To think that the teacher who left the child to die

[Fruitysunshine]

I have pondered over this story since it broke and my heart goes out to the parents over the loss of their son, his death being so avoidable.

Am I being unreasonable in thinking that the teacher who neglected to help this young lad dying from an asthma attack should be charged with manslaughter in one form or another?

It is not a case of asking a stranger for help but more the issue that the school had a duty of care towards the lad and by refusing to assist him in an emergency after being asked by pupils, she directly contributed towards his death.

Is that unreasonable or am I getting too emotive about this?

what i dont understand is why when the teacher spoke to the people allegedly there to deal with sick children ,they said knowing it was an asthma attack ,send him to us when he gets better ? Surely if they have people trained to deal with these circumstances they should have come to see the child ? did the school not have a qualified nurse ? not excusing the teacher by the way . I do believe that alot of people think asthma is a mild illness ,possibly due to alot of people being misdiagnosed , however in a true attack ,the airway will shut very quickly and no amount of puffing away on an inhaler or 'breathing' is going to help ,the only chance is a speedy trip to A&E

Our nursery (and the school DD will start in Sept) use a form 2 healthcare plan - which I assumed was standard in all schools - but apparently not

On that you state what constitutes an emergency & what action to take. Perhaps those who have concerns could suggest it's use in their school, to help the staff understand what the potential warning signs are?

(DD has a severe allergy to kiwi fruit, which the consultant says could possibly turn anaphylactic, so different problem, but similarly life-threatening)

I think case though sure common sense should have said that a kid who can't breath & is turning blue needs an ambulance It's a really sad story

When would it ever be appropriate to say 'I know he's there but he'll have to wait' to a child whom you'd just watched having an asthma attack in your own class?! Even if he hadn't been so ill, she should surely have gone out and checked on him purely on that basis?

In fact, I find it pretty scary that 'he'll have to wait' is EVER a response to someone telling you a child is ill outside.

Bottom line for me is simple common sense. If you, as a teacher, are told a child is ill or needing assistance, you go immediately to check on them. If they are having difficulty breathing, you call for medical backup and stay with the child to make sure they get the help they need. End of.

That teacher shouldn't be in charge of a rock, much less a child.

I really think this teacher should face charges..If an adult fails a child in her care so badly that the child dies as a result then why on earth not ?
I have to admit that I feel very very strongly about this as I have a child with type one diabetes, nut and kiwi allergy and asthma the trifecta !
I have been appalled and scared by the failure of many teachers in my daughter's school to take her care seriously - the attitude is to do as little as possible, and in my experience all the medical care is dumped on the office staff because the teachers are advised not to get involved by their own union.

Everyone seems to have forgotten that teachers have a "duty of care " and are supposed to be "in loco parentis" while our children attend school.

Make no mistake, childrens health is being put at risk every day by teachers failing to be rsponsible for the children in their care..
I fully agree that they are teachers and not nurses - I have had that line thrown at me so many times by staff in my children's school - but since there are no school nurses in our area - then whose job should it be to care for these children ? Or are we parents suppposed to just blindly hope that all will be well..
I think all teachers should have to be trained in first aid and what to do in an emergency -
and we need the government o make caring for children's medical needs in school enforceable by law..this situation is totally ridiculous for a civilised society .

This has shocked me to my core.

At my school ALL staff who work in the school are first aid trained and we receive termly updates on medical issues for all children in the school (not just those we teach) these include mild to severe medical problems so everything is covered.

999 is always the first port of call for emergancies described, hell we have even had the air ambluence out before because it is better to be careful than too late.

i have already posted this on another thread,but just to say that my sister died at the age of 26 of asthma.After she died i had loads of people saying that they didnt know that there were deaths caused by it.It is a terrible illness to have and when it is severe it is awful for the sick person and indeed even for the family.I sat with my sister in intensive care while she was on life support and even then i had no idea you could actually die from it.I found out sadly you can .I think that schools should have to have far better procedures in schools as time can be the essence and can be the difference between life or death.Its a terrible time for the family of that poor boy,and it must of been dreadful for the poor child.I am very sad about it because my family has been in this situation.

Appalling.

A person who doesn't recognise a 999 emergency due to a child struggling to breathe is surely not of sufficient intelligence to be teaching.

I wonder if any of this failure to provide care (failure to act 'in loco parentis') has to do with the way that much stricter boundaries have been placed between teachers and students in the last generation? For example, when I started school in the late 80s, it was perfectly ok for a teacher to give you a hug, to pick you up when you were crying, etc. Even when I was a teenager, and technically teachers were meant to keep their distance, I can remember very teary 11/12 year olds starting secondary being comforted by an pat on the shoulder etc. But now teachers have to be so very careful not to respond like this - do you think that maybe makes it harder to be caring?

Not that I am excusing this woman - at all - but her claim to have been in teacher mode was a bit odd and made me wonder.

She was responsible for the care of the children in her class and as such was directly responsible for this boy's death. Asthma is a very common condition - not some freak rare illness that no one could have anticipated. Just because she was not a doctor or a nurse does not mean she was not responsible for his death - there are no doctors or nurses routinely at school. If I were a parent at that school I would be withdrawing my child and asking others to do the same until she was suspended.

If you can be prosecuted for driving without due care and attention, then you should be able to be prosecuted for caring for children without due care and attention.
Am that this person is still teaching - not sure I'd ever be able to trust myself again knwing I'd made such an horrendous mistake.

someone I don't want to identify used to tell my mother not to take me to hospital when I had an asthma attack as I was attention-seeking. My mother used to leave it till it was critical, and I used to be in hospital each time for a few days as a result. I was about 6 at the time. It was terrifying.

You send your children to school believing the teachers will care for your children. This teacher failed in her duty of care to the point a child died. A parent would be reported to SS. And a teacher faces nothing at all.

I agree that a manslaughter type charge should be applied,
I am trying to think of what social services would make of it if it had been the parents who had ignored the child for that long.

How tragic for the family.
I too think the teacher had a duty of care to this poor child and failed.
She needs to be charged.

This is such a tragic and frightening story. I feel so sorry for this child's family.

Pofacedagain, Leningrad, mummylin So sorry you had to go through this
There needs to be better public awareness.
This can't be allowed to happen again.

What a tragic story that strikes a terrifying chord with me as both my boys are asthmatic.

I too am horrified that she wasn't suspended while an independent review took place. This should never have been allowed to happen.

My thoughts and sympathies go to the grieving family.

I don't think asthma awareness is the issue here- if I was in a meeting, knowing a child was sat outside my classroom (even if in perfect health), and another child came in to say that he was upset, crying, anything, I would have excused myself from the meeting to check on the child. There's no excuse.

Anybody without any knowledge of asthma can tell when a child is distressed. That should have been enough of a reason to attend to him. Unfortunately, it seems arrogance, an inflated ego and a power trip got in the way.

Thankfully, I could never see this happening in any of the schools I've worked in.

The lovely actress in Four weddings, Charlotte, died a few years ago at 33 from an asthma attack. I remember being really when I heard.

I have asthma and have never taken it seriously enough.

I feel so at this woman letting a child suffer. When a child is ill, fuck everything else and protocol or not, call help.

I'm amazed at how many people there are on this thread that are worried about their DC's school not dealing with medical issues properly

Yes they are teachers not nurses, but they are still acting in loco parentis.

If you don't like the way things are currently handled, please PLEASE raise it with the school governors & ask them to review their current processes.

If they don't have anything in place, Teachernet has a ready-made process they can implement HERE

You have to have confidence in the people you hand your child over to everyday

this is a better link HERE

there are government guidelines that all schools should be following, which are listed here, there really is no excuse...