A Crayford woman claims her autistic and epileptic grandson has missed four years of education because he was not offered a school place by Bexley Council.

Karen Malpas, 51, of Mayplace Avenue, has cared for Jack, 11, since he was six months old - when his parents could no longer look after him.

Despite attending primary school up until 2011, the young boy lost speech and comprehension due to his epilepsy - reverting him back to the same state as an 18-month-old child.

During the last seven months, Jack’s speech has come back and he is like a normal 11-year-old child, but Bexley Council is still allegedly failing to find him a full-time school.

Mrs Malpas told News Shopper: “What the council says is that there are no schools for him in the borough.

“There should be one that facilitates children like Jack - we applied for a secondary school and were told that he didn’t get on a waiting list because we missed the admissions date.

News Shopper:

Karen Malpas and grandson Jack

“Now, our only option left, is to go through a tribunal and that’s another six months down the line. It’s like a lose, lose situation. We are breaking down.

“He wants to have friends and live a normal life - he’s been neglected by Bexley Council.

“We had a trial run at one school and in all honesty, I would not even send my dog there.”

Jack currently attends the Blake-Hammond Education Centre in Gravesend, where he has been since 2014.

The institution takes in children whose school placements have fallen through.

While Mrs Malpas appreciates how much her grandson has improved there, she says he deserves a real school experience, like most children have.

She added: “Jack started going there in 2014, five-days-a-week. He’s improving every day but they do not have everything that normal schools do, in terms of a gym or a science lab.

“He needs to move on to a school where he’s going to have more friends and not be as isolated as he is now.

“Bexley Education funded a personal assistant for Jack and he was being taught by him at Crayford Library. He even thinks Jack should be in a regular school again.

“He has asked me before: ‘Why can’t I go to school? Why can’t I be like the other children?’ and [tells me] ‘I hate my epilepsy.’”

Mrs Malpas does not have a job as she is a full-time carer for Jack, who takes medication to tame his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

A Bexley Council spokesman said: “We cannot go into detail or disclose the personal information about this case except to say that the only time Karen Malpas’ grandson Jack has been without education was at the time he was receiving medical support in 2011.

“At all other times he has been receiving education and he currently attends a specialist tuition centre where he has the benefit of a one to one personal assistant to ensure that his needs are met.

“He is reported to be doing well in this placement.

“We are in the process of approaching alternative schools as he is now a secondary school student and, while this happens, his education will be continued with the support he is currently receiving.”