to not want DD to go back to school in September?

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I am so stressed

My 6yo DD has Type 1 Diabetes, and we have struggled getting any support from school. So I've been going in 2/3 times a day to administer insulin, correct high blood sugars etc - class teacher has only been responsible for checking blood sugars and treating lows. This was only done sporadically. For anybody who doesn't know, low blood sugars (hypo) can lead to seizures, comas and even death.

In the final few weeks, things just got worse.

• DD's teacher would either not treat or ring to ask how to treat lows - despite having a written care plan, instructions taped inside hypo supply box, a years worth of training from the diabetes nurse - and then not follow my instructions, and when asked said numerous times 'I must have forgot'.

• Just completely 'forget' to check DD's sugars in general.

• Stopped sending communication diary home.

• I had a meeting with DD's teacher for next year - after it being rearranged due to them 'forgetting' twice - and she promised to learn how to do DD's blood sugar by end of term. She did not do it once despite me asking most days and the nurse's calls were ignored.

We planned for DD's nurse to just come in with me at lunchtime, because obviously this is dangerous and unacceptable. But we didn't get to this point. I had a phone call one morning saying 'Come over immediately'. I got there and DD was covered in blood, DD said she had fallen and hit her head on an oven they have outside the classroom for baking. She had a deep wound above her eye which required stitches and had mild concussion. Nobody could tell me what had happened, other than DD.

• At this point, it's worth mentioning that last year DD also had her hand broken at school - they were playing with tyres and another child rolled one over DD's hand -

With the injury, DD didn't end up going back to school. I am recovering from sepsis which had me in hospital earlier in the year and unfortunately, two days after, I was admitted into hospital myself and diagnosed with Crohn's Disease.

So my husband went in to collect DD's supplies and everything before the end of term and asked DD's teacher what had happened - she 'didn't know' and said 'she wasn't in the room, I didn't see'. Before leaving he (calmly) expressed his disappointment at how DD's care had been, and re-iterated that not treating lows properly would mean DD's cognitive function was impaired.

Well, DD's teacher had a meltdown at this point. Said that she 'didn't have to do anything she didn't want to' and that 'she's only human'. Well yes, of course - everybody makes mistakes, but this is important. And then walked out and refused to talk about it. So DH arranged a meeting for the day before school goes back with the headteacher, and I spoke to her via email when I came out of hospital and she apologised for the situation.

However, headteacher has been aware of all of this and has been largely ineffective. I don't have any faith that things are going to change, I don't feel safe sending DD to school but I just don't know what I can do to change things before September. I'm obviously in really poor health too and the idea of the stress of it all, the going in and out to school all day is driving me to tears whenever I think about it.

Any advice, or just understanding, would be much appreciated. Sorry also if anything has been unclear

Also write to the the LEA copying in the governors, stating that you are keeping your child at home until you are confident that the teacher can fulfil her duty of care

Sorry if I have missed something but why can't your dd not test and administer herself? I had 2 6 year old brownies who could do this. Alternatively could she get one of the automated machines that does all the monitoring etc?

Unless they are properly trained the teacher shouldn't really be administering insulin. Do they school have an onsite nurse that could do it?

Unless they are properly trained the teacher shouldn't really be administering insulin.

The point is that the school should ensure that someone is able to do what it takes to keep this child safe in school. If the specialist nurse says an adult needs to monitor her levels or administer insulin, someone needs to be trained to do it in school.

If the staff don't feel able to do it, they should be open about this and apply for the appropriate funding so they can employ someone who can.

'Forgetting' or just not doing it is not an option.

Op if you feel she would not be safe at school, it does not sound like she woukd, keep her at home. Contact the LEA by phone and writing asking to change schools, look around schools in your area first. also contact iPSEA. It sounds awful, I woukd nit trust them to rake care of a pet, hamster let alone my child.

If it was me I would deregister her and H.ed.
My friend had the same problem throughout primary and was scared to death most days as she had no idea if her dd sugar had been tested.

I know someone who is Home Educating for this very reason.

You may already be aware but Diabetes UK have a "care in school helpline" here which can provide you with support and information.

Goldmandra I appreciate that however it is not that straight forward to obtain the finding etc. I am not saying that in any way excuses their actions, the school have handled it appallingly but I am trying to offer an alternative view

Wheresthelight I'm not aware of an automated machine that will do all the monitoring. Some people have insulin pumps that will deliver the insulin but blood tests still need to be done and it also requires someone to input the blood sugar readings and grams of carbohydrate eaten in order for the pump to calculate and deliver the appropriate amount of insulin.

personally i would request in writing a appointment with the chair of governors as this school is currently failing your daughter, i would not send your child back to this school unless this is fully resolved this is lack of safe guarding and care to a child with a known medical condition, whether she is capable of testing herself it doesn't matter, child has a clear care plan from the diabetic nursing team which needs to be put in place correctly and followed correctly, all schools should have a designated person who deals with the day to day medical and health needs of all the children within the school, there are clear protocols they must be followed whether a child has an allergy, asthma, diabetes or even an epi pen, this school is failing your daughter, make sure your put everything you need in writing to all concerned, i'm sure the chair of governors will not be happy about this, also write to you local authority, copy them into the letter you write to the governors

I know it's not quite the same, but I have a friend with an epileptic ds.
Sweetest boy ever, but development is behind. He is in mainstream school, but he has a 1-1 helper. Full time. She helps him with lunch, changes nappies, as well as extra help with his school stuff.

My gut feeling was this would be appropriate for your dd. not for nappies! But a proper helper for her. With an agreed plan for her medical needs. And also for any extra help she needs catching up when she misses class time for treatments.

The teacher would probably like to be able to help, but with a class of 30 kids, all with different needs, she will struggle.

With a dedicated helper and a set routine, this could easily be managed.

And if your dd gets into a good stable routine, the helper could help other children in the class between times of need from your dd.

*Phone Headteacher, demand action.
*Letter to governors stating what has happened and the dangers
*LEA
*OFSTED.

They can not mess around with a child's health

Your child's teacher is not responsible for his medication. She has a class to teach and is not able to administer his time-consuming medication.

The school should provide a TA or assistant to deal with his medication, who needs to be trained in the correct procedures and maintain records and liaise with the diabetes nurse.

Find the correct information about procedures, pursue this and stop persecuting the teacher.

Find the correct information about procedures, pursue this and stop persecuting the teacher.

It is for he school management team to work out how they will meet this child's needs. It is nothing to do with the OP.

Currently the school have chosen to delegate this job to the teacher, therefore it absolutely is currently her responsibility. This is a staffing decision made by the school management, not the OP. If she had a problem with this, she should have raised it within school.

The OP is not persecuting anyone. She is simply raising concerns when the school staff are not meeting her child's needs, a situation which, in her case, is life threatening.

Sorry for my delay in returning to this thread.

Okay to respond to a few points -

• The tips on applying for a EHCP are really useful, thank you! I'm already in the process of doing the letter and will ask the diabetes nurse and headteacher to support me in this.

• To the poster asking why can't DD do it herself. Well, she can physically check her own blood sugar as it happens - but as she is six she is not a reliable decision maker in terms of treating highs or lows, and would still require supervision and a knowledgeable adult. You can't really compare a brownies session to a day at school. Also, when DD is low - she loses cognitive function, so she wouldn't be much use to herself then, would she.

• Goblin Persecuting the teacher? You must be joking. That little outburst at the end of term was the first I've heard of her not wanting to do it. She offered and this was the solution presented to us by the school. So they did decide that it was to be her job, and if at any point she changed her mind she should have spoken to the headteacher and found somebody else to do it rather than not doing it at all.

The teacher and the school have had access to my DD's diabetes team throughout the year, and yet have actively ignored them at points. So the support was there, they just chose not to take it.

If she didn't want to do it, fine - I would have preferred she'd said that rather than what actually happened. I never said that she personally had to do it, but the diabetes team require the school to have somebody doing it.

Believe it or not, I do understand the pressure of taking care of a diabetic child - given I'm the one doing it 24/7. I was going over to school to do it at lunchtimes two days after having surgery - I go in 2/3 times a day, I'm taking on as much as I can. I've not even asked them to administer insulin, which - for the record - by law the school are required to do. DD is too young to be solely responsible for her condition.

Thank you for all the helpful advice on this thread, the stuff about the EHCP was really useful and I'm making a start already.

For various reasons I don't think home educating would work for us, as much as I would genuinely love to. As my own health is quite unreliable I'd be worried that I couldn't offer the consistency DD would need and I actually have a business that I've had to abandon due to my own ill health, which I'm hoping to get back to at some point.

Just for the sake of clarity, what you are asking at this stage is that the LA carry out an assessment of your DD's needs. Once they receive your letter, they will contact the school to obtain more information about your DD's needs and how they are being met in order to make a decision about whether to carry out an assessment.

If they agree to assess your DD, they will have a long period to ask various professionals, including the diabetes nurse, to assess your DD's needs and recommend how they should be met. At the end of the assessment, they will decide whether the school should be able to meet your DD's needs from within their existing resources or whether they need to issue a plan setting out how her needs should be met and allocating funding to enable this to happen.

The school may not be very supportive about the idea of her having a plan. That is because, once her provision is set out in a plan, they are legally bound to provide it. They already have a considerable amount allocated to the school in SEN funding and they will be expected to use some of this for your DD. At the moment, they have a choice about this. With a plan they will have to do it.

It's a long, drawn out process and some people, including school staff, will tell you wrongly she won't get an assessment or a plan. It would be good to have the school's support but it is by no means necessary.

see also www.medicalconditionsatschool.org.uk/

i think you are better going down the medical conditions route see statutory guidance and getting a signed and agreed individual healthcare plan tbh unless the diabetes is having significant impact on her educational needs and you can prove this - this is what solicitors say eg www.senexpertsolicitors.co.uk/what-we-do/services-for-parents/types-of-special-educational-needs/diabetes an EHCP is unlike for diabetes

cestif not managed properly, diabetes can be life threatening, if the school are not managing this properly then of course it will effect negatively her education. I believe that op will be able to prove this, she has every right to apply fir the EHCP. Though her dd has no SEN, she has medical,needs.

One of the main changes to the SEN Code of Practice is that EHCPs which replaced Statements of SEN will now include health provision that affects the child's access to education. This is a perfect example of such provision. Without the right support in school, this child's life is at risk which has a significant effect on her access to education. Her ability to learn is also compromised if her blood sugars are not well controlled, to say nothing of the long term damage to her health by allowing her blood sugars to run too high.

AFAIK, healthcare plans have no legal teeth in that the parent cannot appeal tot he SEND tribunal if it is not being implemented properly but I would be very happy to be corrected on this.

Repeat: it is not the responsibility of the teacher to administer your child's medication.
If the school told her she had to do it, they were wrong.
Why did the Diabetes team not go into school and enquire what was happening, of the Headteacher, who has responsibility?
You need to contact the Headteacher and ask her to set up the required care and the person to administer it. I am surprised you have not done this before, at the end of last term; someone could have been found and trained during the holidays, or at least be prepared for the responsibility.
Your child will have a different teacher now, presumably; that is why it is important to have a trained TA who can move through the school with the child

Repeat: it is not the responsibility of the teacher to administer your child's medication.
If the school told her she had to do it, they were wrong.

That is between the teacher and her employers. It is not the concern of the OP.

The OP's responsibility is to ensure that her DD's needs are being met. By whom they are met and how that provision is arranged and funded a matter for the school and the LA to address.

Brilliant, thank you for all of that info - I'm adding it to my notes. It sounds like it will be a long road but worthwhile if it's the only option.

Goblin Have you actually read my posts? I didn't appoint the teacher as being in charge of DD's needs. The diabetes team did go in, her teacher volunteered at the start of the year and maintained throughout the year that she was happy to do it.

Problems started arising, the diabetes team did go in again - several times - made plans and agreements with the head teacher and the teachers that were then not kept to. The school then ignored and avoided the diabetes nurse's calls as they were 'busy'.

Why are you so keen to place the blame on me? I have been in daily contact with the headteacher, as I go into school 2-3 times a day! I take in notes, flowcharts - copies of the care plan when the original has been lost. I get told one thing and then another happens. You do realise, don't you that I can't just appoint a TA myself? I would bloody love to! Do you think I enjoy the stress of this?

Is it also my fault that when I had an operation, DD had to have the day off because school couldn't organise themselves - despite 3 months notice and numerous training sessions from the nurse - to sort who would be looking after DD without me coming in?

You need to contact the Headteacher and ask her to set up the required care and the person to administer it. I am surprised you have not done this before, at the end of last term; someone could have been found and trained during the holidays, or at least be prepared for the responsibility.

And as for this, ha! I did contact the headteacher, she said let's arrange a meeting for September. And again, as for the training - The diabetes team have been in SEVERAL TIMES, plans made and agreed to and then not followed through.

Also - I've not got as bloody far as asking them to administer the insulin yet, if you read my OP all I want is for them to check her blood sugar and treat lows at the moment! That would be a big first step!

Did you have this problem in the previous school year? It does rather sound as if this particular teacher has an issue with blood or needs and is therefore unable/exceptionally reticent to give your daughter the care she needs. Will she have a different teacher from September?