A mum is worried that her autistic son will be ‘scared every day’ if he’s sent to mainstream school without extra support.

Sutton Council refused an application for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for Hayley Harding’s son Matthew, who is set to start school in September.

Ms Harding believes the decision was unfair – and she’s launching a campaign for families in a similar position.

Four-year-old Matthew is autistic,  has sensory processing difficulties and hyper mobility in his arms and hands. It means he requires splints to walk and cannot hold a pencil for more than 30 seconds.

The EHCP is a legal document that describes the special educational needs of a child and any extra help that is required.

Ms Harding submitted an application for one in January. The family will now go to a tribunal to appeal the refusal in June.

Sutton Council insists it takes seriously its responsibilities for children and young people with special educational needs.

The Worcester Park mum said: “Matthew is due to start school in September and they want him to go to a normal school to see if he can cope.

“He is going to be frightened every day – I think his mental health will be affected.

“It has been very stressful to have this on top of everything, it is not easy having a child with autism, it is hard on a daily basis.

“We are very worried for him as we don’t want him to go to school and be scared every day.”

She claims that she has been told by other health professionals that Matthew meets the threshold for an EHCP.

Since the experience, Ms Harding has set up social media pages called Sutton EHCP Crisis – SEN Families Fight for Justice.

A Facebook group gained more than 100 members in three days.

“I put something out on Facebook and 60 people came back with many saying that they have had to apply three or four times before it was accepted,” the 35-year-old added.

“That is why I started the campaign group, I don’t believe Sutton Council is meeting their legal obligation.”

And she says she is worried that other families won’t be able to go to a tribunal to fight for the plan.

“The system can be very intimidating for some families. For example, not speaking English can make it much harder to face,” said Ms Harding.

A Sutton Council spokesman stressed that the local authority takes its responsibilities for children and young people with special educational needs seriously.

The council works with educational psychologists, schools, clinicians, therapists, parents/carers and our Children’s Services team to consider each case.

The spokesman said: “We understand and appreciate entirely the natural desire of parents and carers to ensure their children receive all the support they believe they need.

“We do our best to meet the expectations of everyone involved and to communicate as much as possible so that decisions are clearly explained.

“We invest over £35 million each year to support more than 1,650 children with EHCPs both in mainstream and specialist provision.

“The number of children we are supporting with special education needs has increased by almost 50 per cent since 2014/15. Local primary schools receive over £12 million each year to support children with special educational needs.

“We are committed to ensuring children and young people in Sutton receive the support they need.”

He added that if a parent disagrees with a decision mediation services are offered as well as a “route to challenge the decision”.