Prime Minister implores Northamptonshire's school trust to reconsider no ramp decision for 12-year-old cancer survivor
Prime Minister Kier Starmer has given his personal support to a 12-year-old cancer survivor who wants to access all parts of her new school including the playing field.
Today (Wednesday) at Prime Minister Questions in the House of Commons, Lee Barron, MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, raised the challenges facing Millie Blair.
She was diagnosed a year ago with a rare type of bone cancer – osteosarcoma – and underwent a life-changing leg amputation.
The family, the school and Mr Barron, have each asked East Midlands Academy Trust, EMAT, to request suitable modifications like a ramp are installed to make the field accessible to Millie and others with mobility needs.
Welcoming Millie and her family to the chamber, the Prime Minister praised the youngster for her courage and positivity.
He said: “I implore them (the trust) on behalf of everybody here and Millie, in particular, to look again at the request and please reconsider that decision and put that ramp in and match the positivity and courage that Millie has shown all of us.”
After undergoing treatment for a year, the keen footballer joined Prince William school in Oundle.
Classrooms and lessons like PE have been adjusted to accommodate her needs, but the field remains inaccessible for sports activities and time with her friends during break and lunch times due to a severe grass slope that poses a significant risk of injury.
The Prime Minister was told that EMAT, which declares on its website that their core values are ‘inclusion, innovation and impact,’ have refused to undertake the work.
In a response to the MP, Joshua Coleman, CEO of EMAT, which runs the school, wrote: “As an education provider the school is not subject to the duty to make alterations to physical features like adding ramps.”
Mr Barron, who described the trust’s response as ‘appalling’, said: “The decision is not only legally questionable but morally troubling. Exclusion is unacceptable in today’s age of accessibility and inclusion.”
The family believe denying access to the school field is not only a physical barrier but has an impact on her social and emotional well-being.
Millie’s dad, Gordon, said: “We hope the trust will listen to the Prime Minister and look at ways this issue can be resolved. Until then, Millie is being denied the opportunity to play with her friends, to laugh, to take part in sports, and to feel properly included in what other students can often take for granted.”
After Prime Minister’s Questions, Millie met Wes Streeting, Minister for Health and Social Care, to talk through the challenges she has faced since her diagnosis and why there should be more NHS support for children with cancer.
This includes increased access to NHS services like physiotherapy – Millie has been receiving just a one-hour appointment each week. The hope is the NHS will prioritise children with cancer who lose a limb and fund rehabilitation centres to help maximise recovery for younger patients and their families.
The family have been fundraising to ensure Millie can eventually wear a state-of-the-art prosthetic leg which costs more than £135,000 and is not available on the NHS.
A spokesman for East Midlands Academy Trust said: “We are extremely proud of our pupil Millie for raising this important issue. We have already made a wide range of reasonable adjustments to support Millie’s learning and we continue to work closely with her and her family.
“This issue rightly shines a light on the stark choices schools across the country are having to make and we look forward to the upcoming SEND white paper and its implications for SEND funding.”