A MUM from Kidderminster whose autistic son has been out of school for over a year says her family has been failed by the education system.

Harvey Stamps, aged 13, was set to start Holy Trinity Secondary School in September 2018, but left after two hours due to his severe anxieties caused by large crowds and wearing the uniform.

The youngster was diagnosed with autism last year and mum Naomi says he has been "left at home with no education" ever since.

She told The Shuttle: "My son is meant to be in year eight but he's gone nearly 18 months now without an education.

"It all started when we started applying for secondary schools. He missed a lot of time in primary school because he was so anxious about going to high school.

"He would worry so much he would make himself physically sick. He stopped eating or he would binge eat and make himself sick. He wasn't sleeping.

"He went to his first day at Holy Trinity for two hours then wouldn't go back.

"They gave him some work to do at home but he was struggling so much and there wasn't a teacher there to help him.

"Months went by and no one from the local authority phoned to see why he wasn't in school. They just left him."

In 2018, Naomi says she applied for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan - a legal document which can give a child extra educational support - but this was refused by Worcestershire County Council, which said Harvey's needs could be addressed within a mainstream school setting.

Naomi said: "They came up with a transition plan to get him back into mainstream school but it didn't work.

"Then they offered him a place at The Forge in Redditch but Harvey suffers with bad separation anxiety so it's too far away for him.

"My complaint is that he was left for so long. We went six or seven months without any help at all.

"He's lost so much of his education, he'll never catch up."

A second application for an EHC plan was refused by the local authority last year.

Naomi has now sought help from a solicitor to appeal the decision in the hope of securing Harvey a place at a local special needs school.

Councillor Marcus Hart, Worcestershire County Council's cabinet member with responsibility for education and skills, said: “Worcestershire Children First have secured appropriate educational provision for Harvey and are working with the family to engage Harvey with this.

"We will continue to work with the family as they exercise their right to appeal against decisions that have been made in relation to meeting their son’s needs.”