To think I was put in an unacceptable situation regarding SEN students toileting needs?

[twelfthdoctor]

I am genuinely not sure and would appreciate second opinions on this. Today was my first full day as an early years TA apprentice in a mainstream reception class and I'm totally overwhelmed. I've never worked in a school or with SEN students other than some volunteering.

A non verbal 4 year girl with autism soiled her clothes and I was asked to take her to the toilet, change her, and walk her back to class. It was difficult but I managed. Later, she did it again but pooped. I was told again to take her to the bathroom and change her clothes. I was not given any training or safeguarding information regarding personal care prior to this. I cleaned her up as much as possible and then tried to get her in fresh clothes, at which point she became very distressed and refused to get changed. I couldn't let her walk around naked obviously but struggled to get her dressed, she wouldn't wear her trousers and then refused to come to class and escalated into a full meltdown - hitting her head, throwing herself against the floor, kicking and lashing out at me. I couldn't leave her alone but they're was no one else here so I called out to another teacher who offered to help take her to lunch but told me I would have to deal with another SEN boy who has also pooped himself and change him too. Later the same day I was told to supervise 4 SEN children outdoors alone. The teacher also informed me that a new SEN could would arrive tomorrow and I would be in charge of looking after him outdoors while the class learns inside and that I would be doing the first girls toileting needs and training her from now on.

Aibu to feel like I should have been given some support or training on personal care, particularly regarding SEN students? Or been given more information regarding these students, and that it was a lot for one day? I'm not a SEN TA and while I love all the kids and it's part of the job, I worry too much responsibility will be passed into me and I would like to be able to fulfill it safely. I'm just super frazzled and while I did the best I could at the time I'm just feeling bad about myself like I messed up.

YANBU.
You should raise a safeguarding concern that changing a non-compliant SEN child who has soiled themself needs to be assigned 2:1 staffing so that you aren't in this situation. If the school cannot provide sufficient staff to keep the child safe then the school cannot meet the child's needs. This is a desperately difficult situation but it is not your responsibility to compensate for the gap between what this child needs and what the Local Authority is offering. The child will only get their needs met if the adults who are able to see what is going on stand firm and refuse to be fobbed off.

Enhanced DBS has nothing to do with your ability and knowledge to work with children with very high personal needs.

This. Schools are toxic places for staff, teachers complain they’re not paid enough to do things and then bully every lower paid staff to do it. Everyone is fed up. And yes @Sartre this is what the U.K. has come to, when official public institutions underpay even low paid staff deliberately.

Can you look for a job in special schools op? They usually come up frequently as they too have high turnover in staff, but at least there are usually more staff about. There are better ones that do training. I personally did this as, yes, being lumped with SEN in mainstream is even worse, and then was able to use the experience to go to the NHS. Which is also shit and low pay, but hey people, this is the choice we have. Especially for women in the poorer parts of the country, which is all most of us can afford. Different colours of shit (both literally and figuratively). There’s no point in becoming educated anymore or trying hard.

They are giving you the worst parts of the job because you are training and it means they get to parr off their responsibilities.

Tell them you do not feel comfortable to do it without adequate training and ask for clarity on the breakdown of your role and what your responsibilities are and make sure it is in writing and you are doing what is written and not anything extra they try shove onto you.

Is this a special needs resource base in a msinstream school or just a bog standard mainstream class ?
My son 16 now and severley autistic non verbal etc
But has slways gone to special school
Where you would expect there to be a large number of students with toileting needs
It doesnt sound like you are being very supported .

No you don’t get supported as support staff in schools!

Middle class and well off people need to understand that whenever they say ‘the schools should be doing this’ or ‘why aren’t schools doing more’ this is exactly what happens. A minimum wage staff member, usually a woman, is forced to go through school herself, do everything right, pay for a degree and then train and volunteer and beg for work to be treated like a punchbag by the kids and a verbal punchbag by the teacher. For minimum wage. The latest thing I heard was that school staff were going to be doing teeth brushing and eye tests. With their left feet, while walking around strapped to a broom, obv.

My view is that the child should not have started school. She should have been delayed as not ready. This is half the problem! The whole point in being an apprentice IS to access training and qualifications. This child probably needs 1:1 and yes, the teacher and head need to get the EHCP fast tracked!

This is awful! Leave - they are using you. The school should have a policy of a child soils themselves the parents are called and change them. Also what qualification is the apprenticeship giving you. A TA does not need a qualification…

Admittedly I have been out if education for three years now, but

an hours being talked at in September is the safeguarding training.

op, you need to ask about the intimate care policy (there will be one). Ask for wipes/gloves etc.

intimate care is not always 2 adults to one child, and this is not usually in intimate care policies.

in the places I have worked there are usually named TAs who do it on a 1:1 basis

but yes, in reception it is expected that any TA will do it because many children have accidents and it is just considered part of the job.

speak to the teacher to get wipes/gloves etc.

You are being taken advantage of

The issue isn't whether the OP has a DBS or whether a TA job role includes personal care.

The problem is that a trainee on her very first day was expected to take an SEN child alone with no idea about the child's needs, care plan, the school's intimate care policy or even where the PPE and wet wipes were kept, and no way to summon help from another adult.
That puts both the adult and child at risk.

An apprentice should be receiving training - first watching an experienced staff member do the task, then do the task while observed, then do the task alone.

The deal is the employer gets a cheap member of staff in exchange for training them.

As if it is that easy.

I feel for you i absolutely loved supporting children to learn as a TA but that is not what a a TA does

a good 80% of what a TA is a combo of intimate care, administering medicine, first aid and occupying the SEN kids while the teacher does a std differentiated to 3/4 levels lesson

I see the role more like a carer and as I was uncomfortable with intimate care I left and would never go back a shame as I was great at supporting kids to learn

If the child is SEN and they can't get a place in a special school where else can they go? Every child is entitled to an education. If the child is five she is legally meant to be in school.

This is just dreadful and highlights some of the issues with mainstream education.
This is good for absolutely nobody.

Your view isnt relevsnt to this sitution
All children are entitled to an Education
Whilst i t sounds like the child would be better off in a special schopl
There are many reasons why shes in mainstream including parent choice
I feel for the Op and it sounds like the sitution is being badly managed.

But surely we can all agree that if a child has SEN to this degree a mainstream
school is likely the wrong environment?
Why is that so difficult to acknowledge?

I don't think one person on this thread hasn't acknowledged that it is likely the wrong environment.

Just that parents can't click their fingers and suddenly their child is in a special school, it is far from easy.

and some children like my son may be incontinent but are largely not 'disabled enough' for special school.

It is easy to acknowledge that it might be the wrong school but nearly impossible to get into an SEN school.

Lucky private schools. I saw a tiktoker state that the private school that she is sending her four year old doesn't take children with EHCPs.

Sounds typical. I was in my first NQT teaching job, 6 or 7 SEN kids in the class and no specific training. Schools are a shit show. I quit. You should too.

I do acknowledge it my own child has always gone to a special school
But SEN provision across the UK is very hit and miss
Also a parent has the right to choose a mainstream school if they wish.

Hi OP Im a retired Sendco. For what it is worth I would say send provision in schools is trending towards having extremely impacted children in mainstream. This may well be what the role is going to be like. I appreciate that you are doing this because of the job market but this is a poorly paid job and that is very unlikely to change, and as you have seen the conditions and work itself are not easy.
I think you should consider very carefully other routes into careers and jobs. There are support jobs in schools which are better but working in schools is always difficult. It did my head in!
I took a job as a lifeguard when I left University they only qualification was being able to swim quite well. It is still a better paid job than TA.

God, I know.
My brother is currently battling for his severely disabled child. They will be allocated a specialist provision but suitability is another matter.
It’s a huge issue that the government needs to take on. Having children in the wrong provision for them helps nobody to thrive.

What is your experience of toilet training a non verbal child ?