefs at North Yorkshire County Council refused her requests, leaving her to choose between sending Isobel to a mainstream school or a special school in Scarborough, more than 20 miles away.

Isobel suffers from Pfeiffer syndrome, a condition which limits growth of the skull. This has contributed to other health problems, with Isobel having endured more than 40 operations at Great Ormond Street Hospital, in London.

Welburn Hall caters for children aged between eight and 18, but sometimes accepts younger children.

Mrs Flintoft, 34, who also has a nine-year-old daughter, Ilona, is threatening to take legal action against the county council, claiming she has been unfairly treated.

She said: “There is a perfectly good special school just down the road that we want to send Isobel to. It would be perfect for her.

“The school in Scarborough is fantastic, but I just do not think it is viable to put a five-year-old in a taxi, at 8am, and get her back at 5pm. It would be too much.”

Faced with that dilemma, Mrs Flintoft and her husband, Paul, decided to find a mainstream school for Isobel.

She began attending Gillamoor CE Primary School, near Kirkbymoorside, this week, but is only able to attend for three days a week because of her health.

Mrs Flintoft is full of praise for the way staff have welcomed her daughter, but said Isobel is only there on a “week to week” basis.

She said: “We have not given up fighting. Isobel will stay at Gillamoor until we can get her into Welburn Hall, whenever that may be.

“She was so excited to be with other children and had a great time. The teachers have been wonderful with her.”

A spokeswoman for the county council said it was the authority’s policy not to comment on individual cases.

She said: “North Yorkshire maintains 13 special schools. Pupils attending these schools are required to have a statement of special educational needs.

“When considering placement in these schools, the authority has to consider whether the pupil is within the age range of the school and whether the school is able to meet their needs.”