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.

Home educate !!!! Schools are joke!!!!

This is a situation that's been waiting to happen for a long time. Many headteachers deem school nurses to be an extravagance, but no first aid training is a substitute for having managed fractures in a clinical setting e.g. correct positioning of a fractured limb can immediately reduce pain, prevent further swelling and sometimes maintain sensation and circulation. In the case of upper limb fractures, gravity is your friend, hence the need for correct positioning and splinting of the arm before holding in place with a sling, ensuring fingers are accessible for checking sensation and circulation every 30 mins and recorded on a chart or sheet of people. I appreciate that in a small Primary School they can't afford the luxury of an Orthopaedic nurse, but if you're replacing a health care professional with a first aider, that is the standard required.

The accident firm has to be completed asap and before people leave if at all possible. That wont necessarily be before a parent collects the child. It should be available the next day though.

Vanishingly few schools, state or private, have a qualified nurse on site. It’s not a headteacher randomly deciding not to have one.

For all those concerned about lack of accident form , what are you expecting the poor first aider to do .
the timeline is not clear but in our school afternoon break is 215-230 . Depending on the time of the accident it could very well be the first aider was with the child upto when the patient arrived. Do you want them to leave a distressed child to write up a report ?
Also break and dinner time can be very busy In a medical room, who’s to say there weren’t others to deal with.

Also don’t get why you are so bothered about the accident form, are you planning to sue someone?

And to the pp who said we would all be going “nuclear” if it was our child. Speak for yourself you could not be more wrong. Most rational adults accept accidents happen. Bet they even happen to home educated children. This “someone is to blame” culture is pernicious.

Absolutely not! Someone in the school must have had first aid training, and should have been aware of the correct treatment, i.e supporting the arm with a sling moving as little as possible. They should have advised you immediately. There is no mistaking a break as bad as your son’s - mine had a similar break. However, there would be little point in a member of staff taking your son to hospital as they could not consent to the treatment.

Safety isn’t about blame it’s about learning. The accident form is an official record of what happened. The OP needs this to establish what happened and when and how the child was treated. The school may have followed their accident procedure, they may not. Point is she wants to know and the school also need to reflect on what if anything they could have done differently as they are responsible for the health and safety of the children when they are in school. You don’t play fast and loose with safety.

The point being that this is the standard to which the first aider needs to be trained i.e. recognise the signs and symptoms of a fracture and take precautionary measures until an X ray confirms otherwise. They are essentially doing the job of a triage nurse. Some fractures do result in amputation or paraplegia if not managed properly.

Oh For gods sake! Amputation! The drama on this thread! The school rang the parent who took him to a&e. Both of mine have broken bones at a various sports clubs thinking about it neither time was I rung up. Dd1 was told to stop moaning by her PE teacher and it ended up being a broken wrist. Didn’t occur to me to make such a massive fuss. Accidents happen. No wonder so many of this generation are so wet if this is how the parents react.

Why such a long time between playtime and calling you? That would be my concern

First aiders are most certainly not essentially doing the job of a triage nurse. They will have 1 or maybe 3 days training.

what time was playtime ?

OK OP, of course you are upset and worried, but for the most part he'll be absolutely fine.

Please consider this scenario, Op gets a phone call, can u pick up child A immediately we think he's broken his arm. OP gets in panic crashes car on way to school and neither child gets collected in timely fashion.

Or you play it down and say he seems in alot of pain, get here as soon as you can and we'll be ready for you to leave. Knowing as soon as you see him you'll take him to medical assessment of some sort.

Giving people the full picture in a phone call isn't always the best policy. Having has some experience of this on both sides, I'd say school was reasonable from this perspective.

I'd be angry if a first aider moved his arm as this could have made the break worse. It would be different if he was asked if he could move his arm himself although this would not rule out a break. You are right to question the school as first aiders should know what they are doing. Hope you're both feeling a lot better soon.

Yes, for most children, fractures are straight forward and only require to be immobilised for a short period, but this particular child will have to be closely monitored as the fracture has extended to the epiphyseal plate, and the mother will worry about shortening until the child reaches adulthood. The school are rarely responsible for playground accidents but first aid measures do demand that circulation and sensation is maintained or extremities become necrotic. People do have life changing consequences from fractures including amputation.

I'm not. But @MightAsWellBeGretel is assuming the school would only just have noticed that something seemed to be wrong just before they phoned OP, so if that were true it's highly unlikely they were watching him - otherwise they must have noticed it earlier. Even when they did get in touch they told OP that he seemed to be OK,

With your disposition op Don’t ever send him to any sports camps. Both mine broke bones at those no phone calls whatsoever.

Hello, I am so sorry to hear of your son's injuries and his and your distress. You have my full support and my thoughts are with you at this difficult time. I think it's important to find out exactly how this "accident" took place. One of my sons was told by a teacher to stop being a wimp and get up off the ground when he had a broken leg! When my son said he couldn't get up, the teacher forcibly pulled him to his feet causing massive pain and distress. Another playground "accident" whilst playtime was supervised, involved my youngest very slight built and gentle son having his hands and feet bound behind him causing awful injuries to knees, elbows and tremendous fear and distress to my son. The circumstances were completely covered up. I removed my 2 sons from the school after that incident. I think you have every right to be upset, angry and concerned and to be fully informed about what took place. The injuries are serious and they should not understand any circumstances have attempted to manipulate/move the injured area. They could have done more damage or caused serious harm.
I feel for you as I note the majority of comments are negative and in my opinion uncaring and insensitive. My best wishes to you and your son.