The boss of a trust that runs special educational needs (SEN) schools in Cornwall has slammed a decision by Cornwall Council to stop funding residential provision at a Truro school from September 1.

The fund has allowed children to stay at Pencalenick School as part of their education and give their families much-needed respite. Parents have also spoken of their anguish at the decision.

The council has made the decision after proposing the cuts last year. It says the £563,000 per year it currently gives to the Special Partnership Trust, which runs the 140-pupil school, could be used more effectively to create additional day education places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) across the whole of Cornwall.

Trust chief executive Guy Chappell said: “We do not see this as a strategic decision but rather a short-term financial one – one that will have a significant impact on SEN provision across Cornwall now and in the future.”

He added that he and his team had raised concerns throughout the process about how the consultation and decision-making have been handled.

In a letter dated March 11, Mr Chappell told parents: “Cornwall Council has, at long last, made a decision regarding the future of the residential provision at Pencalenick School. I’m afraid it is not a positive one.

“This decision means that the residential services currently provided will no longer be available after [September 1]. This is incredibly disappointing news – for the children, families and staff who have been part of this valued provision. It is particularly frustrating given that Ofsted recently recognised the staff as ‘absolutely brilliant’.”

We have been contacted by angry and concerned parents whose children have been affected by the decision. Martyn Selley, father of Harry, is “disgusted” by the move.

He told us: “As a parent of an SEN child with autism and OCD, this facility is a vital part of advancing life skills and independence. It’s a home from home, and Harry is excited each week to go.

“The rooms are always set up with their interests at heart. In addition, he gets to make new friends. Each stay is different, and the activities include, exercise, shopping, games and education.

“It’s also so vital for us as a family to spend time one-to-one with our daughter. Home life is so difficult due to Harry’s needs, and Thursday nights were respite for everyone, including him.”

Mr Selley said his family had been in discussions regarding increasing Harry’s residential provision at Pencalenick. “It was having a great impact on his day-to-day life,” he said.

“We are truly disgusted that a thorough review has not been conducted and that this decision has been made without full consultations of the parents or the general tax-paying public.” The council states that full consultation has been carried with those affected.

Regarding the £563,000 annual cost of the residential provision, Mr Selley said: “I know of a local taxi company which is awarded that sum in one council contract to transport two children separately from Truro to Saltash and back on a daily basis. Once again, our council gets away with cutting vital services.”

Fowey parent Kris Stephens, whose daughter is at the school, is due to meet a barrister in a bid to fight the decision in court. He said: “They’re cutting services to try and save money, but it’s not going to, because the provision Pencalenick offers is so unique and so beneficial.

“It offers the children the chance to come away with life skills and independent living skills. If the children didn’t have that, they’d be going through the social care system, which we know is completely broken and not fit for purpose.

“We’ve got families waiting for carers and PAs for disabled children they can’t recruit for. We’ve got massive lists for years for respite for families - and this provision offers it all, really. To save a bit of money in the short term is going to make things worse in the long term.”

He said his daughter is currently staying at Pencalenick two days a week, but that will end at the end of the summer term. When she travels in by taxi, the journey takes two hours, picking up five other children on the way. “Four hours travelling to and from school in one day is a hell of a lot for a child,” said Mr Stephens.

He claims more than 20 children are affected by the decision, and that another parent is also launching a judicial review against the council over the decision. “It’s not nice for the kids or the families,” he added.

Lisa Trerise De-Bargeton, whose son boards at the school one night a week, said during last year’s consultation: “As you can imagine, it is devastating news for our children that access this facility. My son has gained so much independence and social skills from boarding here just one night a week. To have that taken away will be devastating.”

A spokesperson for the local authority said: “After careful consideration, and following full consultation with those affected, Cornwall Council has made the decision to redirect funding currently used for residential provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) at Pencalenick School in Truro.

“We acknowledge the benefit this service provision has brought to the small number of families who use it and the hard work and dedication of staff. However, the service is discretionary and inaccessible to most children in Cornwall, meaning it does not deliver the best value for taxpayers.

“The council has a statutory duty to provide specialist education places for children and we do not currently have enough. For that reason, the money will be used to create additional day education places for SEND pupils across the whole of Cornwall.

“We are committed to ensuring that services and facilities for SEND children are the best and most wide-reaching that we can provide with our limited funding.”