AIBU to be angry that social services not investigating how my DC ate clinical waste at school?

[Weemammy21]

Got phone call from school to say my DC ate clinical waste at school and had to be taken to hospital. For context my DC has severe Sen and has a very detailed and EHCP giving school funding for 1 to 1 support to be provided through mouth the school day. Many education specialist report detailed need for constant 1 to 1 supervison and never to be left alone or unsupervised and yet DC was left alone at clinical waste bin and ate some of the contents. DC attends a private “specialist autism” school that charges an excessive amount of money for the placement. When school took DC to hospital they withheld information from the hospital that he consumed items from clinical waste bin and downplayed it to the hospital by saying he ate from a domestic bin and also refused to disclose to me or hospital what the other contents of the bin was. A day later the school disclosed that one of the items in the clinical waste bin was a used incontinence pad. When all this information was sent to LADO for school area social services have stated that they are not going to investigate it as a child protection incident as “thresholds have not been met”. I can’t understand how s child eating clinical waste at school can be dismissed as not being of sufficient concern to conduct a child protection investigation! AIBU to be super angry that
a) this happened my DC who was supposed to have constant 1/1 support
(b) the school did not take sufficient action to protect my DC whilst in their care
(c) social services LADO doesn’t think it is serious enough to instigate a child protection investigation? I removed my DC from school immediately but as no CP investigation is occurring I am very concerned for the other Sen children and their parents not knowing what occurred. Also witnessed other distressing incidents when I arrived early to collect DC from school and did notify LA of my concerns for DC safety months before it happened.

I cannot believe posters are acting like it's no big deal that they lied to the hospital about what materials the child had accessed.

@Viviennemary

It wasnt a nice thing to happdn. But how did OP even find out about it. There is not nearly enough information given to ascertain shether or not the school is at fault here for not having procedures in place or if the person supervising was neglectful.

It's in the OP. The school took the child to hospital and informed the OP.

I am getting the impression it was a pad bin that was accessed rather than one with medical things in it. The main thing is if the hospital knew the child may have eaten part of a used pad.

@Abbsie

I am a safeguarding officer. You have a clear misunderstanding of the social care system. This is a Health and Safety issue not child protection. That aside...

Drill down into what would solve your issue. The nuts and bolts of it are:

● Move the clinical waste bin out of reach of children.

If the school make a policy change to do this - will you be happy?

Thats an easy solve.
What did school say when you said this was your desired outcome?

What about

• the fact her child may not have been supervised by his 1:1 or that supervision was unsafe/inadequate

And

• the school misled the hospital in Saint it was a domestic bin and so treatment would have been different. They also lied to OP regarding this.

I would want to know how he became unsupervised and in the vicinity of the bin. I would have been angry but, treated respectfully as the parent, I could have accepted it if certain steps had been taken.

The fact that the school LIED about the type of bin, LIED to hospital staff about type of bin, LIED about contents (could have said found incontinence pad in regular bin - don't know how it was there - giving a half truth) AND withheld medically-relevant information for 24hrs would be the parts I focussed on.

Mistakes can happen and an investigation should be done to make sure the material circumstances aren't repeated. But lying is an active choice. Interesting that they told you though..who had a crisis of conscience after 24hrs for that to happen..?

*if certain steps to avoid a repeat in future were to be taken.

Do we know why your child was briefly left unsupervised? A serious incident almost occurred at a school I used to work at when the supervising member of staff fainted outside. Could there be a reason for this that isnt negligence?

Is it possible that the staff who took your child to hospital weren't aware of the type of bin?

It is an awful thing to have happened. I suppose I am just wondering whether there is any context that might explain it in more reasonable terms, which might help you to move on from it op.

Human error and accidents do happen. If they feel that taking your child to hospital to be checked out, informing you of the incident and reviewing their risk assessments was the appropriate course of action, this might explain why they are reluctant to engage further while you are still angry.

Do you have another school in mind? Can you manage at home while waiting for a place to come up?

@twominutesmore

Do we know why your child was briefly left unsupervised? A serious incident almost occurred at a school I used to work at when the supervising member of staff fainted outside. Could there be a reason for this that isnt negligence?

Is it possible that the staff who took your child to hospital weren't aware of the type of bin?

It is an awful thing to have happened. I suppose I am just wondering whether there is any context that might explain it in more reasonable terms, which might help you to move on from it op.

Human error and accidents do happen. If they feel that taking your child to hospital to be checked out, informing you of the incident and reviewing their risk assessments was the appropriate course of action, this might explain why they are reluctant to engage further while you are still angry.

Do you have another school in mind? Can you manage at home while waiting for a place to come up?

Human error that leads or potentially leads to serious harm should be investigated. There should be processes to limit or mitigate human error so that if an incident happens it is because of multiple incidences of human error.

You need to file the schools complaints procedure to the letter-a copy of this will be in the schools website.

@JenniferAlisonPhilippaSue

Am I the only one so far who can see the schools pov on this? Eating wee/poo soaked incontinence pads from a bin is pretty extreme behaviour. It can’t be feasible to literally monitor your child every second. If you push this then I think the most likely outcome would be that they decide that they cannot accommodate the child’s needs and they’re better off leaving until a space becomes available at a more suitable school.

Why isn't it feasible? Surely with a pupil cohort with severe SEN it's just basic safeguarding to ensure clinical waste is safely kept inaccessible to the pupils? Plus they are very expensively funded to provide 1:1 support. And how does that prevent them reporting properly to the hospital what happened?

"Eating wee/poo soaked incontinence pads from a bin is pretty extreme behaviour. It can’t be feasible to literally monitor your child every second."

A child putting a pad or nappy in their mouth isn't that unusual in children with severe sn who mouth or bite on things or have pica. It is sensory seeking behaviour and the child won't have any concept of the hygiene issues. Pads used or not should be stored so there is no quick access to them. A child who needs monitoring because of a high risk of sudden risky actions probably needs 2:1.

If it's a staffing issue school need to address this ,my son isn't in his special school today ,because there isn't enough school transport staff to keep the children safe ( COVID related ) I dont drive and have no way of getting him there and back ,it's a pain but at least he's home safe with me rather then transport struggling and not being able to keep him safe .

@daretodenim Nobody at the school had a crisis of conscience and they still have not apologised for what happened. The hospital disclosed to me and our GP what the school staff reported to them and confirmed that the school staff admitted to the hospital DC was left unsupervised and was “found” eating items from the clinical waste bin. At time DC was taken to hospital the school had no idea what was eaten prior to being “found” and they STILL LIED.

I received contact from the Chief Executive Officer today saying the school and Trusttees “regret that this incident occurred”. Regret? Regret? You regret eating a cheese sandwich in the evening or regret staying up late but for them to use the word “regret” gives me the chills as they are still refusing to apologise for putting DC life at risk.

I’m so sorry, your poor DC! Contact ofsted. There must be consequences for this.

@User2638483 DC is a child not an adult which is worse. I can’t get my head around the fact the LA is refusing to do a safeguarding investigation into school and very worried that other parents will not know what is happening. Just before Christmas I arrived at the school 1 hour early to collect DC and saw an older severely Sen teenager locked in a tiny box room playing with window as the room was completely bare whilst school staff partied away with loud Christmas music and singing in another part of the building. That child was non verbal and unable to get out that room to use the toilet and school staff would not have heard him if he needed help. That school has a chillingly heartless attitude towards the sen children there.

No I do understand your DC is a child, I’m just surprised at the difference in threshold for safeguarding between adults and children (different legislation).

What you have described regarding the other student is very concerning and I would urge you to report it to the local authority, giving the date you witnessed it.
It may be all fine, but if you are correct that he was locked in with no means of summoning help or someone to use the toilet etc, that is a severe deprivation of Liberty. No deprivation of Liberty should be occurring unless it’s necessary and proportionate because of the risk that person would be at otherwise.

Report it and then let them check it out with the school.

By the way I have contacted Ofsted and was told that they “use information we receive to ensure the provider is complying with the regulations and is fit for registration”. The sad fact of life is that LAs are desperate for special school placements and will place children in the most unsuitable placements just so they can tick a box that they are in education. LA’s don’t care if DC is totally neglected for the full day and not getting any education at all. The Headteacher of this school even wrote to Sendist to request that provision on occupational therapy on DC EHCP be removed as the school have their own belief on what occupational therapy provision DC should get and when he should get it. They told Sendist they wanted to control when or if DC got OT and remove it if they thought DC didn’t need it. Sendist didn’t agree thank God. The school treat DC and others like poodles and take them “for walks” around the school grounds 3 or 4 times and tell you when you collect DC as if it is something they should be congratulated on. My DC is out ever day going to cinema, local swimming sessions, eating out in various different places so doesn’t need taken for “walks”. This school think treating children like poodles is sufficient to meet any sensory seeking behaviour they have. Anyone who has any knowledge of people with high sensory needs will know that being treated like a poodle or a toddler with water play and messy play is insufficient to meet high sensory needs of particular persons such as DC. Sad fact is that some independent SEN schools are a business and profit is first, second, third and fourth priority before any DC who all come at bottom of the list.

@Weemammy21

By the way I have contacted Ofsted and was told that they “use information we receive to ensure the provider is complying with the regulations and is fit for registration”. The sad fact of life is that LAs are desperate for special school placements and will place children in the most unsuitable placements just so they can tick a box that they are in education. LA’s don’t care if DC is totally neglected for the full day and not getting any education at all. The Headteacher of this school even wrote to Sendist to request that provision on occupational therapy on DC EHCP be removed as the school have their own belief on what occupational therapy provision DC should get and when he should get it. They told Sendist they wanted to control when or if DC got OT and remove it if they thought DC didn’t need it. Sendist didn’t agree thank God. The school treat DC and others like poodles and take them “for walks” around the school grounds 3 or 4 times and tell you when you collect DC as if it is something they should be congratulated on. My DC is out ever day going to cinema, local swimming sessions, eating out in various different places so doesn’t need taken for “walks”. This school think treating children like poodles is sufficient to meet any sensory seeking behaviour they have. Anyone who has any knowledge of people with high sensory needs will know that being treated like a poodle or a toddler with water play and messy play is insufficient to meet high sensory needs of particular persons such as DC. Sad fact is that some independent SEN schools are a business and profit is first, second, third and fourth priority before any DC who all come at bottom of the list.

This all sounds very worrying Are there no LEA special school,s that can meet your child,s needs? My son goes to a LEA special school for children with severe learning disabilities some children have profound and multiple learning disabilities,it is also accredited by the National Autistic society ,they have always come across as very caring and attuned to the individual needs of the children.

It is really hard to ascertain whether you are being reasonable or not because you so obviously dislike everything about the school.

I think ultimately if you don't trust the school at all then you should remove him and ask for an urgent review. Do you have an alternative school in mind?

Key questions for me would be:
What could they change to make this unlikely to reoccur?
Does the school meet my child's needs in other respects?
Is my child happy at the school?

@cansu MyDC has already left the school. Last day was day DC life and safety was put at risk by school not providing the 1to 1 support stated on the EHCP and left DC alone with a clinical waste bin. I am extremely angry at the school for what occurred and for keeping funds provided to them to support my DC instead of providing the 1 to 1 support and other provision such as occupational therapy was supposed to be provided. If you saw a severely Sen child in his late teens being locked in a tiny tiny box room and bouncing from corner to corner to corner as it was that small and there was nothing in the room for him to interact with so that the school staff could have a loud Christmas party with music and singing loudly, would you like what you saw? BTW it was not my DC but another child. I only saw this as I had arrived early at the school and was horrified by what I saw.