Disabled teenager is desperate to get back to Grantham College

A Grantham teenager who has faced many health challenges throughout her life is desperate to have the same college experience as her friends - but feels too many obstacles are in her way.

Chloe Russell, 17, signed up to a health and social care course at Grantham College last year but was unable to go on to campus because she was suffering with an inactive bowel.

The condition led to her being admitted to Grantham Hospital in June last year - and she remained in hospital for 410 days.

Now she is keen to have a “normal college experience” - but after having had meetings alongside her parents with college staff, she has been told the campus does not have the facilities to accommodate her needs.

Chloe has a number of complex medical conditions including neurofibromatosis type 1, a genetic condition that causes tumours to grow along the nerves.

She also has a brain stem tumour that is monitored regularly and is registered as severely sight impaired.

Chloe also suffers with May-Thurner syndrome, a rare vascular condition that affects a vein in the pelvis, and is awaiting surgery for a ‘frozen’ foot. She uses a wheelchair and crutches.

These conditions mean she has been in and out of hospital since Year 8.

During this latest long spell in hospital Chloe would study from her hospital bed. She was assigned a teaching assistant by the college, who would send class notes, presentations and exam questions so Chloe could still do her work.

However, she struggled to understand the notes and felt she was not receiving adequate feedback.

She said: “There were loads of documents, tests and assessments that weren’t in order and I thought, ‘how am I supposed to know what’s right or wrong?’.

“I would send all this stuff in and be waiting and waiting and I’d be like, ‘I’d appreciate if I could have some feedback’.

“They’d give me a hard time saying you need to be in college and on Microsoft Teams, but I said it’s difficult because sometimes I could wake up on the ward and it was really noisy and it wasn’t really a working environment. Or I could wake up and I was ill.”

On July 22, Chloe was discharged from hospital after having a stoma fitted, to help her pass waste, and she was ready to go back and have a “normal college experience”, only to be told college facilities were not suitable.

Her parents, Pete and Paula Russell, feel their daughter has been let down. They believe parts of Chloe’s education, health and care plan - which was put in place while at secondary school to provide her with additional educational support - have not been taken into account by the college, which they say has made studying even harder for her.

Paula said: “Their [Grantham College] words were ‘she needs a college experience’. She needs that because that’s what she was lacking last year.

“It’s just disappointing because if she managed to do five GCSEs off her own back, then what is she going to be able to achieve when given the proper education?

“I just wish they could look at it through our eyes for just five minutes and give her a break.”

As Chloe has spent so much time in hospital, she has never been able to experience a normal childhood.

Pete added: “Her only physical interaction is us two and the dog. She needs to start having that childhood and adolescenthood.

“This point here, now, affects the rest of her life. She’s already a year behind everyone else so it’s going to affect her adult life, work, what she’s able to earn, her career path and her independence.”

Chloe said: “It’s not just physically draining but mentally, too. It’s not just the fact I’m not going to college that’s a disadvantage, I’m missing my friends that are able to go to college. Their next step is uni, so I won’t get to interact with them.”

Lincolnshire County Council said it is working with Grantham College to try and provide Chloe with what she needs.

Sheridan Dodsworth, head of special educational needs and disabilities, said: “The college are currently recruiting a learning support assistant, who will support Chloe on a one-to-one basis.

“The college is in the process of arranging a meeting with Chloe, her family, her caseworker and her sensory education support team worker to discuss the transition into face-to-face education.

“A financial package has been agreed for Chloe’s placement and the necessary arrangements will be put in place. This funding has not yet been paid to Grantham College.

“We can assure the family we are all working to enable Chloe to start at college as soon as possible.”

Grantham College declined to comment.