I need help. I’m utterly distraught and upset with my sons school, does anyone have any advice?

[mummytorands]

So I’ve been awake all night with keeping my 8 year old as comfortable as possible and yesterday’s events and I wanted to go to the school today and complain about how they handled things but I think I’m going to write to the chair of governors instead so I want to box clever.

So, I leave work yesterday (I work 10 minutes from the school by car) at 2:45 my children are usually let out at 3:10-3:20. School call at 2:50 telling me my son (8) has had a fall during playtime she explained he hurt his arm, elbow hip and knee. He was grazed seen by first aid but very upset and could I get him early of course I said yes I’ll be 5 minutes. Asked then as it’s unusual for him to be as upset as she was saying as he’s quite a tough cookie has he done any damage. No she said first aid moved his arm but seems ok but he’s very upset and think it’s best you came early and that she would get my daughter for me too (5). I pull up to school a TA is bringing them both out and it was quite evident to me we needed to get to hospital. I could clearly see my son was in pain, he was holding his arm, his wrist and hand were limp. I was given no accident form but didn’t think about that until later as my main concern was to get him medical attention. I called minor injuries they said they had a 3 hour wait and they wouldn’t be able to xray today so off to a&e I went which was heaving but we were dealt with pretty swiftly. Xray and he’s broken both radius and ulna and one of the fractures is going into the growth plate. I won’t know the full extent until we see the fracture clinic in 24 hours however we were sent home in a plaster cast and sling and I’ve kept him comfortable with calpol alternating nurofen. My plan is to go into school tomorrow asking for the accident book copy but I want to see it and not have it done and back dated. I will tell them he won’t be in for the next couple of days until I know more but I’m not disclosing the damage he’s done until I know for definite.

I am furious. He very clearly to me had broken his arm the moment I seen him. She played it down to me on the phone and his arm had been manipulated and it should not have been. They did not contact me fast enough and no accident from was given. Does anyone have advice? I want to complain because I’m just so unhappy about the handling and I don’t want it to happen again but I want the first aid training to be looked into also. My poor boy.

Absolutely.

Why are you castigating the school? We don’t know what information about the timing of the accident the school gave the OP because the OP didn’t put that information in her post!

It would be lovely if the school had reminded the OP to make sure she put all the available information in her post to MN, but clearly that is something else they have failed to do. I think we ought to collectively inform OFSTED of this damning Safeguarding failure.

Listen, former school welfare officer/first aid lead here with a nursing background.

I’ve had many children fall and fracture limbs over the years I worked in a school. I’ve also had to call an ambulance twice for more severe injuries.

Your son would have come into my room, I would have assessed him, seen that it didn’t look good and called you to collect. I would have also written it in the accident book, like everything, like the hundred other children who had been in, mainly for rubbish to get out of a lesson that day.

I wouldn’t have shown you the accident book on pick up. My concern was that you were taking him for medical attention.

Would I have manipulated the arm, put a sling on? No. And believe me, I was blasted for not doing that a few times. As I was blasted by parents for doing it. I couldn’t win.

Yes exactly. What time was playtime?

It's sad that so little is expected wrt to care of a young child, that calling an ambulance is seen as outrageous in the circumstances.

So they call you only 10-15 mins before end of day for an accident that happened at play time? How long did they delay before calling? TBH my school would have called an ambulance and you immediately.
Those saying school didn’t have an X-ray-it is very obvious when someone has a broken bone.
get the complaints policy and follow it

In our school we would take a cab to the hospital of the parent was going to take too long to get to us or we could not get hold of them.
We would not call an ambulance over a suspected broken arm.
Children can sit in A&E for hours waiting to be seen with suspected broken arms, really nothing to call an ambulance over unless their condition declines.

A Broken arm when someone can walk is far better treated when the patient is taken to hospital by car.

Broken arms in active kids are common - falling off bikes and horses- don't know of any child where an ambulance was called for a suspected or even obviously broken arm or collarbone - they get taken to casualty by a parent of friend.

Much quicker than an ambulance , too.

What time was playtime when the accident occurred compared to when they phoned you? (Sorry don’t know school break times)

Exact scenario happened to one of my kids. He had to have extensive surgery. First aided at school manipulated his arm and told him it wasn’t that bad when he was screaming.

I totally understand your anger.

School were rightly mortified when they heard he was in surgery that same day. I told them they needed to revisit their first aid training as it was massively unacceptable how they handled my child. Years on, he’s never forgotten the experience of not being believed when he told them how much pain he was in.

I know you're angry. That's understandable. Your child is hurt and it happened when you weren't there.

Even at hospitals people are asked if they can move their arm, leg, etc. And the staff generally aren't medical experts at school, most they'll have done is a half or one day first aid course usually. And some - nothing.

Did the hospital say that the school would have caused further damage in doing so?

They called you immediately and you arrived very quickly and got him medical attention.

Sadly it's just an accident and tbh it's also fairly common for children to fall and break bones.

The accident book is likely completed but it's not a massive document - they could do with knowing more now so they can now complete the more detailed form which often happens after a more serious injury (as in more serious than one dealt with by school)

Why won't you tell school what the issue is straight away? In what way does withholding that information benefit your son?

Seeing the accident book won't unbreak his arm.

This is exactly why young people are struggling to cope with the world today. Parents need to demonstrate and teach resilience through these kind of normal, life events.

@MikeRafone In some cases a broken bone is a medical emergency. One thing this thread does show is the amount of ignorance concerning dangerous injuries and popping people in a car to take them to hospital.

This case however is a radius and ulna. Zero need for an ambulance in such a scenario. They should be ambulatory walk-in’s. Generally the opposite arm supports the broken one, or if someone with them is feeling adventurous they can turn something like a jumper into a makeshift sling before they hit A&E.

And this was the information given out on how to deal with injured limbs on the paediatric first aid course I attended last week.
https://firstaidtrainingcooperative.co.uk/acronyms-saltaps/

Why would they take him to hospital when the parent is available to take them? None of the staff at our school would be insured to drive a child to school in their car, and would not put themselves in the position of being alone in the car with a child. They could call for an ambulance but an available parent would be a much quicker option.

It certainly does not require an ambulance, it isn't a compound fracture.

@Lyannaa It’s never happened to any of my 4 children! Breaking your ulna requires a considerable amount of force

Go to a paeds fracture clinic. It’s really common.

What an over reaction on the part of the OP.

I think you shouldn't be angry with school. The first aider just wanted to assess his arm. They it wasn't right hence the phone call to you. They did everything right. Hope it heals quickly for your son.

What use would a piece of paper be ? The accident form just tells you they have bumped head , fell over , cold compress applied

it’s all fixed up now your title and reaction is a very hysterical

let them know how broken it is and it should not have been moved as a helpful bit of info but I’ve asked kids to wiggle fingers and toes
and I’ve had broken arm and foot and could move them

My son makes a huge fuss if he falls over and acts like his arms legs are broken / don’t work

calm down before making s tit of yourself
your son was cared for and you were informed

They absolutely have!

..and this is why I don’t want to teach in a school anymore. Distraught?? you’ve got a few more years of motherhood to be distraught about far greater things, believe me

In most situations like this the wait for an ambulance would be far longer than mum arriving in five minutes and driving the child there.

The triage would be the same once there - an ambulance doesn't automatically jump the queue

OP, your son has had a very normal childhood accident that could have happened at home just as easily as it happened at school. It’s obviously a big deal to you and your son, but breaks like that happen very easily in kids when they fall and put an arm out instinctively to protect themselves. I broke both bones in my own arm when I was eight - it happened at home and I simply slipped on a damp patio. I don’t think I was even running.

‘Manipulating’ his wrist is what any first aider, paramedic or doctor would do. It’s what you do to make sure someone can still move their limb. They couldn’t just take him to A&E themselves. They called you so you could decide whether to take him.

Honestly, I know it’s distressing to see your child in pain, but this is a very run of the mill childhood accident and the school haven’t done anything wrong.