To think I was put in an unacceptable situation regarding SEN students toileting needs?

But surely we can all agree that if a child has SEN to this degree a mainstream
school is likely the wrong environment?
Why is that so difficult to acknowledge?

Your view isnt relevsnt to this sitution
All children are entitled to an Education
Whilst i t sounds like the child would be better off in a special schopl
There are many reasons why shes in mainstream including parent choice
I feel for the Op and it sounds like the sitution is being badly managed.

This is just dreadful and highlights some of the issues with mainstream education.
This is good for absolutely nobody.

If the child is SEN and they can't get a place in a special school where else can they go? Every child is entitled to an education. If the child is five she is legally meant to be in school.

I feel for you i absolutely loved supporting children to learn as a TA but that is not what a a TA does

a good 80% of what a TA is a combo of intimate care, administering medicine, first aid and occupying the SEN kids while the teacher does a std differentiated to 3/4 levels lesson

I see the role more like a carer and as I was uncomfortable with intimate care I left and would never go back a shame as I was great at supporting kids to learn

As if it is that easy.

The issue isn't whether the OP has a DBS or whether a TA job role includes personal care.

The problem is that a trainee on her very first day was expected to take an SEN child alone with no idea about the child's needs, care plan, the school's intimate care policy or even where the PPE and wet wipes were kept, and no way to summon help from another adult.
That puts both the adult and child at risk.

An apprentice should be receiving training - first watching an experienced staff member do the task, then do the task while observed, then do the task alone.

The deal is the employer gets a cheap member of staff in exchange for training them.

You are being taken advantage of

Admittedly I have been out if education for three years now, but

an hours being talked at in September is the safeguarding training.

op, you need to ask about the intimate care policy (there will be one). Ask for wipes/gloves etc.

intimate care is not always 2 adults to one child, and this is not usually in intimate care policies.

in the places I have worked there are usually named TAs who do it on a 1:1 basis

but yes, in reception it is expected that any TA will do it because many children have accidents and it is just considered part of the job.

speak to the teacher to get wipes/gloves etc.

This is awful! Leave - they are using you. The school should have a policy of a child soils themselves the parents are called and change them. Also what qualification is the apprenticeship giving you. A TA does not need a qualification…

My view is that the child should not have started school. She should have been delayed as not ready. This is half the problem! The whole point in being an apprentice IS to access training and qualifications. This child probably needs 1:1 and yes, the teacher and head need to get the EHCP fast tracked!

No you don’t get supported as support staff in schools!

Middle class and well off people need to understand that whenever they say ‘the schools should be doing this’ or ‘why aren’t schools doing more’ this is exactly what happens. A minimum wage staff member, usually a woman, is forced to go through school herself, do everything right, pay for a degree and then train and volunteer and beg for work to be treated like a punchbag by the kids and a verbal punchbag by the teacher. For minimum wage. The latest thing I heard was that school staff were going to be doing teeth brushing and eye tests. With their left feet, while walking around strapped to a broom, obv.

Is this a special needs resource base in a msinstream school or just a bog standard mainstream class ?
My son 16 now and severley autistic non verbal etc
But has slways gone to special school
Where you would expect there to be a large number of students with toileting needs
It doesnt sound like you are being very supported .

They are giving you the worst parts of the job because you are training and it means they get to parr off their responsibilities.

Tell them you do not feel comfortable to do it without adequate training and ask for clarity on the breakdown of your role and what your responsibilities are and make sure it is in writing and you are doing what is written and not anything extra they try shove onto you.

This. Schools are toxic places for staff, teachers complain they’re not paid enough to do things and then bully every lower paid staff to do it. Everyone is fed up. And yes @Sartre this is what the U.K. has come to, when official public institutions underpay even low paid staff deliberately.

Can you look for a job in special schools op? They usually come up frequently as they too have high turnover in staff, but at least there are usually more staff about. There are better ones that do training. I personally did this as, yes, being lumped with SEN in mainstream is even worse, and then was able to use the experience to go to the NHS. Which is also shit and low pay, but hey people, this is the choice we have. Especially for women in the poorer parts of the country, which is all most of us can afford. Different colours of shit (both literally and figuratively). There’s no point in becoming educated anymore or trying hard.

Enhanced DBS has nothing to do with your ability and knowledge to work with children with very high personal needs.

YANBU.
You should raise a safeguarding concern that changing a non-compliant SEN child who has soiled themself needs to be assigned 2:1 staffing so that you aren't in this situation. If the school cannot provide sufficient staff to keep the child safe then the school cannot meet the child's needs. This is a desperately difficult situation but it is not your responsibility to compensate for the gap between what this child needs and what the Local Authority is offering. The child will only get their needs met if the adults who are able to see what is going on stand firm and refuse to be fobbed off.

Missed the bit about wipes!

Stuck at home then? Institution?

Pure gaslighting.

SEN children wth high support needs are not getting special school places because the governments all want them in mainstream. It’s a conscious decision.

There is no extra money allocated for them and hence we are in situations like the OP.

Well they don't have much choice really. Currently going to mediation because the LA have refused to assess my autistic four year old who is non verbal, in nappies and not much awareness to danger for an EHCP. I will send him to mainstream so he can still experience socialisation and learning. He actually really enjoyed school nursery.

OP stated the parents did but she hadn’t been informed. If they can’t take themselves to a toilet I’d argue they need specialist provision. The system is shot shoving high needs SEN kids into mainstream. I say this as a child with lower needs SEN who still needs 1:1 but is toilet trained and doesn't have meltdowns. That aside, apprenticeships shouldn’t be below min wage.

Yep.

My son is incontinent due to a medical issue, not because he has learning delays and/or difficulties. I think the LA would actually laugh in my face if I demanded a special school place for him because he's incontinent, absolutely no chance.

Lucky for you that you obviously don't have an SEN child in the UK . There is no choice for parents they get what they are given if they are very lucky it's an SEN school if they are not it's mainstream like it or lump it .