Problem with school lunchtime supervisor - wwyd?

[PiedWagtail]

Yesterday in the playground at lunchtime my ds fell over and grazed his elbow badly, and was comforted by my dd who is in Yr 3.

He had to go into Medical for a dressing and plaster, and dd asked if she could go with him. The lunchtime supervisor told her not to, and said ds could go in by himself. He was crying and in pain, and his sister wanted to help him, but was told off for wanting to do so. He?s only five (in Reception)!

Our school promotes the values of friendship, kindness and responsibility: all the Year 3s ? never mind Reception children ? always seem to go in to Medical with a friend ? from what dd says ? and I would much rather dd was being caring to ds and taking him into Medical than him going in by himself, crying.

Would you have a word with dd/ds's teacher/the HT to ensure lunchtime supervisors let children go with friends into Medical? This is not the first tiem we've had issues with this LS. Gah.

That is mean, but I wonder if the LS was just sticking to an H&S rule. If that is the case, you can't really complain. I would ask ds's teacher about it, in a non-confrontational way, and see what she says. It's a pretty small issue to raise with an HT, so I would only do that if there were a series of problems with the LS.

No, all the others LSs let kids go in in twos. Teachers generally ask for a volunteer to go in with someone, so they don't have to go by themselves!

I am just wondering if your dd's comforting was feeding your ds's distress and that is why the LS told him to go on in on his own. I know my dd (same age gap as your two, she in Y3 next year he will be reception) can end up making ds think he is about to die with her 'comfort', she doesn't mean it, she is defiantly trying to be a good sister but oh my, she is a real hypochondriac and her 'helping' can be the difference between ds getting up, dusting himself off and carrying on if she isn't there to him weeping and wailing clinging to dd like his life depended on it and is in need of an ambulance, STAT!

I think it could be worth you having a quiet and non confrontational chat with, if possible the LS or either child's class teacher if not to find out what kind of relationship your children have at school, it can be surprisingly different then at home (we have that with ds and my friends dd (same age, well 3 days between them), they are together allot and are very sibling like in behaviour and view of each other but at pre-school are so different with each other they make us look like liars when we warn people lol!). It is worth knowing what their school relationship is like so you can work with them at home to make sure they are both getting the best of having a sibling at the same school. It would have been nice, if the situation was like with my two, i9f the LS had got one of your ds's classmates to go in with him, not very nice for a lo to make the walk to medical on their own while hurting and in a bit of shock from a nasty fall.
So, short version, talk to school to get the whole story but not in a way where you are accusing them of doing wrong but in a way to help you understand their sibling bond and to develop that into a healthy relationship. (btw, your dd sounds very caring to her little brother, however much my dd can make a mole hill into a mountain it is always nice to see her loving him and looking out for him)

Tbh I think that complaining about this would seem very fussy and OTT. Maybe the lunchtime supervisor didn't want lots of children who were not injured in the medical room, maybe it is easier to calm and deal with children without others around, maybe she was busy dealing with other stuff. I thought from your thread title there had been some major incident. by all means have a word but I don,t know what you expect to happen.

As an LS... I have to decide if a child can "take a friend" or not on a case by case basis. Sometimes I know there are other children being patched up and don't want to add another child into the room. sometimes I know that a sibling ISN'T the best person to go with them. or I know I'm handing the child over to their own class teacher.

But sometimes they do go with a friend or an older child... it just depends on the situation on the day.

We don't have a dedicated "medical room" so first aid treatment happens in a classroom or a lobby or out on the playground depending on situation. On a bad day I might end up having to triage 4 year R children in a classroom to work out who's bumped knee/ elbow / head is actually the more urgent to deal with. And on that day I do not want ANY "helpful big siblings" in the room.

OP here with final update...

Got a letter from the head teacher - also signed by both dcs' class teachers - apologising for the 'oversight', saying that school policy was that children are always accompanied by a friend to Medical, and that the HT has talked to all the LSs to make sure they know this.

:)