School didn’t call me about a broken bone

[Tigerbreadbum]

DS (8) fell at school this morning around 10am, witnessed by a teacher and TA. Was in a lot of pain, couldn’t wiggle fingers let alone write. They don’t contact me at all. We are in an and e and it’s broken and he may need surgery. I’m fuming he’s been in agony all day with no pain relief, and potentially made it worse.

what on earth do I say to school? I’m absolutely livid. He only started there in January due to physical violence from classmates at his old school. We were both so happy with the new school and now I’m fucking furious! Is there someone I should be informing, council maybe?

Seconding this op, schools have insurance for a reason. I have worked with kids in a caring capacity and running potentially dangerous activities. I would absolutely want my insurance to cover any potentially long term injuries to a child in my care, that's why I have insurance!

Go to the school website, look up their complaints policy, you have to follow each stage in the correct order .. mark it as an official complaint, list what your complaint is and ask for a meeting with the class teacher and head teacher.
This is appalling but you must follow the correct procedure.

What the hell is wrong with you?! This needs reporting as it’s neglect they have a duty of care! People like you are part of the problem! Not the solution!

Op please ignore above type responses and report this.

I got an accident form for a spelk today. They put a plaster on it. 😂
I'd definitely take this further

You should report this to local council safeguarding team as it is neglect.

I’d report to ofsted the bare minimum. The legal routine can help to prevent potential future harm to any other children, I’d seriously consider it!

This is very severe injury & there is absolutely no excuse for any school to have missed this! Please take the legal route for the sake of raising awareness & improving safeguarding for all.

Why is your DS worried about going back to school? Is it because he got hurt there and they didn't help him or because he somehow feels worried about the teachers reaction when he comes back? Poor kid.

I was sorry to hear about the pain & distress of your son - this should not have happened like this and you should have been informed ASAP so you could take him to hospital or meet him there if, for example, an ambulance had been called; (that's what would have been the process at the secondary schools I worked in). I would certainly contact the Headteacher, and ask what they intend to do to avoid this happening again - for example what training will be undertaken by teaching and administration staff? How many staff are First Aid Trained? etc.

This hurts my heart. My child in pain asking for me and the teachers not doing anything about it is awful 😢

The school have a legal responsibility to log any accidents. It would be needed if someone ever decided to sue the school. Their failure to log or properly manage this is extremely serious. They should have a First Aid book at the very minimum detailing how it was managed.

I suspect it is a matter for your local Safeguarding Team as it seems like a case of severe neglect by the school. I would be ringing home for any student who couldn't write and seemed in pain - and the teacher should've have told you about the accident when you did pick up even if it was that he'd been struggling with arm pain today. Why didn't the TA take him in the minute the accident happened to provide first aid (even an ice pack or wet paper towel!) and to log it? I truly hope the Headteacher has answers to my questions for you!

I had a similar issue with my children’s old primary school. DS at the age of five was pushed off some playground equipment by another child. He was in pain with his arm all day, so kept it as still as possible. The school said that they didn’t realise how badly he was hurt until we turned up the following day and he was in a plaster cast as he had fractured his elbow. My DD five years later at a similar age, slipped while crossing a door threshold into a small soft play area at the same school. Again they didn’t realise how badly she was hurt but because I remembered what happened with DS 5 years earlier, I took her down to A&E. she also ended up in a plaster cast after fracturing her elbow. They were only in that school until the end of that year because my DS then moved to secondary And because we had moved house, we moved DD to another primary closer to where we lived.

My son broke his thumb at primary school. He fell off their “trim trail” equipment outside. Apparently he was screaming saying how much it hurt. But the teacher decided he was over egging it as he would often scream at the tiniest of things so thought it was the same again. It was only because it still hurt at the end of the day that they mentioned it - it was also starting to turn a funny colour. The worst thing was he also did after school club, so it was a REALLY long day for him to wait for us to pick him up and realise that actually, he needed medical attention. And we were off on holiday a few days later to Center Parcs so really needed to get him seen and sorted!

we didn’t complain because mistakes happen and I could understand how and why they thought he was being dramatic. The teacher was one we really trusted and had always been brilliant with him.

in your situation, having not been at the school long (and apologies, I’ve done what I tell other people off for and not even checked your updates yet as I have a short break and wanted to share my story so apologies if you’ve taken action) and the teachers therefore not having a history with your child, I would talk to the school to ask why you weren’t contacted, what would they do to make sure this doesn’t happen to another child, then based on that answer decide whether to escalate.

Sorry I've not read all the messages. Hope he doesn't need surgery and he's not in too much pain. Poor Lad.
You need to contact your local council safeguarding team, they have a duty of care while he is in school and they have failed badly, safeguarding will investigate fully and also it should ensure it doesn't happen to anyone else

I would also say that when my son had a similar injury it was a bit of a long road to recovery. It was 8 weeks of not having it knocked so inside for breaks and lunches. Then a few more months of being careful i.e. outside but no running and physio. Then back in for surgery and three weeks of being back inside for breaks/ lunchtime. Then more being careful outside and then getting back to normal. He's fine now a few years down the line but having the school onside and helpful during his recovery was really important. I think it's important you talk to the school not only about his injury but about how they can best support his recovery.

Oh wow OP, this is absolutely horrendous of the school. My son broke his arm badly two years ago and needed emergency surgery (they phoned the head surgeon to come in asap to do the op) which goes to show how important it is to get them looked at asap. My son needed 2 pins so reading your poor boy needed 14 pins had me open mouthed. It was obvious from the moment my son broke his arm that it was very serious. I can’t believe he was just left. So sorry you’ve both had to go through this ordeal and I hope school apologise and change their policies.

At least click see all to read OP’s posts - it’s easy to do.

Her son had surgery - DS back and awake. He has 14 pins and screws, some of which will be removed and some will remain.

That's what they have insurance for. It's not like the head will remortgage her house to pay you.

I am not talking about fractures that occr within our club!!! That would be extremely concerning! I an talking about children who sustain a fracture in their everyday life - playing on the swing, falling off their bike etc

Compared to the 80s and 90s fractures are rare we used to get a broken leg or arm per class after every school holiday....but you never dismiss a child showing signs of pain because they might be wingy.

This isn't true re Ofsted. Schools refer nothing to them. They should have filled out an accident form which is kept in school noting what happened, if it was seen, what first aid was given and if any risk assessments need to be done. Depending on what county they are in they may also need to fill in another form for the county, as a hospital trip was needed and the bone was broken. The note home is not a form, just a note a child bumped a head. They don't do forms for other bumps. Saying all that they should have noticed that a child wasn't using their arm and they should have spoken to you at the end of the day at least , but it's hard if there was no bruise or swelling and your child played on.

Op you are getting confused about which forms the school is talking about in their email to you. When they say they only give out forms for heads, they mean they only give the parent a slip of paper stating that the child has had an injury to their head. They won't give out "forms" for a hurt leg, as it's not so serious as a head injury.
They will have completed an internal accident form for both incidents, which is kept internally and not given to parents. It is kept in file in school. And if it's a serious injury another online form to the county.
(School office person here)

Op it would be worth considering the legal route for compensation, the money might be useful for your ds when he's older. Plus he may have ongoing issues with the arm and need the money for treatments or therapy.

The school were negligent in their duty of care, you don't need to worry about feeling guilty re claiming compensation.

My children had insurance (we paid) via the school whilst in primary. It was a very small amount but I believe an excellent, all expenses paid policy when drawn upon.

If your son has anything similar it needs activating.
Such a serious break could require physio etc.

Do we really need to seek compensation for everything?!
yes it’s awful that this poor lad suffered but surely we need to accept accidents happen? Especially with children. Can we not accept this is just part of growing up without having to assign blame.
my daughter broke her wrist at school, she was given a wet paper towel. I took a further 12 hours to take her to A&E.
The school did not handle this correctly and I’m sure lessons will be learnt but is legal action necessary? Surely not