Wet play staff cover, what is the norm??

[rockinhippy]

Hi, I'm hoping for a guide line on this before I speak with my DDs head later today,

Background....ongoing bullying problem, dealt with via governors, extra funding gained..... supposedly problem in class better, DD now in counselling to help her cope & forget etc.........though I have still aplied to another School, waiting list is long, & TBH, DD loves her School, & its heartbreaking having her paint her & her friends every night, as she doesn't want to change Schools...just wants 1 boy to leave...but of course not an option....

School have admitted the class has more than its fair share of problem kids...& 1 more boy added to the mix has caused havoc......& he "has a soft spot" (bloody obbsession more like..grr) with DD...... my first meeting with the Schools counsellor was a bit of an eye opener, as her words "perhaps her fears ARE justified, as he is a very violent boy"

Things have improved a bit, but had cause to have a go at her teacher on Friday for allowing the Boy to sit next to DD in class..on HIS insistance....he then wrecked her work..but she was too afraid to speak up...same week he was excluded for kicking the class door off its hinges......Teacher did hold her hands up to been in the wrong, which was reassurring, & if I'm honest I actually feel sorry for her, as she seemed genuinely upset, but in a very difficult situation....Boy is a nightmare, & no SN, just very wily, disruptive & aggressive...... if gossip is to be belived, half the class is seeing School counsellor as a result of 1 boy, who has been expelled from several other local Schools.....

Anyway, my main question..... in such circumstances, how many staff, would you expect to cover a class kept in for play during bad weather???.......turns out this week there was only 1 support teacher, which ended up with DD being attacked AGAIN by this boy....& Staff only noticed when another girl went for help for DD...DD thinks they took a long time, though thankfully she is big & strong enough to fight him off..... fighting upsets her a lot, as she is a real stickler for abiding by School rules, & thinks shes doing wrong by hitting back.......ended up with her home as a result yesterday, as she was again a nervous wreck & not sleeping etc

I personally think, that in such circumstance, 1 member of staff is outrageously low.......am I right...what is the normal Staff cover

Thanks

Sorry should of added...Year 2 class
& please excuse typos...bad brain day...lol

In the schools I've taught in wet play is usually managed by having 1 member of staff between two classrooms. The effectiveness of this will depend upon the layout of the school (at my last school the year group rooms were opposite one another so a mealtime supervisor could stand in the hallway between the two and see into both rooms.

However, if there is a child in a class who is known to have behaviour issues there should be other plans in place for managing his/her behaviour during wet play. Having an adult stationed in this particular class would be one way to manage the situation but another way would be to remove the child and have him/her go and sit in the Head's office/similar away from other children.... as it is a pre-emptive measure it could be expected that s/he would be allowed to use the computer or something special rather than expecting it to be seen as some kind of punishment which would be unfair.

Wet play is a nightmare for all concerned so I often eat my lunch in the classroom and supervise the children myself as it makes for a happier afternoon and less chaos/upset all round!

Thank you SE13Mum, that gives me something to work with.....especially as DDs class has minimum of 4 others with constant behaviour issues, 2 that regularly do a runner, & at least 2 diagnosed special needs...& thats on top of this boy with severe behaviour issues, so it is a high proportion of the class that has behavioral issues,

thanks again

In my dc's school, the norm for wet play is one teacher patrolling the infants and one patrolling the juniors. Seen first hand when I was helping out one day, was begged asked to stay in my DS2's classroom as there's a high percentage of SN dc's in it. It's not a small school either. . 7 classes in the infants and 6 in the juniors. I wrote a letter of complaint to the governors, as I was basically left in charge of 30 dc's, 3 of whom (including my DS2) are asd. And it's a boy-heavy class as well, 19 boys to 11 girls. Still not had a reply. Am just hoping that they're doing something about the level of supervision. It's not that I minded doing it particularly, just think it shouldn't be the parent helpers job to cope with breaking up the fights refereeing 30 children. Especially when there's SN dc's there, and I have no formal training or qualifications other than having had 2 asd dc's myself...

God, what a nightmare - your poor DD. Under the circumstances you describe I wouldn't have thought anything less than one adult to keep an eye just on that boy and one for the rest of the group would satisfy any definition of duty of care.

Personally I would call the police every time your child is assaulted by this boy - because make no mistake that is what's happening and the school is not preventing it. If you phone your local police station they should be able to tell you who the school liaison officer is for your area and you could speak to them to see what your options are. If the head knows you really mean business s/he might be more inclined to take preventative action.

Thank you all for your replies, sorry so slow to update, I've been ill

It turns out you are all right, as there are problems, it is 1 staff member plus floating staff, & difficult kids taken out to play elsewhere.........so he was not meant to be in class at all, & is kept separate at wet play, in a special room used for kids who disrupt lessons for whatever reasons....on this particular day seems he had done a runner back to class, & no-one had acted quick enough, as they have 1 staff member to oversea class & 1 floating, & he kicked off attacking DD before the floating staff member arrived to take him back..........though if I'm honest, I do wonder sometimes, if some staff members take a chance on him behaving himself, so avoid confronting him, where he will certainly kick off......& if I'm really honest, having seen this kid kick off & violently kick & punch seven bells out of 2 different members of staff, with 1 lady, telling her to "get out of my way you F"""'""" Wh@re"along with all sorts of abuse.....(boys mother actually stood & said nothing,,grrr )...... I can sort of see why leaving him be, might sometimes seem a better option, but of course its not..... several more incidents last week of term, ended up with DD fighting back & hurting him he ran off, but she was so upset with herself for breaking school rules & hurting another child, even though she had no choice, as he was trying to strangle her Teachers were supportive, she was scared she would be in trouble, but she wasn't, but it knocked her for 6 again, ......

Verity, I do wonder if its the same boy, as that sounds typical of him...scary to think theres more than 1 out there at such a young age.........& what you say of your School sounds pretty much the same, I had a good meeting with the head, but followed up by 2 more attacks, which she rang & warned me about, I realise, that as much as she does very obviously care, as does the Teaching staff, they are already doing all they can, & not getting adequate support from above.

Even more gauling during the holiday I recieved an EWO letter reminding me of my responsibility of getting DD to School....... I didn't hold back in my e-mail response, so hopefully that & yet more board of Gov letters might make a difference...especially as DDs stomach was fine all last week, & kicked in with diareah again yesterday morning....though thankfully on getting to School, he is not in class, so she breathed a big sigh if relief, & enjoyed her day, not there again today.... fingers crossed it stays that way....I can but hope..

This boy clearly does have Special Needs. Children can be statemented for severe social/emotional/behavioural needs. And they can (IME) be placed in a more appropriate setting if they are not coping in mainstream.

Please don't keep saying he does not have SN wwhen he clearly does. SN does not just mean learning difficulties.

for your DD, the other children on the receiving end and the culprit who clearly has major issues that need dealing with.

Thanks BigTillyMint, you are right, I do tend to think of SN, as AS, auty etc, I suppose as there are children with these types of SN in the same class, & I suppose having friends with both Downs & Autistic Children, it doesn't seem quite right labelling this boy in the same way, This boy clearly does need help, & clearly does have severe emotional & behavioral issues, & obviously a lot of learned behaviour with racist & anti gay outburst etc.........but even though young, at 7 he is old enough to have an idea of right & wrong, rather than just to react out of frustration, or over stimulation etc as do the true SN kids in the class, but I suppose as SN, stands for special needs, he clearly is that too.

Sadly I learned last week our LEA is phasing out specialist SN schools, a cost cutting excersise of course, but all kids with be expected to go to mainsteam in the near future, whether they can cope or not.

I would keep a log of all the incidents, what happened, when, where who was present, what the teachers said/did about it. I would also take photos of any marks and include in the log. I would also write down how it is affecting dd, physically/emotionally etc.

I would approach the head teacher with this log and ask directly what plans they are putting in place to help your dd. If this doesn't work then I would approach the governors then the lea.

Your dd is being left in a place where she is assaulted frequently and is in fear of assault on a daily basis. This is not acceptable. The log may help with the ewo and also the police should you need it.

oh and wet play cover can vary between schools as to what should happen and what actually does. Layouts of schools don't help. I have worked in schools where resonsible year 6's supervise and a ta checks occasionally and schools where ta can clearly see 2 classrooms.

FWIW I would have never left a child I thought couls have been a danger to other children in my classroom with only cover staff to supervise.

I would (and have) supervised my class myself for wet plays when I felt it was needed.

Thank you MuppetGirl.......... I have been doing that already, & my last letter to Govenors included photos of bruising, with a warning I was logging all incidents...... extra funding was secured, from what I was told, on the back of that & letters from other parents.

I really do believe the teachers/hea are doing there best, & have been very candid with me as regads the problems they are dealing with, & the issue is down to them not having adequate resources, & under pressure to keep the boy in School, as they have a good reputation in dealing with problem kids, & turning them around, sadly this boy is extreme............

I am interested in the Police aspect though, being on School premises, I didn't think they had any powers.....but it might help kick the LEA into acting?

Really not attacking the teachers I totally understand how this is a very difficult situation for all. Great you're already logging the incidents.