Could my parents have sued my primary school for outing disabilities?

[lilacbreeze]

Edit: I do not plan on suing them lol! I am just curious if this was normal.

Somewhat lighthearted. I was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was about 3. I was on and off medication but I never had a fit at school. When I went to primary school, I was clearly the only one who had epilepsy as my photo was stuck up in the staffroom (with my name written below it in capital letters) and a photo of me on a lanyard hanging up in the classroom along with a boy in the class below who was known to have loads of allergies. I didn’t know this was going to be a thing.

kids were very occasionally in the staffroom (we made pancakes there once) and obviously when we were in people did ask me but I played dumb. The boy who had allergies didn’t have his photo up there afai recall.

The school cook also told her daughter ( who was in my class) I was epileptic as she naturally asked why my photo was on the lanyard in class and the daughter told several people I had epilepsy/epileptic fits (not in front of me). My friend was one of these people and she asked if it was true but I was embarassed so I said no.

i also remember a younger boy about 4 years below me was diagnosed with autism and the teachers came round the classes telling us to mind ourselves around him because he’s autistic. And explained what that meant. They never did this about my epilepsy (to my knowledge) or the boy with allergies.

not sure I found out how the boy had allergies presumably someone in my class told me but unsure if they found out or asked about his photo too.

as a 30 year old I am no longer ashamed of my epilepsy (and was later diagnosed w autism) but it seems very odd looking back.

this was from about 1999-2006. I didn’t go to a special needs school. My parents never said anything to the school but im not sure they knew till I told them after I left.

teachers and classroom assistants, but the children were very young. I would assume children would get ushered out the room if anything happened although my seizures are not the regular kind

So no one would know if you needed help ?

I confess I don't know much about the different types of seizures.
The boy at my primary it was very obvious when he was having a seizure (or "fit" as we called it back then).

The children could have been told back then so that they knew what was happening if it did occur, as it can be quite scary to see
"The thing was, the teacher didn’t tell the whole class with permission. It was done without consent by a dinner lady " it's a non event

”Would you have preferred that?”?!! This makes no sense; the dinner lady telling her daughter didn’t somehow reduce the chances of the OP having a seizure in public.

You’re assuming a lot. I’ve seen them happen in a room full of kids and on a busy corridor.

Thankyou, it was exactly that, used as cheap Mumsnet

It makes perfect sense.

to my knowledge, nobody is sworn to secrecy about medical conditions except for doctors. I would be interested to know if I have that wrong.

I understand where you are coming from OP. I think adults sometimes don’t realise how some things can be embarrassing to children simply because they single you out as different and mean you have to deal with weird reactions from children who are not just civilised enough to know how to politely process that kind of info.

I remember being very upset to find that a teacher had a list of names on his wall of pupils who had had a parent die. At the time it felt like a horrible, voyeuristic breach. In my mind, a deeply personal and upsetting loss that I had experienced was flippantly advertised for anyone and everyone to gawk at and gossip about. Maybe there was a good reason for it, but they never thought that I would have horrified children putting me on the spot and asking about what had happened.

Cheap gossip* omg 🤣

Same. I asked my partner and he thought it flouted GDPR

Parents may have given permission for a teacher to explain x’s autism

Well, health is considered sensitive personal data under GDPR, so it probably shouldn't really be scattered around 🤷‍♀️

Cross post @lilacbreeze

I don’t know. My parents maybe? They acted weird with me sometimes about my appointments like it was a really bad thing to have. It’s as an adult I got over it, especially when I begun having tonic clonic fits

Oh I see! That makes sense

Around 30 years ago a boy at a top public school went out on the Thames in a scull (single person rowing boat) had an epileptic seizure and drowned. He would be mid/late 40s now, most likely very successful with a wife and kids.
Had the staff been aware that this boy had epilepsy he would not have been out by himself and would almost certainly not have drowned.
Your school "outing" your very dangerous illness so all staff were aware is not something you could ever sue over. It is certainly not something to be "light-hearted" over.
Similarly, it is important that everyone is aware if a pupil is type 1 diabetic.

I can understand that.

Honestly, I don't think parents can win either way. As I've said, we are always incredibly open with everything and not everyone agrees with that either.

Regarding the boy with autism how did he present ?
did he have any challenging behaviour or visual.stims etc?it
It sounds a,but tactless but the teachers might have been trying to Inform other pupils,why the boy acted the way he did albeit in a,rather clumsy way.

Exactly this.

And it's why we do the same in our staff room ... so we know what to do!!!

A photo of a child with a possible life-threatening illness or an allergy in a discreet place is a good safeguarding practice. Also helpful for supply staff.
They should have a list of children with any needs, SEND, EAL, behaviour needs, allergies and medical needs but where the risk is higher a photo is attached.

Identifying children with allergies when they start in Reception is also good practice. They have a sticker with no XYZ until everyone knows who can have what or has a religious choice. The children can not say they can not have XYZ because often, they do not know the ingredients of the food served.

I think your post shows why shows so difficult to be a teacher now...

Surely this is a great thing that happened. All the teachers were aware and the kids knowing could have helped you on you did have a fit. If you had a fit and there were no teachers around only kids, surely you would have wanted them to help you? The cook probably told her kid so that she would be able to help you if you did have a fit. GDPR wasn’t a thing in the 00s it only came out in 2018 so that wasn’t a thing then. They were trying to help you op, you seem rather sensitive about having it as a kid but I guess they were making people aware incase you did have a fit.

If it happened now, there would be repercussions, but then? They were doing their best to safeguard you but the dinner lady obviously spoke out of turn - the fact her daughter teased you about it was bad, I'd have brought that up at the time as it sounds like bullying. It was years ago though, and I'd let it go tbh.

Even back then… we had a kid that had a very serious allergy. Everyone in the school was made aware because he could literally have died. Surely that’s a good thing.