Year 2 teacher not acknowledging my child's allergy!

[101waystoworry]

Hey guys, I am really not sure what to do here! My DD is in year 2, she is very allergic to chicks, she cannot touch them at all. Yesterday they had some chicks in class, parents were not informed, and DD was told by her teacher that she was fine to pick them up, ect. Luckily she was ok, last time she was incredibly poorly. I don't understand why the children's notes where not checked, surely teachers are meant to check when doing a safeguarding check?
I spoke to him this morning and he did not apologise, he just stated the children all washed their hands after!! This is the second time the class has not looked after her properly, last month at the end of the day, they lost DD and to make it worse they didn't even notice. She had gone off with her friend! ( I have spoken to her about this obviously and she understands this was wrong) My friend notice her and took her back to school! So AIBU to be worried they are not safeguarding properly? Would I be unreasonable to write an email to the head expressing this worry? I am at a loss at how someone could be so unbothered about an allergy!

funny that a school didn't take much notice of an allergy diagnosed only by the parent, with no medical input or proof of any kind.
You'd think if a child was actually seriously allergic to something then the parents would make sure there was documentation and a plan in place with the school?
I know we have all that.

sideways
Do rtft op did document her dds allergy and school were aware of it.

If she has an allergy to feathers (which may be used in crafts or science) it needs to be recorded and anyone working with that child should be made aware of it including how severe it is (can they be in the same room as allergen/ can they be in contact with those who have been in contact with the allergen), what reaction there might be and what to do if there is a reaction (or even exposure).

At our school there is a sign visible on the desk saying where to look to find the information for children in the class. I know the severe allergies for children in my class but still check the records if say the science teacher was planning to use plasticine.

In a previous role I have arranged for animals to be in school (chicks, ducklings, snakes) and each time had to write a risk assessment. There are templates for these online and one of the things to check for are allergies (I hadn't even realised there was such a thing as a snake allergy!).

So assuming there is documentation of allergies in the school the teacher should have had access to this and known about it and should not have had chicks in class or else should have discussed it with you first to see how or if it might be possible (with your DD not having contact or joining a different class).

I have worked in laxer schools and sometimes a teacher might not be aware of allergies or have been shown how to do risk assessments (oddly not covered at all in my teacher training!).

You definitely need to raise this with the school. Ask where details of allergies are kept and the protocol for arranging to have animals in school.

Just because there wasn't a reaction doesn't mean she should have been exposed to a potential allergen. I've had parents make up allergies but although our suspicions were recorded we certainly avoided exposing the child to the supposed allergen!

Handbags at dawn, much? Just a thought for all those people asking if the OP provided the school with proof of her dd's allergy - there may not be "proof" other than a single line in the dd's medical records.
I'm anaphalaphtically allergic to "hair dye". Undoubtedly anaphalaphtically, but the hair dye part is up for debate. Yes, I'm aware the allergen is most likely PPD.
When I had the particularaly nasty, hospital-attention-requiring reaction; the verdict was that it was most likely to the dye, and thus to the PPD, (which I basically knew anyway) but they were unable to test to prove the reaction, because I was in the middle of a reaction.
The hospital told me to ask the GP to refer me for further allergy tests once the reaction had gone. After much fuss, the GP referred, only for the hospital department in question to respond, saying allergy testing was "not appropriate"! The entire comment on my GP's record regarding the allergy is "Alleged reaction to hair dye".

So I'm now in the position of having to explain, any time I have any other medical tests, procedures, etc, that I am allergic to "something", most likely PPD, but possibly formaldehyde, colourants, and a whole other list of stuff. It causes problems with medical dyes, disinfecting solutions, medications, and most importantly, anaesthetics -which is then compounded by a lot of simpler anaesthetics just flat out not working on me. It doesn't help that I'm also asthmatic, (that IS documented) have both ezcema and psoriasis, and am allergic to shellfish, amongst other things.
Thankfully, the vast majority of medics I've encountered take this as seriously as it deserves to be, even though the actual allergen isnt recorded, and I'd expect anyone else to take it just as seriously.

Do rtft op did document her dds allergy and school were aware of it

Is OP a medical professional? I said proper medical documentation. But OP doesn't have that, since she self diagnosed.

parents with serious allergy concerns should be communicating to a teacher regularly rather than just expecting them to check their child's notes

Actually, it is the teachers responsibility to be aware of any SEN or medical needs a child has. If you teach in secondary (300+ students each year) it can be hard to remember them all so you focus on those which affect normal classroom conditions during the start of term INSET and then check the register every time you do something different. I'm appalled that some parents think that the basic "keep children safe" is too much to ask of teachers! It is the bare minimum, and everything, including the actual teaching part, is secondary to ensuring the safety of children in your care.

Of course, if a parent knows something potential dangerous to their child is being done in class they may wish to check the teacher is aware of the issue and / or ask what steps are being taken to ensure their child's safety, but it should not be necessary.

The fact that she showed all the signs of an allergic reaction should be enough.
If you read pp its not that simple sometimes to get proper allergy testing no matter how serious it is. So op could in theory have tried to get it and failed.

Only on mn is it so easy to get the medical help you need instantly, free drs lines etc. Its different in the real world.

But the real point is that school were aware that her dd had this and she could still have had a major reaction. What would have been thier reasoning to tell her it was ok to touch the chick then?

The fact that she showed all the signs of an allergic reaction should be enough

It should absolutely not. Those of us with children with very serious, documented, medically diagnosed and managed, allergies are undermined by parents who inform schools that kids have allergies that they decided they have. Maybe they do or don't (usually don't) but who knows? What we do know is that the undermine the seriousness of real allergies and make environments like schools more dangerous for our children.

Its not up to you or a teacher to decide to 'test' a child to see if they are really allergic to something or not though is it? I expect that the school should know what parents are untrustworthy and who are not.
And surely you know that a person may not have exactly the same reaction twice in a row. My friend didnt they went from mild swelling 1st time to full on breathing difficulties next time.

You dont risk that in a child surely just cos you think you are smarter than a patent?

My mum is allergic to chicks too

sidewayswithatescotrolley
*The fact that she showed all the signs of an allergic reaction should be enough

It should absolutely not. Those of us with children with very serious, documented, medically diagnosed and managed, allergies are undermined by parents who inform schools that kids have allergies that they decided they have.*

The way you're putting that suggests that you don't beleive someone or their child has a very serious allergy unless it's medically managed. Any signs of a serious allergy should be taken seriously, whether documented or not - perhaps not to the extent of banning X from the classroom in some cases, but definitely not deliberatley exposing a child with a stated allergy to a known allergen.

If a school isn't taking allergies seriously then thats the fault of the school not someone else who may or may not be making stuff up.

When teachers become medically qualified to diagnose or refute an allergy then they can express an opinion but they would still need parental consent to prove it.

Many emergency service calls are hoaxs doesn't mean they don't treat then all seriously until proven otherwise.

Allergies are often outgrown. Doesn't mean they were lying to start with

Its not up to you or a teacher to decide to 'test' a child to see if they are really allergic to something or not though is it
No, its for medical professionals to do.

I expect that the school should know what parents are untrustworthy and who are not

yes a good guide is whether they got any investigations or diagnoses for what they claim to be a very serious allergy in their child or not. If they did, trustworthy, if they didn't bother their arse, then not so much.

The way you're putting that suggests that you don't beleive someone or their child has a very serious allergy unless it's medically managed

Of course I don't. What kind of parent decides their child has a very serious allergy and DOESN'T have it medically managed? That would be insanity and neglectful parenting.

Do allergies have to be really serious to be taken notice of?

Plenty of allergies are managed quite easily at home. Anti histamines are available OTC and some.products like eczema creams and sunscreens.

It's not life threatening but I would expect a teacher to not let my child handle a guinea pig and leave her all blotchy and sniffly all day.

Tbh, I don't care whether an allergy is serious or not, it remains the teacher's responsibility to ensure a child doesn't come in to contact with the allergen as far as they can. I only need to know how serious it is if there's a possibility I will need to administer an epipen. It isn't parents of children with mild allergies / intolerances putting other children with life threatening allergies at risk, it is teachers who fail to check the database or decide some parents are lying. They also bring the profession in to disrepute and that pisses me off too.

God,there's some ignorant arseholes out there when it comes to allergies.
OP, YANBU - you said she was allergic, she'd had a bad reaction before,but the teacher risked it and exposed her to it.
Just bloody lucky that it wasn't full blown anaphalactic reaction.
Even then, you could drop down dead and the allergy deniers would probably just say it was a coincidence and wasn't the chick's fault at all.

Do allergies have to be really serious to be taken notice of?

To be taken as SERIOUS they need to be SERIOUS. That is how words work.
If it isn't a serious allergy, then parents who are claiming it to be a VERY SERIOUS ALLERGY are acting like dicks.

ffs.

What Gluesticks said.

All teachers need to know is that last time dd came in contact with chicks she came out in lots of hives.
Its not the teachers job to test it out.
Again i ask would she have been happy if the child came out in hives all over? Would that have convinced her she was allergic or would she have had to be dialing 999 before she believed op?

Teacher has no medical training.
Not her call to make.

God,there's some ignorant arseholes out there when it comes to allergies

yeah, those of us with kids with allergies that could kill them are such "ignorant arseholes"

Teacher has no medical training. Not her call to make

Neither does OP. Not hers to make.

So gets the Dr gonna do. Rub chicks in her face in the consult?

Or will they listen to the symptoms suggest it's probabky am allergy and to give anti histamines when necessary?

sideways, what possible harm could come to your child from a teacher who treats all allergies as serious? Any teacher who disregards any allergy is not a suitable person to be in charge of children. There's no need for allergy oneupmanship if all teachers simply follow the guidelines and take all allergies seriously.

However, harm could come from a teacher refusing to acknowledge allergies without medical confirmation. That harm may be relatively minor, but should be avoided nonetheless.

Op having seen the reaction her dd had is 100x more qualified to say her daughter reacted to chicks than a teacher who hasnt.

You dont need to have experience of serious allergies to recognise an allergic reaction like hives when it happens. Many allergies are not life threatening but it doesnt mean its not important to acknowledge them and it obviously scared op that the teacher was so laid back about what he had done.

Its the ignorance of people like the teacher that affects how allergies are percieved by society not ops concerns.

Its not a race to the top of the 'worst allergies tree' stop acting like it is.

OP, YANBU. The teacher should have carried out a risk assessment before the activities and part of that should have considered any children with allergies in the class. The fact that she didn’t have a reaction this time in neither here nor there.

If you’ve raised it with the teacher and haven’t had a satisfactory response, then you need to follow the school’s complaints procedure.