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Original poster

The school didn’t inform me my son broke his finger during pe!!

63 replies

user1469528032 · 22/10/2022 21:06

I’m wondering what others thoughts are on this. Basically my son hurt his finger during a pe lesson at secondary school. He told the pe teacher who sent him to the office, the lady told him it was swollen and looked like it was probably broken, but just to go back to lessons for the rest of the day (the accident happened during second period) and just to let me know when he got home. Am I wrong in thinking If she thought it was broken a phone call to me would be appropriate? When a couple of hours had passed and it was really swollen and painful he asked his teacher if he could ring me to let me know, the teacher said yes and sent him to the office where he rung me. I told him I wanted to pick him up and get him an x-ray. He relayed this to the lady in the office, who then told him off for ringing me but said she needed to get authorisation for him to leave. In the end I had to ring her and tell her I was coming to get him as I didn’t think leaving him all day with no treatment was ok, she was not happy!
Am I being unreasonable to say I expect a phone call if a broken bone is suspected? I am genuinely interested to hear your thought, thanks.

OP posts:
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Upsidedownagain · 04/02/2023 15:48

Yes, I think they should have called you. No, don't think it was an emergency requiring any immediate treatment.

A few years back one of my DC's secondary schools rang to say she had run into the wall (or somesuch) during PE and their wrist hurt. I don't think they were impressed by the fact I didn't immediately drop everything and rush her to A and E. After many experiences of hanging out for hours in A&E or the minor injuries unit, and some experiences of broken bones, I decided the best course of action was to wait and see how it was in the morning and get on with my day. (Injury forgotten by said child by then.

I WAS annoyed that she missed her next two lessons as the PE lesson took place on one site and her next lessons on the other and they wouldn't let her walk back alone (5 to 10 minutes).

GoodbyeMrChips · 04/02/2023 15:39

They should have contacted you if they suspected he had broken his finger.

My DS fell in the playground one lunchtime in Y1. Teacher had a quick look and thought it was OK. When we collected him, his arm looked strange and his movements were awkward. He admitted to being in pain and yes, his arm was broken. It turned out he hadn’t told his teacher how much it hurt, because there was a Children in Need bake sale in the afternoon! Daft boy is now in comp, and would still do anything for a bit of case.

mumoffourminimes · 04/02/2023 15:27

An
Apology?

I'd have reported to ofsted. Our children are meant to be safe at school and an open fracture is a very serious injury.

mrsbrownhat · 04/02/2023 14:58

My eldest DS was Y7 when I got a phone call 'he's hurt his toe can you pick him up, he might need to get it checked out' I tootled up there, after doing a few chores to find him sitting there. With a broken toe. Where the bone was STICKING OUT. I went ape shit and he spent 3 weeks in plaster (yep, from foot to knee, barely actually covering his toe) Confused. The school did have the grace to apologise.

Original poster
user1469528032 · 04/02/2023 14:49

Glenthebattleostrich · 04/02/2023 14:38

I have a duel first aid and admin role in a school. With the injury you've described I'd definitely call home. I always use my "mum head" in cases like this and err on the side of caution and i just take the bollockings for sending to many home.

Although to be fair I still get regular complaints about not sending kids home because they feel a bit unwell. My favorites in the last 2 weeks - not calling home for a kid who eats a large bar of chocolate before school then feels sick during a sugar crash and presents twice per day, not prioritizing a kid feeling a bit off over a deep cut bleeding everywhere and a child having repeat seizures requiring an ambulance and not calling home for a kid who had a bit of a tummy ache who sat and ate lunch while chatting happily to me (no temp, colour excellent very chirpy when he forgot he was supposed to be unwell!)

I get probably ten kids a day trying it on amoungst the 30 or so who need something genuine. I would certainly call an apologize in this case if I missed this one but we are all fallible and under huge pressure.

I totally get that, we are all human and make mistakes. But the lady he saw suspected it was broken, in the end he was sent back to her by 2 different teachers, who all suspected it was broken, and when he eventually did get to call me, she told him off for doing so, because he’s in an important school year. This is true, he is, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t get a basic level of care.

OP posts:
LolaSmiles · 04/02/2023 14:48

Not handled well.

Not unreasonable to send the child to period 3 onwards but with a note/message to comeback if it gets worse.

A call to you, from the office, would have been sensible too. Just to put you in the picture.

Then a call to discuss what best to do when the child came back complaining of continuing pain.

Ask to see the accident book.
I would agree with this.

It's probably better for a child to sit in class than sit alone in a medical room, but parents should have been contacted.

Original poster
user1469528032 · 04/02/2023 14:45

DelphiniumBlue · 04/02/2023 14:42

You should have been informed straightaway, especially as they thought it was broken.
I would be complaining to the Head about the office staff, their behaviour is callous and unprofessional, and given that it was broken, they clearly made the wrong call. But it's not up to them to make the call to take him to A &E, it's your call, and that is why they should have contacted you immediately.

That was exactly my point to them. The lady he saw wasn’t trained in first aid, neither am I, but it should have been my call to make, as his parent. He is thankfully all healed now though.

OP posts:
Original poster
user1469528032 · 04/02/2023 14:42

mumoffourminimes · 04/02/2023 14:41

Crikey, I'd be going ballistic at the heartless bitch, please make a formal complaint.

Ofc YNBU.

What is wrong with people?! 🤯

Oh, I did make a complaint, and they admitted their wrong doings.

OP posts:
DelphiniumBlue · 04/02/2023 14:42

You should have been informed straightaway, especially as they thought it was broken.
I would be complaining to the Head about the office staff, their behaviour is callous and unprofessional, and given that it was broken, they clearly made the wrong call. But it's not up to them to make the call to take him to A &E, it's your call, and that is why they should have contacted you immediately.

Original poster
user1469528032 · 04/02/2023 14:42

MargaretThursday · 25/10/2022 21:36

It may also depend on his reaction.
Ds broke his wrist at school last year in PE. He continued with the lesson. But they asked him if he needed to go to medical and he said no, he was fine, and it wasn't really painful (2/10). They did all the checks of movement and all were fine.

The next morning I had had an apology email and phone call from two separate members of staff.
I had to tell them that

  1. Ds will avoid medical intervention at almost all cost
  2. He does have a very high pain threshold. He nearly didn't have his appendicitis operated on due to it being only 4/10

I have pointed out to ds that now he'll only have to say "ow" and they'll send him to A&E.

So if he was reacting like that then I wouldn't blame them for sending him back to lessons.

I’m sorry to hear that your son broke their wrist, but no, not a similar situation here, he told them it hurt a lot, it was visibly very swollen. When he eventually got to ring me to tell me what happened, the lady told him off for ringing me, because he’s in an important school year. Which I agree, he is, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t get the same level of care as any other student, or anyone else

OP posts:
mumoffourminimes · 04/02/2023 14:41

Crikey, I'd be going ballistic at the heartless bitch, please make a formal complaint.

Ofc YNBU.

What is wrong with people?! 🤯

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 04/02/2023 14:39

AllBlocChain · 22/10/2022 21:08

A broken arm/leg yes, a broken finger? I’m sure he survived.

My husband broke a finger, and he needed three operations to sort it out (one to plate it, a second to revise it when the fracture displaced despite the plate, and a third to remove a screw that had come loose). Just because it’s a finger doesn’t mean it doesn’t need prompt treatment.

Glenthebattleostrich · 04/02/2023 14:38

I have a duel first aid and admin role in a school. With the injury you've described I'd definitely call home. I always use my "mum head" in cases like this and err on the side of caution and i just take the bollockings for sending to many home.

Although to be fair I still get regular complaints about not sending kids home because they feel a bit unwell. My favorites in the last 2 weeks - not calling home for a kid who eats a large bar of chocolate before school then feels sick during a sugar crash and presents twice per day, not prioritizing a kid feeling a bit off over a deep cut bleeding everywhere and a child having repeat seizures requiring an ambulance and not calling home for a kid who had a bit of a tummy ache who sat and ate lunch while chatting happily to me (no temp, colour excellent very chirpy when he forgot he was supposed to be unwell!)

I get probably ten kids a day trying it on amoungst the 30 or so who need something genuine. I would certainly call an apologize in this case if I missed this one but we are all fallible and under huge pressure.

Joolsin · 04/02/2023 14:37

NeverDropYourMooncup · 22/10/2022 21:57

I've done that job. I always asked parents to collect for anything that looked like it could need an x-ray, as leaving them with a broken anything would have been horrible. Same with anything that might have meant steristrips/superglue or proper cleaning. I also called for the things where something just didn't feel right - which was very fortunate on a large number of occasions.

I'd also call but not to collect to give a heads up for things where they might have a black eye, grazes on their face, etc, as I could imagine the Oh My God What Have You Done moments when they walked in the front door.

I'd expect somebody thinking there was a fracture and not doing anything about to be the subject of a formal complaint, as that's not what first aid is supposed to be, not in the diagnosis, as that's not within her power and in the deciding there was nothing to be done about it.

This is exactly how I handle things too. The teacher in OP's case did everything correctly, but the person in the office needs to stop with the power trip. I would definitely complain.

Original poster
user1469528032 · 04/02/2023 14:35

Thank you everyone who sent a reply, I did speak to the school about this, they agreed it was dealt with inappropriately and that he should have been given better care, and that I should have been informed.
Thankfully, it is healed now.

OP posts:
Boomboom22 · 04/02/2023 14:33

Usually schools have first aiders. She sounds very rude. You did the right thing.

Original poster
user1469528032 · 04/02/2023 14:32

maddy68 · 04/02/2023 11:14

I expect what actually happened was

He got sent to the first aider with a swollen finger who said it looked swollen and gave him an ice pack. She probably then said if it's still painful when you get home it could be broken. So tell your parent

I have worked in schools most of my life I suspect my version is most likely

I can't imagine calling a patent for what I assessesed was a bent back finger that's swollen

No, that wasn’t the case at all, he wasn’t sent to a first aider, or seen by anyone qualified in first aid. Just a lady who does admin and some support work. She told my son, and me, when I rang her, that it looked broken. He wasn’t given an ice pack, or any advice on how to deal with it. This has been admitted to me by the school

Interesting though that you think you know what happened better than me, my son, and his school!!

OP posts:
Original poster
user1469528032 · 04/02/2023 14:26

No, that wasn’t the case at all, he wasn’t sent to a first aider, or seen by anyone qualified in first aid. Just a lady who does admin and some support work. She told my son, and me, when I rang her, that it looked broken. He wasn’t given an ice pack, or any advice on how to deal with it. This has been admitted to me by the school.

OP posts:
LexMitior · 04/02/2023 14:04

Sorry completely the wrong thread...

LexMitior · 04/02/2023 14:03

A country that has had three different Prime Ministers in six months does not have good leadership and does not look stable to external investors.

That's a fact. Not thought. Our international partner and competitiors see it and say it.

Keir Starmer said something positively amazing the other day. He said he preferred Davos to Westminster.

Good. At least someone recognizes that Britain needs to start acting like a proper player again and not play to the gallery like Truss (beaten by international markets), Johnson (beaten by international law) and Sunak (fairly doesn't seem to have done anything particularly offensive).

UrsulaPandress · 04/02/2023 12:01

My DD phoned me from school to say she had hurt her ankle in PE. Heard a loud snap. Teacher made her hop back to school, hop up the stairs to the office from where she phoned me. I picked her up and she was standing outside having hopped back down the stairs. I think she was 15 at the time. No contact from school at all.

And yes it was indeed broken.

DH went in and played merry hell.

SillyBub · 04/02/2023 11:57

THIS WAS IN OCTOBER, PEOPLE. I'm sure the finger is all nicely healed by now.

maddy68 · 04/02/2023 11:14

I expect what actually happened was

He got sent to the first aider with a swollen finger who said it looked swollen and gave him an ice pack. She probably then said if it's still painful when you get home it could be broken. So tell your parent

I have worked in schools most of my life I suspect my version is most likely

I can't imagine calling a patent for what I assessesed was a bent back finger that's swollen

Postapocalypticcowgirl · 04/02/2023 11:05

It sounds very odd from the lady in the office- I wonder if she has recently been told too many children are being allowed to go home ill, and she must send them all back to try lessons or something?

I would contact the school and ask why it was handled this way.

Clearly it looked bad a few hours later, or at least bad enough for the teacher to send him to call you?

Countrylass1 · 04/02/2023 05:27

Sorry to read this.
Same happened to my 11yr old. Broke his arm in a rugby match in pe in tge morning. Had some intervention. Was told to find medic at lunch. Couldn't. Tried go find teacher he was in a meeting
Went to reception asked to call home. She said we don't call home but offered no help to find tge teacher who coykd
Got a v anxious child who hardly goes to school as doesn't feel safe there!!!