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

You sound really mature and responsible and that you would make a great TA….. in a different environment!

You should not have, appalling practice and I have never seen it happen in any nursery I have worked in, even the not great ones.

You’re struggling because it’s only your second day and you have really been thrown in the deep end. Where was the teacher with a cover on only the second day? That’s not great in a reception class either!

it sounds like a particularly shit school op. I really would be looking at a special st school. In interviews - because you wanted better experience and support with training.

I meant to add, what’s the plan for your lunch?? In special schools we ate with the kids we needed to take to lunch.

perhaps you can seek advice from the other TA?

I worked for a while as a TA with Y1 children with SEN. To change children we always worked in pairs - safeguarding for the child and for staff.

Each child had a care plan that gave information about how to deal with things like melt downs and I was shown care plans when working with any child so that I knew what to do etc. I had training to work with children who became "physical" - children who hit out etc so that they, and those around them, could be kept safe.

I think the school you are working at is failing you and the children there.

There are so many things wrong about what you have described im not sure where to start!

Unless it is specifically stated in your contract that you will undertake intimate personal care as part of your role (& it was discussed in detail in your interview) then you are within your rights to refuse to undertake personal care.

Even if you are prepared to undertake personal care you should have full training prior to doing it & work alongside someone initially.
You should never be doing something like that in a place that is not within sound/sight of colleagues to summon help should a situation arise.
In many settings there will be 2 people present when personal care takes place - safeguarding both the child & the staff

This sounds like a very unprofessional setting & you should be very careful.

Consult your union on actions moving forward. If you're not in one koin asap, you'll need it at some point.

Ex-TA / HLTA (qualified) here. This is unacceptable on so many levels. I would go straight to your line manager and tell them that you were not made aware that this was part of your job description and, as you have had no specific training, you will not be doing it. Being unemployed is better than cleaning up shit for, as you say, less than minimum wage.

I had this in a college i worked in. Obviously older children but the same principle, around 8 years ago. From our union, we had in writing that intimate care (which is what you were doing, not personal care) had to be specified in your job description & contract. It was not enough to just state 'personal care'. And full training had to be given. As it wasn't specified in our contract/job description, many of us refused to do it

It's absolutely appalling for both you and the child to be put in that position

There's no shame in walking away @twelfthdoctor. Remember, 'resilience' is by and large a code word for being treated like shit by colleagues and management.

Why don't you give yourself a week. If nothing has improved by then, leave.

Speaking up is hard, especially in a new and overwhelmingly busy job. Can you put it in an email to someone?

You are categorically not stupid OP. You are being placed in a very stressful situation that would be challenging even for experienced TAs.
Can you write an email explaining that you are not trained to deal with these complex needs, that you have not been briefed on the individual care plans and needs and that you are feeling very unsupported. Get chatgpt to review the email if you are worried about how it comes across.

If you are worried about how to phrase things then prepare a bulleted list and bring it into the meeting
Good luck

Which isn’t what an apprenticeship is. They don’t get apprentice electricians wiring without supervision on day 1 or apprentice hairdressers doing a balayage or apprentice journalists editing the front page…

Email them back and say you do think it’s necessary and ask that she be present. It’s not ok for them to use you as cheap labour and not keep you safe or provide appropriate training.

Email them now expressing your concerns and try and go in early to talk to someone.
My school tend to through people into the deep end but this is something else!!
You need to see the care plans of these children, you need to be shown where to change them (some of ours for example will lie on a changing bed which is at adult height for changing, others will need to be changed on the floor/standing as they would be at risk if put in the bed). You need to have access to wipes, gloves etc, changes of clothes and know where to dispose of items.
We also tend to do all changes in a room with a door open and make it known to other staff what is going on so they can be aware and also have eyes around in terms of any accusations.
Really you shouldn't be left alone with this many children if their needs are this high..I would be checking their EHCPs to see whether they are actually allocated 1:1s.

Yet when it comes to the care of the most vulnerable in society (children, the very elderly and those with additional needs) it’s deemed as fine. Traditionally women’s work so an expectation that it’s instinct and/or that women won’t speak up.

It's not the class teacher's job to train you so she really has nothing to do with this.
It's likely she has no idea what your background or level of experience is.
You need to direct your questions and concerns to your line manager, they are responsible for ensuring you have sufficient training, have read and understood the policies etc.

The school is clearly not committed to training you. Your mentor clearly can't be bothered to carry out her role. They just want an extra body on the cheap, and that's not on.

Your mentor is basically washing her hands of you and expecting others to pick up the reins (probably without communicating that to them).

I would use your review to make it very clear to your provider that the school isn't providing you with the information and training that you need (and which they almost certainly signed up to).

It's very early in the term for the class teacher to have sussed out all the children and have behaviour plans in place, so I'd cut her some slack on that. It's the management team that don't seem to have any kind of on boarding systems or any commitment to the apprenticeship.

Intimate care plans should already be in place though.

My daughter is at university. She did a week's volunteering at my school after her A Levels and this was enough experience for her to get work as a part time TA alongside her degree through a supply agency.

When the university year finished, she worked full time as a TA through an agency on above minimum wage for a term and they said that they'd have gladly kept her on in September had she not been going back to university.

I'd look at different options if I were you.

As an aside, no one should be doing personal care without training or another adult present regardless of a child's needs or care plan. That's basic safeguaridng and protects both child and adult.

ETA: my daughter has no TA/education specific qualifications and her degree is not in education either.

As someone else said, the teacher will have no info at all on your background experience/qualifications. It's not her business to know that and won't unless you share it with her.

Are you a member of a union? If not, join. The mantra for teachers is don't step foot in a classroom without union membership.

She will help you as much as she can but ultimately you need to speak to your line manager/the phase leader to address training. It is your responsibility to raise that as a professional duty. Don't sit around waiting for someone else to think of it. The teacher can't arrange training for you - that's not her role. Nor would she deliver it.

No one will think badly of you for raising a concern or an issue or a training need in yourself. They would think badly of you if you didn't and then it became a problem.

You need to hold them accountable as you can be damn sure they'd hold you accountable if something went wrong. Even if they were ultimately responsible.