A grieving mother who faced jail after her son missed school 20 times in two months was cleared of wrongdoing after it emerged severe asthma attacks caused the absences.
Nicola Newns, who lost her 12-year-old son Ben to brittle asthma, feared for her other son Jacob, 16, when the same condition caused repeated collapses.
As the 39-year-old sat in an ambulance rushing Jacob to intensive care, Salford City Council education officials called her demanding to know why he was not in school after she failed to report the absence while rushing to give him medication and oxygen.
Jacob, left, was hit by a string of asthma attacks as he suffered through the same condition that killed his brother, Ben, who is pictured, right, in hospital weeks before his death in 2014
She was hit with a £60 fixed penalty notice after the authority said ‘no acceptable reason’ has been given for Jacob’s ‘unsatisfactory’ attendance at Buile Hill Visual Arts College between January and March this year.
After refusing to pay, Mrs Newns faced up to three months in prison when she appeared at Manchester & Salford Magistrates’ Court accused of an offence under the 1996 Education Act.
Her case was thrown out by a district judge when it transpired he was in hospital on all 20 occasions.
Mrs Newns had failed to respond to calls from education officials investigating Jacob’s absences, according to an email presented in court.
‘We rang her again after half term and when she finally answered she was in an ambulance with Jacob on the way to hospital as he’d had an asthma attack,’ it said.
‘We’ve left two voicemails this week and mum hasn’t returned our calls as yet.
‘In short Jacob hasn’t accessed any education with us yet.’
Nicola News was handed a £60 fine after she says she was too terrified to leave her son’s side to notify officials in case he died while she was gone
Mrs Newns, from Salford, said she was too terrified to leave Jacob’s side even to call the school after she lost Ben.
Ben – who also attended Buile Hill – was taken ill in March 2014 after he woke up struggling to breathe at 2am.
His mother grabbed his inhaler but he collapsed and died despite paramedics’ efforts.
‘I am over-protective of Jacob but can anyone blame me after what happened with Ben?’ she said.
‘The school were fantastic with us when Ben died – but now they seem to forget he died.
‘Jacob was really affected by what happened to his brother and was crying and asking if it would be him next.
‘He has had anxiety attacks and panic attacks and we have been worried it might a similar attack which killed Ben in 2014.
‘I just feel bullied by the school, continually asking me when he’s going to be back in school, how long he will be away for.
Ben, right, died in 2014, leaving Jacob, left, who suffers with the same condition, asking his mother if he’d be next during attacks this year. The brothers are pictured in 2003
‘I may not have contacted them as soon as I should have done but I wasn’t going to leave my sons bedside if he might die.
‘I’ve sat there with both of my boys wishing them to breathe. It’s not like they don’t know or understand the situation.
‘He has been on life support three or four times this year and I’m afraid my child is my main concern – after Ben of course I am more scared.
‘I felt as though the school were blaming me, or saying that I’m lying. In their documents when it said I “finally” answered it was if i was about to jet off for a holiday to Disneyland rather me taking my son to hospital with a potentially life-threatening asthma attack.’
Her worry for Jacob was worsened by the fact that his attacks had always appeared worse before Ben’s death.
‘Ben had never had as severe attacks as Jacob, and I always feared something might happen to Jacob – but then Ben passed away,’ she said.
‘After Ben, I take him worrying about his chest more seriously. If he wakes up and his chest is bad I will keep him off because I know that he can deteriorate quickly and it’s a big risk if he’s at school.
‘One night Jacob had been up multiple times wheezing and unable to breathe and when failed to improve later that morning and his condition deteriorated we called an ambulance – the fact is he couldn’t breathe, he was having an attack.
‘As I was trying to get his oxygen and his medication my phone just kept going. I was rushing around trying to make sure my boy was okay.
‘It was ringing and I had texts saying “your son is not in school”. As we got him into the back of the ambulance my phone was still going off, so I felt like I had to answer it and let them know what was going on.
Mrs Newns says despite the school’s support when Ben, pictured, died in 2014, she received no support during the attacks that forced Jacob to miss lessons
‘I told the school that Jacob had had a bad attack, and I was in the ambulance and he was going to hospital but for me, there was no compassion or empathy. They just said: “Well when will he be back in? We need to know when he will be back in.”
She says the doctors didn’t know when Jacob would be fit for school, meaning she was unable to tell the officials and claims she even missed calls from her mother because she needed to be with Jacob.
‘I needed to be with him and make sure he was okay,’ she said.
Charlotte Ramsden Strategic Director of Children’s Services at Salford Council wrote to Mrs Newns in February, warning her £60 fine would increase to £120 if it was not paid within 21 days. She was told failure to pay within 28 days would result in a court appearance.
Mrs Newns said the school had not offered ‘any support’ for Jacob while he was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
‘When Jacob was in ICU, the school were calling and calling but didn’t ask how he was doing,’ she said.
‘When he was sick and in hospital I did ask for homework for him so he could keep up but they never sent it.
Nicola Newns was cleared of wrongdoing after she refused to pay a fine for her son missing school when he was struck by the same condition that killed his brother
‘Because he has been so ill he’s got behind and they didn’t try to help him catch up.
‘He said to me that he didn’t understand anything in lessons and no one had tried to explain to him or give him one to one help.
‘He has a genuine, chronic, life-threatening illness and the school know about this because of his brother.
‘If I had sent Jacob to school when he was complaining about his chest and something had happened I would never forgive myself.’
A spokesman for the school said: ‘To get any case to court, schools have to go through rigorous systems of checks and consultations which involve multiple agencies and of course, the family.
‘It would be inappropriate for us to comment on the range of intervention we adopted with Jacob and his family other than to say that it was extensive.
‘Throughout this process the school have put Jacob’s safety, welfare and education at the centre of all the decision making. Jacob is a lovely young man who has huge potential, really bright prospects and as a school, we have always endeavoured to support him with all of our available resources.’