MORE than 1,000 parents have signed a petition to protest against a decision to scrap playschemes for kids with additional support needs.

The sessions at Clippens School, in Linwood, St Anthony's Primary, in Johnstone, and Kersland School, in Paisley, are enjoyed by hundreds of youngsters, including many with autism, during holiday periods.

However, playschemes which were due to start at Easter have been cancelled - leaving mums and dads fuming.

A number of parents have contacted The Gazette to slam both Renfrewshire Council and the Capability Scotland charity for "keeping them in the dark."

They claim they only discovered on Facebook that the playschemes were being scrapped.

Morag Evans, whose 12-year-old son Tom is severely autistic and has attended the Clippens playscheme for the past seven years, said: "It seems the council knew as far back as September last year that Capability Scotland was pulling out of holding the playschemes.

"It is a slap in the face to parents and the children that the council didn't see fit to tell us. We only found out after rumours started to appear on Facebook.

"Other parents have said they contacted Capability Scotland to find out what was happening but couldn't get an answer from them. Whoever is at fault, surely the children must be the first priority?

"Both sides need to get this sorted."

Carol Halcrow, from Erskine, added: "My son Finlay is 10 and he has been going to the Kersland playscheme for the past six years.

"It is absolutely diabolical to cancel the playschemes and it's worse still that parents and carers haven't been kept in the picture. There seems to be plenty of funding for all sorts of clubs but not those for children with additional support needs."

Renfrew mum Angela McBrearty, whose seven-year-old son Logan has benefitted from the St Anthony's playscheme, has also been left disappointed.

She said: "It is devastating news. I was expecting to be filling out forms for the Easter scheme right now and only found out from talking to another parent that the whole thing is off.

"It is a shoddy way to treat children and families who rely on this service, which is a lifeline for us."

A Renfrewshire Council spokesman said: “We were in negotiations with the service provider to implement the extension of their contact right up until last month.

“We also reached out to two alternative providers but unfortunately they both indicated that they would not take on this service.

“It is important to be clear the council has not withdrawn funding for the Additional Support Needs play scheme and we are working to achieve a positive outcome for the children and their families.”

A spokesperson for Capability Scotland said: “We gave Renfrewshire Council three months’ notice that, following a review of this and similar services, we would not be in a position to accept a proposed extension to our initial three year contract.

“We believe the service model of a ‘holiday play’ scheme is outdated and should not be delivered in isolation from term-time activity as it does not fully support the often complex needs of the young people who use it. It has also become increasingly difficult for Capability Scotland to fulfil its obligations to the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) regarding the registration of staff and to meet the expectations of the Care Inspectorate for what is essentially a part-time service.

“We remain happy to work with the council to design a more modern service model that can fully address the specific needs of the young people who previously used it and their families.”

ENDS