A young carer has been out of school for nine months after being denied a place at his nearest secondary school. Now, his mum fears she could face prosecution.
Shay Hegarty, 11, helps care for his two disabled brothers Denny, 13, who has autism and other complex care needs and Flynn, 10, who is pre-verbal and autistic and is on an NHS feeding tube waiting list.
He was denied a year 7 place starting in September 2025 at William Perkin CofE High School in Ealing and his mother Sinead, 47, has since been tirelessly campaigning to get him a place – appealing to the school and also facing the school trusts’ governors’ panel.
However, Shay was rejected both times despite the family supplying evidence including his diagnosis with anxiety and previous counselling sessions, a support letter from local MP and statements from other parents at the school.
She has since received a letter from Ealing Council which says she must ‘satisfy the authority’ that her child is receiving a suitable education, or she claims she could face prosecution for failing to enrol her son in a school for nine months.
Sinead told the SW Londoner: “Shay misses school. He wants to be in school. He wants to learn. Even now he says to me every day, ‘Oh, mum, I’m gonna be so behind my friends.
“‘How am I going to catch up?’
“He shouldn’t have to be worrying about those sorts of things.”
Sinead also said Shay was rejected from William Perkin for living slightly out of the catchment area and because he has no siblings who attend the high school.
“It’s so sad, you know, he didn’t get to do the first day with all his friends or anything. It’s actually heartbreaking, but you can’t dwell,” she said.
“You have to just move forward.”
Shay was offered alternative places at Islip Manor High School, in Northolt, and Rooks Heath School, in Harrow, but Sinead rejected them. She cited concerns about safety, her son having no established support network at both schools, and the difficulty of managing his journey while caring for her two other children with complex needs.
“There’s just no way in hell I’m sending my son to a school that’s not going to know no one, and having to walk to a school on his own, I just don’t think it’s safe in this day and age,” Sinead said.
“At the end of our road a couple of years ago, a teenager got stabbed to death, so I have every right as a parent to not feel it’s safe for Shay to walk to school at 7.30am in the morning.”
A PE superstar, Shay already trains with the London under-15s Gaelic and hurling squad, despite being only 11.
“He’s won player of the year two years running. No one’s done that again in his age range,” said Sinead.
Amy Newman, the headteacher of William Perkin CofE School, said there had been over one thousand applications for 200 places in 2025.
“William Perkin is a successful and popular school and is oversubscribed for admission to year 7,” she said in a statement to the SW Londoner
“School admissions are highly regulated and subject to checks and balances and independent oversight to ensure fairness.
“The first language of the applicant is not a factor in admissions decisions.”
Data from the Pan-London Admissions Scheme 2026 showed Ealing is among the top ten boroughs in the city where pupils are given their first choice of secondary school, with 72.9 percent – above the London average of 70.5 percent.
An Ealing Council spokesperson said: “We recognise how difficult this situation must be for the family. We are also very conscious of the impact that a disrupted education can have on a child.
“Places at William Perkin Church of England High School, which is an academy, are allocated in accordance with the school’s admissions policy, which applies, equally, to all applicants.
“The school was significantly oversubscribed, when the application was made last year, and, it did not meet the higher priority criteria.
“English as a first or additional language is not taken into account in the admissions process and this would not form any part of a decision.
“Where a first‑preference school cannot be offered, the council has a statutory duty to ensure a suitable alternative school place is available – two alternative schools were identified and offered.
“We understand families may have concerns about travel and individual circumstances and officers work with parents to consider available options within the framework that applies to school admissions.”
All images courtesy of Sinead Hegarty
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