AIBU to expect school not to use children as babysitters

[Hoothoothoot]

DS is 10. Primary year 5. It’s a really small class of 23 pupils in a village school of 230 ish students total.

One of the girls in the class has ADHD (diagnosed) and school have struggled from day one in reception to manage challenging behaviour from her.
Nice family, mum is very friendly and on board, she’s aware of the struggles school faces and indeed faces them herself at home.

Girl has had a 1-1 TA for years 2 (when diagnosis was given), 3 & 4.
Lots of staff redundancies and cuts at end of last academic year resulting in no TA being available for girl anymore.

Today DS informs me it was his turn to sit in with girl at lunchtime. Asked what he meant. “We have a rota in the classroom and everyone has to have a regular turn to sit in after eating with girl to keep an eye on her and play with her”

Am I right in thinking this is not the job of the other children to do this? I understand staff need to go for lunch etc but then shouldn’t a lunchtime supervisor be made available? What if girl decided to display challenging behaviour? How are the other 9 & 10 yr olds supposed to manage this?

This is inadequate. Two children not being supervised, one with (fictional) responsibility for the other.

However, are you certain no adult is keeping an eye on them? It might be that the rota is for company, not really for supervision.

No no adults around. Today DS says some younger children came to the window and were pulling faces etc and knocking and girl was really unhappy with this and started shouting and growling.
Dinner ladies were all outside with the rest of the school or in the school hall for dining.

It’s a stand alone building so if they needed an adult, I guess they would have to bang on the window to get attention from a dinner lady or exit the classroom.

Sounds like they stay in with her, probably some kind of lunch club for children who can't cope with being outside.

Other children staying in will be so the child isn't alone.

I'd be very surprised if there was no adult present too.

I would ask the school to clarify what is happening here. It's possible that things are getting lost in translation (I used to be a TA and often had convos with parents about things going on in class which absolutely did NOT happen quite the way their DCs had explained them!)

If this is what is going on however it's not right IMO. Apart from anything else children need to be able to go out and have their lunch time break every day. Not sit indoors supervising another child.

do check with the school first.

If your son is correct, then yes, do loudly complain. Kids are not babysitters and shouldn't' be used as such, not fair to punish them because of the cuts in budgets.