A FAMILY fears a decision to make their severely disabled son ride in a taxi to school in Worcester every day will kill him.

Tanya and James Smith are battling against Worcestershire County Council’s decision to only fund their son Danny’s schooling if he attends a specialist school in the city. The couple say he already attends a school that fulfils his specialist educational needs near their home in Shenstone, near Hartlebury, and believe that the 30-mile round trip each day will make him ill. “This isn’t me saying that I just want my child to go to public school, this is a school that can deal with my son’s disability and also educate him, which is a basic right,” said Mrs Smith.

Eight-year-old Danny suffers from autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD), which means he has severe kidney disease, as well as high functioning autism. He also gets severe motion sickness, and suffers anger management problems but cannot be restrained due to his swollen organs.

He attends New Elizabethan School in Hartlebury but his parents, who have two other boys Mitchell, six, and Billy, three – both diagnosed with ARPKD – and two girls, Queenie, 13, and Maggie, 10, say paying the £2,350-a-term fees is crippling them financially.

It would cost the council £485 more for him to go to the Hartlebury school.

Following a tribunal in February, Worcestershire County Council says it will only fund him a place at Fort Royal School in Worcester.

When asked about the case by your Worcester News, the council released a statement saying: “We believe that Fort Royal Primary School meets the need of her child.”

Mrs Smith says transporting Danny to school in Worcester every day with an escort will cost the council £14,000 a year in taxis, but they would be happy to drive him to the New Elizabethan school themselves.

“At the time of the tribunal there wasn’t enough medical evidence in. But there is now and the council have it, so why aren’t they acting on that and just hiding behind the tribunal?” said Mrs Smith.

“He will have to travel extra each day and be physically sick on the way to and from the school every day. Being sick will make him dehydrated, which will then put pressure on his kidneys. He also suffers from autism and so this will also enhance his blood pressure and he is at risk from haemorrhaging.”