To ask if a teacher can teach their child at school?

[Tylila]

Do some schools/councils have policies against it?

How are situations handled when the child is involved and the teacher has to look at both sides without favouring?

Are there other considerations to be aware of?

OP I've read through all your comments and I can see that you're obviously concerned about who might be employee as a 1:1 for your dc. When a child has very specific needs to, you want to feel assured that they will get the right support. Is the current 1:1 leaving did you say?
As a teacher, I must admit, I would feel uncomfortable if I taught a child with their mum as their 1:1. I taught a child for 2 years with intimate and personal needs that required frequent attention everyday. This child was the granddaughter of my line manager who oversaw the year group. She overstepped the mark a few times and put myself and my LSA in very awkward positions. We worked things out eventually but it meant that my line manager had to be less emotionally involved and take off the grandparent hat.

Just a thought. Could you ask the school if you could be involved in the interviewing process for the new 1:1? Maybe your dc too. That may not be conventional but I can't see any problem with asking. That way you'd get to have some input which might help.

@mag2305

I appreciate your response, thank you. I can certainly ask.

DC is moving to secondary so school, 1:1 and peers are changing.

I was taught by my dad in secondary school for 4 years - he was the only teacher for that particular class so no option. It was never a big deal. It did mean that when I got the highest marks and won the class prize, it had to be checked and rechecked by others to ensure it was 100% legit. Nobody assumed favouritism, and there wasn’t any, but you’ve got to be beyond clear if you’re giving prizes to your child! It helped that it was a small class - around 15 pupils in standard grade years, 6 in higher year and then only 2 of us in advanced higher.

OK, so who has advertised? At mainstream we don't have parents involved with 1:1 hiring at all but this may be different in special schools.

Surely you'd know the 1:1 wouldn't follow DC to secondary? (apologies if it is a through school or split site).

They will be advertising to get the widest pool of candidates available. If they start specifying particular skills and experience they would likely get no applications for what is a very poorly paid role. Hard as it is, you have no business being involved in the recruitment of staff anymore than any parent would have a role in recruiting teachers. This is an operational staffing matter for the head to deal with and you have no role in the process.

The new secondary school have advertised, it’s on the website under vacancies.

Obviously I knew the current one wouldn’t follow, I just expected a little more in terms of preparation from the school.

From the secondary?

To be honest it all sounds pretty standard. They'd need to be sure you were coming, ensure the EHCP provision was still the same for Sept, otherwise its a lot of money wasted.

I can however decide that DC needs time to adjust and can insist on me doing personal care while DC gets used to the new 1:1. It’s unreasonable to expect DC to uncover private areas on the first days/weeks of working with new 1:1.

I understand that this must be very frightening for you, especially since your child has been so well supported so far and you want to see them continue to achieve everything you know that they can achieve, and enjoy their time at school as well. I do think though, that although you have the best of intentions, this wouldn't be right (I say this as someone who was taught by their mum!). Your child needs that time away from you to be their own person, develop who they are independently and learn to form relationships with other people. You also want to avoid any disagreement or tiredness from school carrying over into your life at home.

Some of what you say in the advert sounds concerning, perhaps contact them to see if it can be amended? I would say that jobs are so competitive nowadays that I'd imagine you get someone qualified. Might be worth asking if you, your child and the new hire can get together for an hour at school on the training day they always have before term starts, just so you all know each other.

You can decide that. An extended transition isn't always beneficial but you know your child best. I understand your worry and anxiety about someone new. Unqualified doesn't mean they're going to be rubbish. What skills do they need to be qualified in?

If your child isn’t starting school until September and the new member of staff isn’t starting until then I can’t see how you can expect to both meet this new staff member.
They will specify no experience to get the widest possible field of potential candidates.
They will be ensuring the member of staff undergoes the appropriate checks and supplies the right references.
Maybe it’s simply that you don’t understand how secondary schools and primaries differ?
I can’t really see what you’re expecting the school to do differently.

DH has taught both our children. I would say they both felt that he was harder on them than on the other students. I never really got much feedback about what was going on. We didn't really talk about it much at home. #whatgoesoninschoolstaysinschool

@Tylila ah right, so a big transition anyway from primary to secondary so it's understandable that you want it to be as smooth as possible. Totally get that.

Definitely push the sencos in your current school and next school to give you as much information as possible. Be specific about what you want for your dc. I would also push to meet the new 1:1 once they're selected before the end of the summer term or they might even arrange something for the holidays. Anything that helps you and dc.

I taught child with cystic fibrosis which required myself and my LSA to be incredibly diligent with adminstering daily medication, monitoring food intake, monitoring cross contamination with another cf sufferer at the school. The child didn't need a 1:1 but we had to be really careful and thorough at all times. The child's mum also worked in the kitchen at the school and although we didn't see her much it was nice to know she was nearby as cf is obviously quite complex and occasionally we needed to check something out.

Hope you get it sorted out soon and wishing your dc a good transition into their new school.

Tylila
Sorry, I really did not intend that to sound patronising.
I wasn't implying that you had no friends, just that it's always nice to have more.
I didn't call your DS your DS because I hadn't seen that you had mentioned him being a boy.
I don't know what the hell is going on with me anymore, I offerred to lend my friend a car last week and was called patronising for that too.
I will reflect on how I interact with people and take a break from MN for a while.
Good luck.

If this is intimate personal care then I can understand the OPs reservations tbh

"I have in the past known of parents being involved in the recruitment of their child's one to one - either directly, or more commonly through a parent governor who has met with the parents then acted as their 'representative' on the interview panel."

A parent Governor is representative of the parents but they aren't a representative for the parents. They shouldn't be put in a position to 'represent' a parent on an interview panel - it isn't their role. However, most good schools would have a governor (of any classification) on the interview panel. Someone on the panel will have Safer Recruitment training, also.

I'm surprised the school have left it so long to advertise - presumably they've known your DC would be going to this school in September for quite a while?

@Tylila

I’m not disagreeing with anyone btw, I posted to get thoughts.

There is more to how my thought process went this way that relates to my issues with how the school are handling this situation currently. I haven’t just plucked it out of thin air.

I think if you can't see the potential pitfalls then you haven't really thought it through.

We got confirmation in November of DC attending.

Secondary and Primary may differ but there’s no way I’m handing DC over in a new environment with no familiar adults when they are mostly non verbal (DC has speech but the flow of it is hard to understand unless you see them every day) and 1:1 won’t understand them if they’ve not met them. Then also the intimate care issue. That is not in any way reasonable.

@Thatsjustwhatithink

Which I admitted in the thread, which has now moved on.

So how will that work? They aren’t expected to take up the post until September. So the school couldn’t have advertised in November could they? They won’t be in role so not available to meet you or DC.
What exactly would you like the school to do OP?

Have you had any contact with the new school?
We'd normally do some extra transition work in your scenario.

If mainstream then your expectations of mainstream are a bit out of whack. I can't comment on whether your experience is typical of special school.

It doesn’t matter what the school do really but DC will not be handed over until both of us have met the 1:1 and personal care will be handed over when I feel confident in 1:1’s abilities.

My expectations have been shaped by the primary school. I met both 1:1’s there before they worked with DC. I expect the same this time.

The staff hiring the 1:1 have never met my child. All they have is the paper in front of them to judge if it’s a good fit. They have no personal experience on which to base their decision. I need to feel confident that D.C. is comfortable with the 1:1 before handing over the responsibilities of personal care.