MEDIATION between the chief executive of a borough education trust and a local family may resolve an issue at a local school which featured in Prime Minister's Questions in parliament in the past week.

Thurrock Nub News reported on the promise of PM Andy Burnham to investigate the issue of three-year-old William, who has profound disabilities and needs round-the-clock care.

Thurrock MP Jen Craft raised the issue of a reported ban that stops William attending events featuring his six-year-old sister Hollie at Ockendon's Benyon school.

The children's parents, Natasha and James say Hollie is often left in tears as they cannot attend plays and parents' evenings.

William needs 24/7 care, making childcare harder to find and means Natasha and James are often denied the opportunity for even one of them to attend events.

Since a school rule change last September, William's parents say they have missed parents' evenings, singing events, progress meetings, phonics lessons, special assemblies and other events.

Natasha, 40, was a nursery nurse until William's birth, when she became his full-time carer.

His dad James is a regional sales manager and is often away with work, leaving Natasha unable to attend events because she has no one to leave him with.

She said Hollie often "ends up sitting crying in the crowd because she can't see her mum or her dad in the audience", adding: "That breaks my heart."

The family has recently acquired nine hours of respite a week through Thurrock Council.

Natasha says this is vital for her, as William is "restless" in the night and she does not sleep, but often the support does not coincide with school events.

The Catalyst Academies Trust, which runs the school, denies a ban. But, like many schools, limits some events to parents only for "practical and safety reasons".

Tony Parfett, the trust chief executive, said: "For some events we need to control the number of attendees for practical and safety reasons. There is no ban on siblings attending these kinds of events."

He said WiIliam's parents "brought their son to a parent-only event in September 2025 and were advised that attendance was limited to two parents per pupil.

"They had the option of one parent staying with their son while the other attended the event but instead chose to leave. This September, one parent attended the same parent-only event."

He offered to speak to the family "to seek further arrangements that can be made to assist their attendance at scheduled events while remaining fair to all parents."