AIBU to say no to this at work?

[Tink3rbell30]

Hi, I'm a midday supervisor/dinner lady. I work in the canteen, the playground and do wet play with the same class everytime. For the past week a new dinner lady has appeared which we were told was extra help in the canteen but I keep getting taken away from my usual duties and used as a 1to1 with autistic/ADHD and other additional needs children while this new lady does my job and takes my class. I'm expected to sit in a room with these children while they go on computer games or if they're not feeling like it they can just run around and I have to chase.

I don't have any qualifications and this isn't in my job description. They have qualified T.A's and 1to1s at the school so I don't know why they are trying to make me do it. AIBU to stand my ground on this and say I want to stick to what I've done since I've started and what the other dinner ladies do?

Definitely stand your ground. This doesn’t seem at all appropriate (ex teacher).

YANBU, you should absolutely stand up for yourself

YANBU and this is concerning

you are not being unreasonable. Sounds to me like the teaching assistants or the other carers for these children fancy having a relaxed lunch and someone has had an idea to draft you in. On one hand you should take this as a compliment as they must trust you and the children must like you.
on the other hand if anything happened while you are with these children then you’d be getting the blame (or perhaps even if they accidentally get injured or injure you)
i think you need to say you are ready to return to your contractual duties.

It would depend on the wording in your job description I think. Go back and have a look at that. Are you in a union? That could be your next step.

This does not sound fair on anyone. These pupils with additional needs should have support plans. Have you been given access to these so you know how best to support them? Also, the support ratios sound wrong - you cannot be expected to be 1:1 support as well as other pupils.

You don’t need any qualifications to supervise children.

This is the reality of working in a school. The class you are used to aren’t your class, they are just the class you usually work with but now the school needs you elsewhere. Or do you think that you’re employed to do what you want instead of what the school and its children actually need?

The trained TAs and 1-1’s will be having their lunch while you are supervising, that’s why you’re there.

What does it say in your contract? See your union.

How many children are you being asked to supervise at the same time? I think it is only fair to say to the school that if they want you to do this then they need to give you some focussed ( and time paid for) training on how to manage the children , deal with their particular needs etc. I understand that their 1-1 people need a break, but it is not right to do this on the cheap by expecting you to do it on your own.

A bit harshly put but sadly true. An old contract I had from school ended with “and anything else the head of the school wants you to do” 😳. My advice would be a request to move back to your previous area. If you don’t get this I would look for another job. OR do what some staff did that I worked with; make a really rubbish job of it and they’ll take you out of there. 😁

If it's not in your job description I'd be asking them when this temporary arrangement is due to finish as you want to return to the post you signed up to.

Why can't they train the new woman up properly and she can do the 1-2-1 ?

Thank you for replies. To answer Q's it isn't in my job description as I got my contract out this evening to double check. I don't have these children's support plans. And the other T.A/1to1s aren't having their lunch, one is with another autistic child and one is standing out in the playground. They have lunch when the children finish theirs and dinner ladies all go home, they were as confused as me by this.

You are being used as a TA without the training or back up. That’s not the job you applied for. They’re taking advantage as long as you don’t say anything. Are the hourly rates different?

Yes, T.A and 1to1s/intervention staff get paid more. I said something today like "Oh I'm on playground duty this week" and was told "No you're with (these children) now, we have (new lady)". I feel like I'm being pushed out of my contracted duties.

Once you say yes the responsibility will be thrown on to you. Taking responsibility means taking the blame when an incident occurs. You are not trained for this nor paid for it. And the backlash maybe guilt tripping you or being cross from the delegates of the task. Stand firm and ignore backlash and excuses.

But you aren't working with with these children during their learning time so what is there to train for? Or be paid more for?

Supervising children is supervising children whether it’s in the playground or the library or wherever.

Often children that have 1-1 support in lessons are not funded to have that support during break times because it has been decided that their needs can be met within the usual school provision.

I don’t think it comes across very well that you’re happy to supervise NT children but when asked to supervise children with SEN, you want to refuse.

The pay difference would certainly explain this; bring in a new (cheaper) midday supervisor, get you to act as a TA and save money - in fact my only surprise is that more aren't doing the same

As PPs have said, contact your union immediately before doing anything, but I'd certainly want to stop this spreading

Every school I’ve worked in has trained 1-1s on a staggered lunch so they can supervise appropriately

She's not being used as a TA though. She's just supervising them like she does in the playground with the children who play outside. Just because these children have SEN it doesn't mean their break times aren't break times just because they're indoors.

Whilst It doesn't sound appropriate, however the SLT must trust you enough to allow this. Can you have a conversation with SLT and tell them how it's making you feel?

I agree with PP that the responsibility they are giving you is the same. Its still supervising children’s play. Whether outside with NT children or inside with ND.

You can say you don’t like the change and SLT can either move things around to accommodate you or not. But they’re not doing anything contradictory to your terms of employment.

Fair enough. I haven’t been lucky enough to work in any school that has adequate funding for every child who could benefit from 1-1 or even a small group to get it at lunchtime.

They don’t get the trained support they need in lesson time, never mind on lunch break.

Regardless, I can’t see what is so terrible about sitting in a room while a small number of children play computer games, or that having a little game of chase is outside the normal remit of a midday supervisor. There is nothing there that requires extra trading or pay. I assume that if there were challenging behaviours that OP wasn’t trained to deal with then she would have said, because that would be different.

There's absolutely no difference here. They aren't 'your class' and these kids aren't any different.

You're employed to supervise groups of children (sometimes inside, sometimes outside) during unstructured times and that's all you're being asked and expected to do. It's the same job description and you can be deployed in any area as needed.

You don't get to pick which ones you prefer, particularly based on any particular characteristics or SEND, and especially when they don't need anything extra (in the way of differentiation / toileting / physiotherapy or something you're not trained for) on top of a responsible adult.

Might not be worth kicking up a fuss OP if it’s just supervising some kids playing computer in the lunch break. Do you know who did this job previously?

I am flabbergasted that people think supervising children who require 1:1 supervision during the school day doesn’t require training. Yes, some of those children will have aides that solely exist to help them access the curriculum. With the rise of technical solutions to that problem, many of the aides are there for much more complex issues. Those problems can occur during break times just as easily as in the classroom.

does op know how to deal with a student who becomes a danger to themselves or others? Does she know the best way to physically take control of the situation without risk of injury to herself or any children? Does she know how to watch for signs of a blood sugar collapse? Does she know the early warning signs of anaphylaxis or a seizure? Does she know how to react and how to stop the rest of the room reacting of a student has a particularly bad Tourette’s flare? The students in that room could have countless conditions. Their aides have been trained both in general and specifically for those students.

throwing a warm body in the room is not acceptable unless it is an emergency.