Should I report this school mom?

[user65613468478]

Name changed for this and not really an AIBU but I need some advice.

I have noticed one of the school moms at DS's reception class has needle marks on her body. Without giving away information about myself I know that these marks are drug related. Her children are 1 and 5. Should I report it?

surely if the mum is questioned it’s easy to prove that it’s a health condition.

A health condition/medical treatment is private business; no concern of nosy mums at the school gate and the school staff. She doesn't owe them any explanations or proofs.

I would definitely report. It's better to report something that is nothing than not to report. The DSL will have potential other information, which may paint a picture. The key is to report if in doubt.

And if it's not a medical condition/treatment ?

The reason why so many children get left in abusive situations. SAFEGUARDING IS EVERYONES BUSINESS.

Definitely report it to safeguarding lead. They will follow procedure and with that plus any over concerns they may have they will decide what next steps should be.

Yes you should report this.

To the people saying talk directly to the the mum, please know this is NOT advised. We are told in training do not try to investigate, simply report as clearly as you can tttto the person with safeguarding responsibility in the school (it should say on the website who that is, and give contact details).

The safeguarding lead may well have more information about the mum which immediately puts your report in context (eg they know she's ill undergoing treatment). In which case the report will go no further. It may be your report forms part of a picture adding up to a genuine safeguarding concern. That might be simply the family need support from school because mum is ill. Or it could be illegal drug use or domestic abuse and the children may therefore be in an unsafe position.

The point is you don't know and you shouldn't be trying to find out off your own bat because that could cause harm. Report and let the people with more knowledge of the family's situation deal with it.

Yes - people saying speak to the mum. If she is an addict (IF) then is she likely to admit it? How can you ‘tell’?

I worked as a therapist (didn’t work with addicts much - very much an area of specialism) and in another capacity with alcoholics (and to a lesser degree recovering drug addicts). On the surface, as with everyone else, addicts can be charming, friendly and show a ‘normal face’.

Don’t try to be Miss Marple. If you have concerns then speak to the safeguarding officer and let them do what they are trained to to. If they see a red flag they will raise it. But they will not discuss it further with you.

No they dont. Most IV drug users inject into the crook of their arm and slightly down their forearm into that vein. Its the easiest one to get. Its only if someone has got so bad that theyve collapsed the arm one that they go elsewhere, but its not common.
Addicts injecting between their toes or into eyeballs etc like some people go on about is bullshit and just usually people trying to be shocking

Id think that it was odd that they werent hiding it either. Most addicts dont proudly display their jackmarks in short sleeves, so maybe theyve just had to have blood tests and it had been tricky to get the vein. Some nurses are really shit at it tbf

You are right to be concerned OP. Safeguarding training is clear that any suspicions should be reported. I think it would be fair to notify the school. Its then up to school to decide whether to report and for safeguarding professionals to decide if it warrants investigations.

Kids dying at the end of family members always seems to come down to people having closed their eyes to something they witnessed bit didn't think, as a one off, that it warranted doing anything about.

Quite honestly I would make a mental note to keep an eye and look out for any other signs.
Injecting drugs is rarely just recreational drug use. Its pretty far from it. I cant see how youd have had no concerns at all up till seeing marks. No odd behavioural things?

Could be from testing... I have a family member who works with their hands, finger prick testing causes pain with their fiddly little jobs so they do the prick test on their arm instead - it works exactly the same without effecting their ability to work.

You know, when neglected children reach adulthood, one thing they often find particularly hard to deal with is this: “everyone must have known what was going on, why did no one help me?” If you think all schools are aware of all safeguarding issues affecting their childrn then you are bonkers.
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OP: raise discreetly with the school safeguarding lead.

I agree with this. My DSis and I were sexually abused by our F growing up. I accept that people didn’t know about this (my DM didn’t). But when we asked questions as adults, we were shocked at the number of people who ‘had concerns’ about us. They certainly didn’t do anything about these concerns!

So yes, I would speak to the DSL about this.

YES just say you want it to be confidential but you have noticed marks that look like needle marks.

People only inject into their groin as a last resort when all their other veins are completely shot as they know just how much more dangerous that is as an injecting site - by that time you'd likely be able to visibly see that they are injecting drug users as your veins don't get shot overnight.

If you work in drug treatment or a related service, surely you will have had regular safeguarding training and you know exactly what you should do if you had concerns about a child.