SPECIAL REPORT: Why Lyndale is a place of safety for sweetheart Robinson

Wirral Council is looking to close the Lyndale School in Eastham in January 2016.

The school has touched the hearts of Globe readers – who raised more than £80,000 for the school’s sensory garden – and we hope to show just how vital Lyndale is to all it cares for.

Each week we will be speaking to a different Lyndale parent and finding out what the school’s closure would mean for them.

Sending a poorly child is the last thing any parent wants to do, especially when that child suffers from seizures.

But mother-of-three Maureen Fearon, from New Brighton, knows her eight-year-old son Robinson is in safe hands when she sends him to the Lyndale School each morning.

Like many other children who attend the Eastham special needs school, young Robinson needs one-on-one engagement.

He has cortical dysplasia which means he is unable to walk or talk, has left sided hemiplegia and epilepsy.

“He is basically an eight-year-old baby,” said 45-year-old Maureen who is also mum to 13-year-old Olivia and three-year-old Esme.

“Robinson is always going to be as he is now, he’s not going to get any better but he’s a gem, he’s an absolute sweetheart.”

Maureen says people often comment on how hard it must be to look after Robinson but she says he is actually the easiest of her children to look after.

“Robinson is very placid and mentally, he’s not demanding at all but it’s more physically demanding with him as he can’t help you.

“You can’t ask him to lift his legs up when you’re dressing him because he can’t do it.”

It’s obvious when talking to Maureen – and other Lyndale parents – how much she cares for her son and how giving him the best life possible is at the top of her priorities.

She said: “He’s very happy so long as you are talking to him and giving him eye contact. He doesn’t like playing with toys, he likes human contact and he loves having that one-on-one – he’s a real people person.”

One thing that does worry Maureen is Robinson’s seizures.

With so many different types of seizures, some can be less visible than others.

While Maureen and the staff at Lyndale know how to spot them, this can prove more difficult for those who don’t know Robinson.

“I worry about him going to a different provision,” said Maureen.

“You can tell a teacher what he does when he’s having a seizure but it’s very hard to explain - you have got to see it to be able to understand it thoroughly.

“Lyndale is a form of respite for us. If Robinson was in a normal school and kept having seizures we wouldn’t send him in but I know it’s safe to send him to Lyndale because the staff know him and they know how to deal with him.

“If he was at a different school, I wouldn’t be sending him in – I’d end up keeping him at home.”

Robinson and mum Maureen.

Maureen added: “Robinson recognises people and it worries me greatly that he could go from somewhere where he knows everyone’s faces to a provision where he doesn’t know anyone.

“I know they say there’s going to be a transition period but it can’t be done in a matter of weeks. It takes a long, long time for Robinson to get to know the people and for them to get to know him.”

Although Wirral’s ruling cabinet has voted to close Lyndale, the decision has been “called-in” by opposition councillors and will be examined by the authority’s co-ordinating committee on Thursday.

Maureen said that while Lyndale parents have said they don't want their children to attend Wirral's other special needs school, that doesn't mean they are criticising them.

She said: "We are not saying that Stanley and Elleray Park are bad schools because they are not, they are great. But they are just not right for our children and their needs."

She described the current situation as a disgrace and vowed never to give up the fight to keep her son at Lyndale.

She said: “I really don’t know what we would do if Lyndale closes, I can’t contemplate it to be honest, I don’t think any of us can.”