DESPERATE mother Barbara Botwright whose daughter, Kayleigh, ten, has twice tried to strangle herself, is keeping her daughter off school and wants Wiltshire County Council to put her into a specialist school unit.

Mrs Botwright, 32, of Potterne, says her daughter, who has learning and emotional difficulties, cannot cope with a mainstream school and has a report from a consultant psychologist who supports this view.

She has been battling with Wiltshire County Council for the past four years to get a statement of special educational needs for her daughter which would enable her to receive additional teaching support and go to a specialist unit.

Kayleigh has been to three different primary schools in Devizes but has struggled to learn because of her difficulties, and as a consequence she has fallen behind other children of her age.

Mrs Botwright said her attempts to strangle herself were a result of difficulties at school.

In the first incident Mrs Botwright said Kayleigh was upset because she couldn't do a spelling test.

While she was in her bedroom she put a dressing gown cord around her neck and attached it to a coat hook on the door.

Fortunately the screw from the hook came out and Mrs Botwright came to her aid.

In another incident Kayleigh used her father's trouser belt and tied it around her neck and lay on her bed.

Mrs Botwright got the belt off her neck after her son alerted her.

Mrs Botwright said: "Kayleigh can't cope with a mainstream school and I am worried that if she is sent to one she will try to harm herself again."

Child experts at Marlborough House, Swindon, commissioned by Mrs Botwright's GP said Kayleigh should not be in mainstream school.

The report by Dr Richard Eyre, consultant in child and adolescent psychiatry, and Edwina Draper, clinical psychologist, says: "I think it is most unlikely that this girl can have her needs met in a mainstream education setting. It is also likely that her levels of distressed behaviour will improve if she is in a more appropriate setting."

Mrs Botwright said she was offered places at St Peter's School or All Cannings Primary School.

Kayleigh was due to start at St Peter's today for one and a half hours but Mrs Botwright is keeping her off school because she does not believe the school will be suitable.

She has also been told that the county council's special educational needs panel is meeting tomorrow to discuss whether to grant extra funding to St Peter's School for extra teaching support for Kayleigh.

The county council has a number of specialist learning units for children with learning difficulties based in mainstream schools.

The Devizes area unit is based at Wansdyke School but all pupils who go the unit have to have a statement of special educational needs from the county council.

Mrs Botwright said: "I was not offered Wansdyke School because children who go there need a statement and I have been trying to get the county council to issue a statement for Kayleigh because I believe she needs one.

"At the last request for a statement she was turned down. I am particularly worried about when she is ready to move to senior school."

Wiltshire County Council said it could not comment on individual cases.

However, it said it adopted a new special educational needs strategy in April 2003 to give more funding to mainstream schools to teach pupils with special educational needs.

Devizes county councillor, retired teacher Margaret Taylor said: "The county council must be more flexible when there are children who need more specialist provision than a mainstream school can offer."