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

Same here. I imagine I won't be the only one whose non verbal, diagnosed autistic has to be in mainstream.

I would complain. You looking after that many SEN children is not safe. My four year old really needs one to one and I imagine some of these children do. I don't know why they don't have wipes? Although I feel the parents could have provided them.

That’s awful for everyone - I’d report to safeguarding lead

@GoldenSandy If these are mainly SEN kids then it won't be lazy parents.

The children have SEN? They might not be able to. The children with SEN should be in pull ups if they aren't ready. I know that when my son starts school tomorrow he will be changed by them rather than me. Although he is only going for two and a half hours.

Well then "latest guidance" needs to provide more special school places. Where I live unless a child has profound and multiple learning difficulties (both cognitive and physical) they won't be offered a special school place when they start school.

The school doesn’t sound very good in truth. They’ve essentially thought “we don’t have capacity to care for these high needs kids so we’ll let the apprentice do it all.” I also agree with PP’s that a TA apprenticeship is taking the utter piss since TA’s earn naff all anyway.

You’re wiping bums and cleaning poo up for less than min wage. I understand the market is shoddy right now and you were just desperate for a way in but I think it’s terrible in 21st century Britain anyone is working for less than minimum, especially someone literally cleaning up poo.

if you have enhanced dbs you are quite capable of being left to change
just unfortunate the disorganisation.
hope it is better today

Ok yeah, good point. There is a safeguarding and potentially whistleblowing thing here too though. Really feel for OP.

It isn't possible for some children to be toilet trained either by school starting age or at all and sometimes, they still end up at mainstream for various reasons. It is incredibly difficult to gain a space in alternative provision and as I said, thanks to SEND reforms, it is only going to get worse.

State schools are thankfully not allowed to discriminate against disabled children. If they weren't allowed to start at mainstream, many would end up with no school place at all.

If only it was as simple as ''high support needs children should receive education elsewhere''.

There's no reason most SEN kids can't be toilet trained by their own parents at the same time as other kids.
SEN kids with high support needs should be receiving education elsewhere.

Vaccinations and toilet training should be the minimum expectation required at mainstream schools. Teaching staff are there to support emotional and educational development, not wipe bums.

Hats off to you OP but you absolutely shouldn't be doing that without training.

YANBU.

It's outrageous how many parents expect schools to toilet train their kids. Latest guidance is that if kids are able enough to be at mainstream school then they are easily capable of toilet training at the same age as other kids.
I strongly feel parents should be forced to come in and change their kids themselves.

While you might expect the occasional child to wee themselves, they should be capable of putting on fresh knickers themselves. You are not at a specialist SEN school and should not be engaging in this level of care and certainly not for multiple kids. How awful. I would hate that. Look for a new placement OP.

Every member of staff working in a school must receive safeguarding training and read the school safeguarding policy by law.
Staff need extra training and procedures in place for intimate care.

Me too.

Poor kid would have needed proper washing.

More and more special needs children are expected to start mainstream school now where previously they likely would've gone straight to an alternative provision and due to the white paper (SEND reforms), this is going to get more and more common.

This.

Make sure you’re in a union in this type of job.

They have been dishonest in recruiting you without telling you the full scope of the role. They obviously know that this happens and did not share that vital information.
I don’t understand how and why this is happening. I was never aware of children at primary school soiling themselves due to neuro differences. Kidney issues yes, one person, but what on Earth is going on that all these children are now getting to school without having being toilet trained?

I think confidently stating that you left a position because you were not given training or even any guidance and left alone with vulnerable children, would put you in a favourable light.

You were well and truly thrown under the bus and you’re massively vulnerable to accusations giving personal care without training. I think as others have said you should leave but that isn’t going to look good on your work record. I am a NEU officer and I would strongly advise you to join. They aren’t cheap so maybe look at GMB or unison? But get some advice urgently. I’m not primary trained and a teacher rather than support but I do believe you should be trained to give personal care and not expected do do it unless you are.

This.

I recall that the pupil support assistants at my former place of work were in Unison.

I'm sure very many of the parents of high needs children agree with you, but they have no choice because there are so few places in specialist schools.
I'm sure many of the teachers knows the children's needs are not being met and are struggling to even meet their basic needs, never mind provide a good education. For them and for all the other children in the class who are not getting the attention they deserve and need.
The parents, teachers and mainstream school are not to blame.

You clearly have no idea how it works. If only it was that simple.

How do you think it works???

Parents are just given a choice 😂

You should most definitely have been given training, @OP .

I'm in Scotland, but I should imagine that similar procedures apply elsewhere. I was a teacher in a Scottish secondary, and on the first day of the academic year every single year teaching staff and pupil support assistants all had mandatory safeguarding training.