Teaching assistant

[mom33]

My daughters TA asked her to clean her vomit - my daughter is 8yrs old and was coughing badly when in the bathroom and vomited. she went and told her TA what happened. She took her back to the toilet asked her to clean the vomit that it is not her job. I feel so angry about this and just worried I am at the point of over reacting

[MsHarry]

Hi I’m a TA working with 6/7 yr olds. One word of caution: children often retell the version of events very differently. Today a child told me another had punched him on the shoulder. This punch was the other child reaching out to stop a fall. If a child had coughed and left some vomit/phlegm on the toilet seat and was otherwise well,I see no harm in saying “Just give a wipe over the seat.” for instance. Chn of this age are capable of wiping their bottoms so not vastly different imo. Cleaning a pile of sick would obviously be different.

[user789653241]

I don't have problem with that, unless dc is too ill to do it. 8 years old is totally capable imo.

[mom33]

thk u, im actually getting better, the sch actually called me and said oh ur daughter was upset today. there was a new PE teacher who screamed at the kids and that made her upset. she was coughing and something came out like phlegm and she cleaned it with tissue. Im so confused?? like u say things may end up differently but I want to put in a complaint

[crunchtime]

A complaint about what?

[MsHarry]

The school said the teacher screamed at the Chn? That doesn’t sound like something a school would say.

[mom33]

about the lack of care, her words to my daughter particularly- y did she say its not my job??. the least is r u feeling ok, get some tissue wipe it, wash your hands etc. I believe it is their job to help the children or am I wrong

[MsHarry]

Very hard to say as you weren’t there. You don’t know the tone or context.

[mom33]

exactly but the exact words I was told the new PE teacher screamed and she got upset - u know trying to marshal them

[MsHarry]

I would suggest you speak to the class teacher in the morning and say that Dd was upset about what happened. Stay calm. A complaint at this stage is OTT.

[Fattymcfaterson]

Screamed at the kids? Screamed?
Or just spoke loudly and authoritative

[mom33]

what do mean by tone and context- the words are definitely ill chosen- I know its hard being a TA but so is my job as a customer service manger. I mind my language

[MsHarry]

Always speak to the class teacher. They will look into it, speak to other chn and the teacher in question.

[MsHarry]

I mean it might have been said with humour, perhaps in relation to your DD’s reaction to be asked to clean up her vomit/phlegm.

[MsHarry]

*being

[mom33]

'screamed 'marshal' - welfare staff words not mine'

[mom33]

thk u MSHarry u have been helpful - its always nice to talk about how we feel. thk u

[dotdotdotmustdash]

I'm a TA and it's not my job to clean up vomit, in fact we're not allowed to as it's a janitorial role and they have the equipment and clothing to do it.

If it was a small amount and the child wasn't really poorly, there's nothing wrong with asking them to wipe it away.

[YorkieDorkie]

Gosh OP please don't be that parent. There's no complaint here. I'm a reception teacher and I can frequently be heard to tell the children (who are 4!) that something isn't my job - e.g. It isn't my job to pick up the playdough from the floor. It ISN'T! Children are never to young to have some kind of appropriate responsibility. My 2 year old must help to put toys away, yes it's a game but that's just appropriate for her age. Your DD is old enough to wipe up some phlegm. It is not the TAs job to wipe up every bit of bodily fluid.

[MsHarry]

You’re welcome. I’m not defending the school/this teacher. I just think, be calm and take it from there. Things are not always as a child says but the school saying a teacher upset the chin is bizarre and definitely worth a few questions.Gather the facts and move forward. I have chn too and I know how the lioness instinct kicks in when we feel our kids have been treated unfairly. Speak to class teacher and rest assured it will be looked into .

[MsHarry]

PS I work in a small school with no janitor/caretaker and do it is part of my job to assist a child to clean up but with little ones who are ill, I obviously do everything.😷

[Norestformrz]

I'm a teacher and it's not my job to clean up vomit but I do it if necessary. As others have said there is a difference between asking a child to rub up some phlegm or even vomit with a tissue to asking an ill child to clean up a pile when obviously unwell.
You need to find out what happened but I'd be more concerned about someone in the school saying the PE teacher was screaming at the class.

[Caulk]

I’m confused. Was it vomit (and then why didn’t they ask you to collect her early) or phlegm (which is smaller and your DD could have wiped with a tissue?

[mom33]

Caulk, thank u for raising that - 'y did they not ask me to collect her early'. this saga is turning out to be unreal. After breakfast this morning I sat my daughter down after a very stressful night She had a really bad nose bleed about after 2am (I have to take her to the doctor, she is stressed).
In my daughters words, I went to TA and said I just vomited in the toilet. TA says come with me, takes her to the toilet ask her to clean it. D is surprised, TA says go on clean it its not my job. in all this no duty of care, toilet floor - need I go on. My D said she wanted to vomit again while cleaning it with tissue - could this have been sanitized?? cleaned with proper tools.
My D is 8 and knows when she is treated badly.
I got my answers last night and I am seriously moving this case to a level where those entrusted with children take time to respond/speak and treat them fairly. If it was a phlegm I would not have flagged this

[user789653241]

You have problem your dd cleaning up her own vomit on the floor, but no problem TA cleaning up someone else's vomit on the floor...(If she was able to clean it up with tissue, it wasn't a huge vomit I assume?)