Boy’s mother says she hopes case will help others, as judge says exclusion should be ‘a tool of last resort’

The mother of a 10-year-old autistic boy who had his permanent exclusion from a primary school quashed by the high court has said she hopes the ruling helps other children.

The boy, who cannot be named, was permanently excluded from his primary school, part of the Lift academy chain, after coming to school in July 2025 with a replica butterfly knife, which he handed to a friend to use against another child during an altercation in the playground.

Annette and Kevin Maxwell say children with special needs have become moneymaking tool for private companies

Annette and Kevin Maxwell were nervous about sending their son Jonah to a residential home for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send). Jonah has severe autism – he is non-verbal, has epilepsy and behavioural problems and needs round-the-clock care.

“It was a huge decision, but we almost had no choice because with Jonah at home, you can’t work and we had two other children to think about. He’s beautiful, but he is very, very complicated,” said Annette. “Outsourcing parenting is just foreign to us and it’s horrible, but we didn’t have another option.”