The borough’s school place crisis has hit home for one Kingston family whose children have not been able to attend classes for a month because there is no space for them in nearby schools.

Nazish and Mohammad Usman and their two children Mohammad Umar, nine, and Abdullah, five, were moved from Germany to Kingston by the Army at the beginning of the month when Mr Usman was diagnosed with lupus and lymphatic cancer.

The family informed Kingston Council in December that they were moving for Mr Usman’s treatment, but the authority could not find a school place near their home.

It confirmed yesterday the Usmans had appealed their case, and temporarily accepted places for the boys at a New Malden school.

Mr Usman, an IT officer at the Army’s Paderborn base, is unable to look after the children because of his illness and Mrs Usman is worried she will lose her job as a teacher at Teddington Day Nursery.

She said: “I can’t leave the children at home. We can’t afford to home school them or have a childminder come in.

"Legally my children have to go to school.

"We were offered places at different schools in New Malden but [it was too far away] and I don’t drive. We live so close to so many schools. I feel completely trapped.”

A National Union of Teachers has said the Government’s free schools policy has taken power away from councils.

A spokesman said: “The solution to the school place crisis is to give local authorities back the legal powers they need to plan and provide enough school places in their local areas and for the Government to provide sufficient funding to enable them to do so.”

The Usmans live less than half a mile from Latchmere, St Luke’s and Fern Hill primary schools, and are also within walking distance of another three.

Kingston and Surbiton MP James Berry said: “There is no question that we need new primary schools in Kingston and Surbiton.

"I have been around Kingston and Surbiton with the head of the Education Funding Agency (EFA) to identify sites for a new school.

"The problem with starting in the middle of the school year is that schools are funded on a per-pupil basis so they should be running at capacity.

"In my opinion everyone who has primary school children should be able to reach a school without having to get into a car.”

Figures published by the Greater London Authority figures show 904 state-funded primary school places are needed in the borough by 2019-20.

Kingston Liberal Democrat leader Liz Green claimed in 2014 that there was no school place crisis under her administration, but despite some schools are having four times as many applications as the year before.

She said: “A lot of parents have always found it difficult to get their children into a first choice school in Kingston.

"It is the council’s responsibility to find a place for the pupils but they can’t tell an academy to accept extra pupils.”

A council spokesman said the Usmans were offered places 1.5 miles from their home.

He said: “Under current legislation, any new schools must be a ‘free school’ and responsibility for securing sites for free schools rests with the EFA.

"Achieving for Children and Kingston Council work closely with the EFA to ensure that we continue to meet rising demand for school places.”