All episodes

KentOnline

Podcast: Medway parents forced to homeschool daughter after row with council over SEN funding for place at St John's Infants in Chatham

18 minutes | Friday, 4 September 2026

The parents of twins from Medway have told us it's heartbreaking to see one of them start school for the first time, while the other has to stay at home because of a row over SEN funding.Four-year-old Lillie Ward has been offered a place at St John's Infants in Chatham - but they say tuition for her complex needs will cost almost £30,000. The local council have calculated a figure closer to £9,000.Also in today's podcast, a Kent woman who was born and grew up in the county fears she's on borrowed time because she's not legally a British citizen.Megan Jones was born in 1994, but her mum, who'd arrived in the country from America, didn't have indefinite leave to remain.A baby boy from Sittingbourne who was born with a rare condition which sees some organs develop outside the body, has died just days after being allowed home from hospital.Luca Hayes had several operations after arriving seven weeks early in May and was discharged last month - but deteriorated five days later.And in sport, the Gillingham boss has praised the team behind the scenes at Priestfield for their summer recruitment.After releasing 16 players at the end of last season - and selling another 3 - they've brought in 15 and signed three academy youngsters. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Podcast: Medway parents forced to homeschool daughter after row with council over SEN funding for place at St John's Infants in Chatham
KentOnline

-
Use the arrow keys to increase and decrease the volume, or space to toggle mute.