THE parents of a bright three-year-old girl are dismayed at the prospect they might have to home school her after a communication breakdown.

Little Lillie Brewer, of Akers Way, attends Moredon Nursery and Primary School and was expecting to move straight from the nursery to reception class this September.

However, her parents, Helen Kaye, 43, and Graham Brewer, 45 have now been told that her name was not on the list of those moving from the nursery to the school.

Her parents say they are having to consider home schooling Lillie if they can’t find a solution to the problem.

Exasperated mum Helen, who works as a home care assistant, said: “Why has it taken so long for anyone to realise that Lillie’s name was not on the list? We’ve only just been made aware of it and now the school is full.”

Around six months Helen applied by post for a place for Lillie at the school but she has been told that Swindon Borough Council never received her application.

She explained: “If you apply online you get a confirmation but if you send a letter you don’t. At the time we didn’t have access to the internet but that shouldn’t mean that we have to suffer.”

To make matters worse, the family live well within Moredon’s catchment area – just a few hundred yards from the school.

Lillie, who is four at the end of June, has been offered a place at Ferndale Primary and Nursery School in Wiltshire Avenue, but her parents insist this is too far to travel.

“I work in the mornings and my partner works nights,” said Helen. “He doesn’t drive and it’s too far for her to walk on her own. If I were to send her to Ferndale I would have to give up working.

"This doesn’t just affect Lillie it affects everything in our home.”

The couple are currently going through the council’s appeal process and they’re worried that it could be as late as September when they eventually find out where their daughter will be going to school.

“She’s a bright girl. She loves learning and has made so many friends. I don’t want to have to take her to another school, especially when we only live an alleyway away from Moredon,” said Helen.

Graham, who next week starts a new job as a forklift truck driver at manufacturing firm Patheon at Covingham, said: “It’s not fair on a girl who loves going to school and who has a lot of friends there. Lillie really enjoys learning and she’s friendly with all the other kids and teachers.

“Home schooling is the worst case scenario because she’s not going to get the benefits of a proper classroom education. These days education is a must and I want the very best for my daughter.”

A spokesman for Swindon Borough Council said: “We didn’t receive an application for a school place from the family within the application period, which was between September 1 and January 15.

"We received an application on May 11 and by that time we weren’t able to offer a place at Moredon because places there had already been allocated. We have offered a place at the next nearest school to home, which is Ferndale."

Helen told the Adver yesterday that she had sent the application well within the allocated time and was baffled as to how long it had taken to arrive.

The spokesman for the council added: “This year we received 2,945 applications within the deadline, and more than 100 since. We have offered over 90 percent of parents their first preference for a primary school place, which compares very well with local authorities nationally.”