Reception admission and health problems

[mootennis]

I've name changed for this as it is identifying.

DD is due to start reception in September 2017, but there are some health issues that are becoming increasingly problematic. She was diagnosed with toddler's diarrhoea 6 months ago and it was reasonably well controlled by diet. However the symptoms worsened and she then developed severe constipation. The combination of these issues has been that she often does not know when she needs a bowel movement. This regularly means 5 plus soilings a day. We finally are getting treatment but the gp said that they effects could last months and the toddler's diarrhoea could be until she's 6. I'm worried about how this will affect her at school.
I think the closest school has the best supportive approach. Importantly, the toilet is within the reception classroom (separated by a door). This is similar to nursery and would be close for her to get to. The problem is that it is an oversubscribed academy and she might not get in. Does anyone have any experience of a similar situation or know whether her difficulties might be considered when allocating the places? Also what support might there be for her from the school? I know I can call the school and admissions team on Monday but I've been worrying about it and how if she was at the wrong school she could be alone and upset in the toilets.

Oh bless her. Poor little girl. There is a section on the form to detail medical and other reasons for putting a school first. (Not sure how much weight it would hold.) Would GP or other health professional offer support?
Do you know if other schools definitely DON'T have the same toilet arrangement?
Really hoping this issue resolved itself very soon and she doesn't have to deal with this at school.

Hi I am not sure what you would put on a school application as my little one that just started reception in September there wasn't anything apart from ticking the name of the school. What I can tell you is that you can have a healthcare plan put in place which is set up by the Senco in the school that the teacher and teaching assistants can adhere to fro example taking your child to the toilet at times of the day that accidents would likely happen.

Now would be a good time to apply for a health care plan as it takes about ut 6 months. I don't know if you would get one as this is a problem which should resolve, but it is the best way to get school to take issues seriously.

I would give your health visitor a call and see what they think.

When we applied for my ds' school place, there was a section for medical reason to tick.
I asked the gp and other health care professionals to write a letter and attached it with application. I don't know how much weight it carried, since we applied for our closest school. But, it's better to try everything possible.

Whether your daughter's difficulties are taken into account depends on the admission criteria for the school. If it gives priority to pupils with medical needs they may agree that your daughter's problems qualify but there is no guarantee. If it does not give priority to pupils with medical needs I'm afraid your daughter's condition will not be taken into account.

If you can get an EHC plan for her you will be able to get your preferred school named on the plan and they would then have to admit her. I have to say that I doubt this issue would qualify for an EHC plan.

Thanks for your replies. I've looked at 8 schools. It's the only school that has the toilet arrangement and has a smaller outside space so she wouldn't be too far away (one of the schools has huge outdoors space I would otherwise love). She had an accident when we were being shown round one school and was so upset that it happened at big school, its really heartbreaking.
The healthcare plan is good to read about. Are these difficult to get put into place? If there is a resource implication then could it be an issue?
Now we've got a brilliant gp and HV involved, I think that they might be able to offer support. The problem I've had is that some hcp and people in education don't see it as a problem, but it really does dominate the life of an otherwise bright and happy girl.

Although her difficulties won't be considered in the oversubscription criteria, I'm more worried about her being allocated a place with environments that would be much more difficult for her, for instance with a long corridor to get to the toilet.
I've got a review with nursery next week so I'll ask for their ideas and experience about your suggestions.

I'm sorry your DD is struggling with this. It's very distressing.

This wouldn't qualify for an EHCP, as it's surprisingly common and any school should be able to deal with it. Some schools have a 'medical and social' category in their oversubscription criteria, but again, I'd be amazed if this qualifies.

Once you are allocated a school, the SENCO and the school nurse should be able to come up with a care plan for your DD.

Thanks lougle. As awful as it is for it to be surprisingly common, I'm more reassured that it can be supported by schools. When I've spoken with the schools I was given the impression that it was very unusual. DD has had fantastic support at nursery and I just wouldn't want a lack of support to hinder her social and academic development at school.

The medical term is encopresis (apologies if you already know that) so you may find more support by searching that term. There have been several threads on Mumsnet about it. Have you seen the charity www.eric.org.uk? It's the bowel and bladder charity. It will have all sorts of helpful stuff on there.

That's really helpful thank-you. We're just starting to get an understanding of it after getting to grips with managing the toddler's diarrhoea. Not sure how you balance the two, so all information is gratefully received.

Just wanted to echo the reassurance that schools can be very good at supporting children with this issue. DD had same issue and I spoke to school before she started and they put a support plan in place which detailed who was authorised to clean her up at school (I was amazed this had to be spelt out but teachers/ staff can't do it automatically apparently anymore unless they have explicit consent), what I would do to support school (provide spare pants, wipes etc) in her bag daily, and what they would do to support DD (which was allow her to go to the toilet whenever she wanted / needed without having to ask). She had quite a lot of accidents in reception but school were very good at supporting her, not making a big deal of it, and keeping me informed. Hopefully whichever school you end up at will be able to provide something similar.