To be appalled that parents need to be supported by government to potty train their child

They won't even assess my non verbal autistic four year old for an EHCP. Which we are fighting. Unfortunately I suspect he has to have all the attention of the class TA because he likes to climb or play in the toilets. Even climbed a fence last week.

No child should be going to school in nappies. It is completely unacceptable.

Well yes they should be funded but different governments make it hard for the school to get funding. Who else do you propose changes my autistic child's nappy? He is entitled to be at school. He also enjoys going.

I have not read all your posts, but assume you consider yourself an 'older/experienced' mother. You also seem to hold HV in high esteem. I cant even tell you how much bullsh!t I heard from HV's in case of both of my kids, advice that is so outdated that it made my ears hurt to listen to it, contradictory advice, regurgitating the most basic stuff, often not even correctly, advising me to go against pediatrician's advice to start specific medication because in their opinion it was not necessary- and we're talking about 4 different so called 'professionals'. Not to mention the knowledge of SEN was less than zero.
I think with older mothers it's often the same thing- you think you have some sort of amazing advantage and knowledge, like it was of value 20 years ago and worked for you, great stuff, good for you.
But looking at people who are currently 30/40- so many of them lack basic reading, manners or comprehension skills, so maybe the older mothers and HV didnt do such a great job after all.

I do agree it's a lot of parents being lazy BUT I think there's also other factors at play.

Firstly (someone mentioned here) HVs used to give advice, guidance, and a healthy dose of shame if you hadn't done it. Well now you don't typically see a HV, at least in my area, after 2 so that help/boot up the arse has gone

Secondly, mother's are much more likely to work than they used to, most households can't survive on a single income. The affect this has is where do you find the time to potty train? Very few kids will get it after a couple of days, you need at least a week or two in the house no distractions to just get it done, nurseries will support when they return to nursery but can't really take the lead on potty training, you have to break the back of it first. Is not very enticing when you only get 4weeks annual leave to spend 25-50% of it potty training. I'm taking a week (next week heaven help me) unpaid parental leave to get DS started with potty training, but plenty couldn't afford to do this.

I think this should be reintroduced

Yes I have to agree
it is a disgrace

He does actually have a 1:1….but she’s off with stress! Having different people would not work for him so he’s sharing a TA currently as supply would be disastrous.
I understand about the intimate care plan - which he does have but there were only two members of staff named. His 1:1 - who wasn’t there and an MSA who is also a 1:1 for another child?
Was I supposed to leave him wet and distressed?
I have now been added, so assume it will continue to happen.
I have had 3 other EHCPs come through in the last few months and they hardly ever say 1:1 any more even if needed.
If it doesn’t say it, they definitely won’t get it.

I couldn’t agree more. After over twenty years in education, I’m actively looking for another job. I just can’t do this anymore.
If anyone would like to know what it’s really like in schools at the moment, then take a look at the “Burnt Out in Education” post. 😬

Also can't take coats of use scissors as they have never used them (arts and crafts)
Not take off shoes or put them back on.
Not put stuff in their school bags
The list is endless

I agree that there absolutely isn't enough funding. More is needed but unfortunately I don't see it happening.

Thank you for what you do as a TA.

PP specifically equated EHCPs with 1:1. As it stands we don’t even have one between 4. 1:2 would be amazing.

I’m the TA. For the whole class to share. Run off my feet is an understatement. Because despite no funding , there’s the usual class work, 3 need sensory circuits but two can’t have them at the same time, pre teaching sessions for all 4, interventions, one need to be supervised when using the toilet, two need full support during input/classwork , several adjustments , we have a new kid now that is also a school refuser and needs easing in and the list goes on, and on, and on. Most days I’m behind before the day has even started.

My son has an EHCP with 2:1.

You're lucky if you even get 1 full time TA for the 4 of them to share!

I have 4 kids with EHCPs in my current class. Do you really think councils would fund 4 members of staff for each one of them? Ha!

It just shows how ignorant some people are of the system and how it actually works (or doesn’t work as it’s often the case).

Because 2 yos aren’t quite reliably potty trained and yet here they are. So a TA might be changing nappies in preschool in the morning and supporting in ks2 in the afternoon. Just like I changed nappies when I covered there for a week despite being a Y6 TA .There’s an understanding that there might be a need to nappy change in EYFS. Same in SEN hubs(in mainstream) , particularly those with severe learning difficulties. They’re still teachers, they’re still TAs, they might move around, they might be covered by someone else.

Its not how it works anymore unfortunately. Fewer and fewer councils will approve 1:1 written in to an EHCP (because then it becomes legal and they know they won't fund it).

1:1 or 2:1 are almost exclusively for severe behaviour needs, abscondors, or very occasionally high medical needs. Being non-verbal in a mainstream classroom isn't enough to get appropriate funding (according to the 🤬🤬🤬 council's anyway).

If a parent can't/won't fight for what their child is legally entitled to, i.e. a suitable education, they won't get it. Parents that spend all their waking hours fighting still don't get appropriate education!

The whole system is in crisis.

It’s grim that parents of non special needs children really don’t do the basics, such as toilet trading. There really are no excuses. 🤷‍♀️

If he has an EHCP, why doesn't he have 1:1 TA support?

Nursery staff toilet train children alongside parents, not instead of. You can suggest to parents their child is ready to toilet train but if the parents don't listen there's only so much the staff can do.

@twinkletoesimnot If he has a EHCP for a special school, he should have TA hours in a mainstream school funded by the LA.

Children in school who need to be changed are required to have a written intimate care plan which provides names of staff who have permission to change the child which is then signed off.

My son's class teacher isn't on the intimate care plan and in my experience they never are as they obviously are teaching the class. It is usually TA's who are named on the intimate care plan which is the case for my son.

More funding would always be good but unfortunately, it just isn't happening.

While that’s undoubtedly true (I have a non- verbal, profoundly autistic little boy in nappies in my year 4 class - he keeps getting rejected from the local special school and mum won’t try any further away) - it isn’t actually ok that general classroom TAs and teachers are having to do this. If he had a 1:1 and that was part of their job description, fair enough, but this is becoming incredibly rare at a time when need seems to be increasing. More than once already this year I have had to go and change a very wet little chap and leave my class unattended in the middle of a lesson. They are aware of why.
It’s not nice for him, unfair on them due to loss of learning and not what I signed up for.