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.

We don't know that there was no accident form. Just that it wasn't handed to the op at pick up. The accident form will not tell the op anything more than what school told her - at that stage it's likely it was a simple tick sheet type one with name, date and time, where it happened and a brief phrase to say how it occurred, then there been a staff signature, a tick to say if a parent was contacted and a tick to say what treatment was given, if needed.

As the injury was more serious than first noticed the op needs to contact school and give hem the full details. The more detailed accident form can then be completed and files.

@mummytorands I work in an environment where health and safety is a priority. There is a strict accident procedure. I also have a child who has been to nursery and two primary schools. I have always been phoned immediately when an incident has occurred and received an accident form even for minor events. On this basis, I do not believe you are unreasonable to want to ask some questions.

I find in situations like this, a handy approach is to ask what the protocol is, and if there is a written version of this. That way you can open up a conversation based on what should have happened vs what did happen and you are talking facts rather than expectations that may or may not be reasonable.

Honestly I think you're upset but don't think the school bs done anything wrong here . If my kids hurt their arm or leg I often genuinely move it up and down to see if they can wriggle fingers etc. I'm sure you'll get the form but the priority was clearly to comfort your son today which is fine. The paperwork can wait a day .
These things happen and while you hate to see them upset it happens with kids.

YABU and OTT

The OP has completely disappeared.

Are you surprised?

Posters have told her she’s overreacting and ‘being dramatic’ — saying kids ‘break bones at school all the time’ (WTF?) — when her son has broken his arm badly at school and school don’t appear to give a shit.

I’m not surprised she hasn’t come back.

You Will need to contact the school and update them as this will need reporting to RIDDOR as it meets the below criteria

"The person dies or is taken directly from the scene of the accident to hospital for treatment"

They may well opt to do an investigation as well into the incident to see if there were any potential factors that caused it e.g. was the surface ok/level or has it become uneven and that lead to the accident

It should be logged on their accident reporting system, it may well be they were more concerned about getting him seen to and then reunited with you before filling it in if it hadn't long happened. It may be sent through electronically

I'd give them a call and calmly ask for the report- you can then check times etc. I agree it would be more of a problem if he's been left for a long time but it may be it's only just happened, the timings etc should be on the accident report when ready

They should have a first aid policy so if you wanted to delve more deeply, could ask for a copy of this along with the accident report to check their procedures vs what the report states

What makes you say school don't give a shit?

They called 15 minutes before the end of school saying it happened at playtime. I dont know any school that has playtime 15 minutes before the end of the day. Something dodgy has happened, whether they have just kept him at school thinking he is ok and then relented when he hasn't calmed down or something more serious I don't know but something isn't quite right. OP follow your mothers instincts

I reported this thread a few days ago because OP didn't return after page 1 @mnhq - it's a bit of a pile-on/bunfight so does it really need to stand?

I can’t believe some of what people are saying, he had a bad fall at last playtime which would not of been at 2:50 20mins before end of school!! They should have informed OP immediately I’d be pissed off too! He has sat there for probably over 30mins in pain with a badly broken arm and not told her. I’d be asking the school why it took so bloody long to inform her and incident forms are to be filled out straight away.
hope your little boy feels better soon I’d be distressed too 😔

I understand your anger and having worked in schools for many years. You have a right to complain. It needs to be investigated and the crucial question is what time the incident occurred, what level of first aid training the first aider has and what the first aid policy is within the school and if it was followed. The accident log should corroborate the incident time you are given. It’s really all down to the timing. If it was lunchtime then 2/3 hours is far too long for them to take to call you. Ordinarily schools call home if they feel the child needs to be taken to the hospital as they are unable to.

As the op says she won't be telling school immediately what has happened, it's tricky for the school to be able to complete the necessary paperwork.

I'm not sure what the OP hopes to achieve, for her child, by withholding the information. It doesn't seem to be in his best interests.

Our playtime finishes less than an hour before the end of the school day 🤷‍♀️

So still 30mins sat there in pain?!! Come on that’s no excuse and they should not of moved his arm it is down to the child to show they can move it not to be physically moved by another person. I am a trained first aider this is basic training.

For all of you assuming there was a huge delay in calling op , I hope you never have to do first aid in a school.
The time line isn't clear, but it would take a few minutes or more to get the child to first aid or the first aider to them . A few more minutes to be assessed, this poor first aider didn't have X-ray vision ( shame on them )
A cold compress might have been applied and the child given a little time to get over the shock . Then the first aider would have made the decision to call mom . And mom wants first aider to have report ready instead of tending to child .
Maybe going forward schools should just ring parents and assess the child after.

There is usually a very structured process for raising things with governors, with steps that need to be taken before they will look at your concern. Get hold of the school’s Concerns/Complaints Policy and follow that. Often the first stage is to raise your concern with the relevant staff so that there can be a two way discussion for clarity on the matter, you can then make an informed decision on whether this needs to be taken further. I do agree that you need assurance that this has been recorded in the accident book, as this will also be part of a process that is overseen by the governing body.

Why do you think they don't give a shit? They called her and told her he'd hurt himself and to pick him up early. There's nothing to suggest they don't give a shit.

Then there'd be furious posts on mumsnet about people being called unnecessarily if the child turned out to be fine.

"Highly likely" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.

Where would you direct your anger if your child had had the same accident in the playground with you? Honestly, your expectations of the school are completely unreasonable.

The school has to report this to Ofsted, and possibly RIDDOR, they need to make sure they have all the accident forms etc
sadly they cannot diagnose the broken arm, but any first aider should have been able to see that it was badly damaged and could have put a sling on it to stop it moving.
They did the right thing in calling you and could not have taken him to hospital themselves and it didn't warrant an ambulance.
Make sure the school has completed the accident forms correctly and that they have reported it, if not you can report to Ofsted yourself.

I would like to know what time he fell, as what school has recess right before the end of the day? I don't know if the school has an afternoon break, because, if not, he was injured at lunchtime, and they didn't call until half an hour before pick up time.

Your distress is totally understandable but the things to focus on now ( other than your son himself )

1. was his arm manipulated ie physically moved around by another person or was he asked to show how much he could move it?
2. what was the timescale before you were called
3. if his arm was as floppy as you describe I would have expected a sling or for his jumper to be rolled up from the waist around it for support before walking him around the school

otherwise it sounds as if it was managed appropriately as long as the required number of up to date first aiders were on site and called to him

but I’d check all that calmly before discussing it further

Ex paramedic being a perfect person - far more qualified and experienced in assessing accidents and illness than a nurse who depending on their placement could have been dealing with very specific care or in an admin role for years 😊