Child injury at school

[jodie08]

My DS in Y4 came out of school yesterday hobbling. He said during indoor PE he heard his toe crack and so did his teacher. He was asked to miss afternoon play and rest it but no medical intervention took place. Nothing was mentioned by his teacher after school, no phone call, and no accident report.

We had to walk home 25 minutes, but if I’d have known DS was in so much pain I would have taken the car.
Last night and this morning he can barely walk so off to have it checked as I suspect a possible fracture.
Does anyone know what the procedure is for this type of injury at school because I would have thought it’s serious enough to mention to a parent.
AIBU to be annoyed at the school didn’t let me know?

it sounds disappointing at best. I think the first step is to ask the teacher what happened and then find out what tbe school’s official policy on this kind of thing is. I’d be particularly concerned if the teacher genuinely did hear a crack and still took little action. They would have had had to have been very close to your DC to hear a toe bone cracking though.

All schools have a trained first aider, I am one. PE wouldn’t need to be stopped, the teacher would call for first aider via the office- we carry radios. If your son had been sent to me I would’ve iced and elevated, and by the sounds of it I’d have called you to advise as he was upset and in pain. I don’t have x ray vision but the pain and a potential click would make me suspicious .
I work in a Primary - Secondary through school, both sites have their own first aiders and rooms.
We’re not solely first aiders, I am an auxiliary so also so admin, photo copying, resources preparation etc etc.

Iv missed two hairline fractures in my own kids - they do lots of sports. Not until next morning when pain isnt getting better you start to think ok we might need an xray

@jodie08 They did monitor him and kept him in at break so he could rest it.

So many kids have injuries that they cry about that its hard to know if its serious.

At the end of the day when he had to walk home would therefore be realistically the moment where it became apparent it was a genuine injury.

The fact you walked him home means it was no more apparent to you that it was serious than the teacher who had 30 kids to deal with. When your son told you his foot hurt at the gate, why did you not speak to the teacher then? Why did you walk him home? You could have left him at reception and gone to get the car.

So as much as the school didn't realise, neither did you.

You literally said not many schools have a first aider. This is clearly not correct as all schools will have first aiders.

Have you had him checked OP?

Is it broken?

why don’t you take him to A&E first and check before getting so worked up

When my nephew broke his arm at school his dad was phoned to collect him and take him to A&E. Am certain they didn’t make him wait at school.

The crack and continued pain/ impact on mobility is concerning.

DS had a bruised bone/ suspected fracture from a PE lesson (rugby), and the teacher genuinely didn't realise the extent of the injury as it was continuing pain and decreasing mobility that was the give away for A&E the next day when it wasn't resolving. DS is the stoic, casual "oh that hurts" type too and hard to read unless he's gone grey. I put that down to "one of those things" but a crack and obvious pain and compromised mobility should have had it reviewed by a first aider and flagged up to a parent.

I can vouch that standing all day teaching on a broken toe is not much fun!

If it was bad enough that they kept him in at break, then you should have been called and an accident report filled in.

I would email the school to highlight these failures.

DS fell over in football a few weeks ago and landed on his wrist, jarring his elbow (secondary school). He is quite stoic usually but was clearly in pain so his PE teacher sent him to first aid. She put a sling on and called me to take him to the UTC. Fortunately it was just a sprain requiring painkillers and ice. Their response is what I would expect if the school knows an injury has occurred. At the very least a phone call or an accident slip.

School need to look at their injuries protocol - this situation sounds incredibly badly managed.
Make a note of what happened, follow up with any medical information (presumably your son is being x-rayed etc) and file a letter of concern or complaint. Escalate if the school don't take the matter seriously.
FWIW my son fell and bumped himself yesterday. An injury slip was completed but lost, so a TA came and talked to me at the end of the day. More serious injuries have involved a call home. We have had to flag up an unrecorded head bump in school for our son. School followed up and a lunch time supervisor didn't seem it serious enough to record - an older child sorted ice pack etc. School have changed their approach since then!

In y5 my son had a playground accident and nearly broke his leg. It was swollen and he was in agony. His friends told the teacher on duty and she said "oh tell him to sit down for a bit". And never checked him. I was never informed. I complained and the school immediately called in the council to ensure their processes were as robust as could be and the teacher involved was "retrained". I received an apology. (Though not from the head, which i am still a bit salty about 3 years later). I think you need to complain and you need to see similar action otherwise they haven't taken it seriously.

I think criticising the school for not picking up on an injury when you walked him home in pain yourself is a bit much OP

I think you're annoyed at yourself and are trying to deflect a bit by blaming the school

It's very hard to tell the genuine cases from the trying-it-on ones sometimes. I'm not saying the school didn't make a mistake because they did, but it was not obvious because you didn't pick up on it either and you're his mum.

At the very least, something should have been said to you at the end of school. I'd contact them on Monday to find out exactly what happened.

Wow you let that go? A bloody broken arm. I'm a teacher and no it is not easy to miss these things

I meant a designated first aider in a first aid room.

All teachers are first aid trained where I work and support staff in early years are too.
Myself, and as far as I am aware, none of the other TAs have any first aid training. To be honest I did mention this as an issue as TAs are lunch staff too, meaning that if there was a big incident we would need to hunt down a teacher to check any injuries. We have been told that general first aid you would do at home (cuts, nose bleeds, grabbing ice packs for bumps in the head) is fine to deal with.

It is the law for schools to have trained paediatric first aiders on site.

Hi, first aid instructor here (I provide a lot of schools paediatric courses).
Not only have they been terribly negligent, they've opened themselves up to being sued.
All schools must have advanced first aiders on site at all times, it doesn't matter if they're sick/maternity/holiday, they need one available so should have multiple people trained.
Those first aiders should be called to any injury, however minor, to assess and treat it and write an accident report.
Your son should have been seen promptly and given the fact the teacher heard a crack, the toe should have been iced, elevated (never strapped like some have suggested) and you should have been called to take him to minor injuries for an x-ray. It doesn't matter that he wasn't screaming, if he hurt it, had difficulty walking and certainly of they heard the pop, it should be treated as a potential fracture.
Go into the school on Monday and ask to see there and then, a list of who is a qualified and in date first aider (must be level 3, advanced paediatric 18hr course) and see the original accident report form. Ask for a copy. If you want me to take a look, feel free to message me. If they haven't done one, they have been incredibly negligent and you need to email the board of governors immediately. Anything that goes through them must be followed up.

The school should still have gone through the official process! “ worked up”” how nasty. I’d have been upset at how this was handled too!

They did pick up on the injury though: "He was asked to miss afternoon play and rest it"

I'm a teacher OP (P2) and sometimes a child falls and as we are dealing with it, another child will say they are sick, one of our ASD children might get emotional over something else, 4 other children are telling tales, a member of staff comes in and asks for a worksheet or can I print something off, a parent has requested a phone call, I've had a message from home to pick up dinner, the student teacher needs help with planning, the teaching assistant tells me 10 things that happened at lunch time etc etc. Yesof course you should have been told. I have 2 kids in primary school myself but sometimes we are pulled in so many directions we don't check properly, we get sidetracked and/or we simply forget. You are correct to be annoyed but just another perspective to explain why we don't always get it right.

That is the treatment for a broken finger though.

And toe. My dd broke her little toe.

I mean, they can't do much for a broken toe so I wouldn't bother taking him in. Your poor DS, that sounds so painful.