Scottish teachers- can I do anything apart from go off sick?

[kotcheff]

I am on my knees trying to manage my mainstream P1 class and one very, very high needs child. Keeping him safe seems nearly impossible and he shouts constantly.

Currently he goes home at lunch but his Mum wants him in all day. HT says he is facing pressure from above him to have all learners in full time and it's about his rights.

HT and Mum also want him in the Christmas show and party (afternoon) and trip to the pantomime (nearly full day). I feel like none of this is achievable and none of this is in his best interests. I actually feel physically sick at the thought of taking him out of the school.

I don't know where to go or who to ask for support. Would the EIS support me? HT made it clear that I am 'excluding' him and tbh I'm about to just get myself signed off sick.

But the media and uk labour don't seem to understand EHCP doesn't equal CSP, our local labour MP with their boilerplate replies are encouraging everyone to apply for CSP.

And in England, I'd place a large bet on EHCPs taking longer to get, and providing less - a policy change to save money done without announcement.

The media does a poor job of holding anyone to account on this.

He's non verbal so screaming is his only way to communicate.

And he's been put in a mainstream school? That is absolutely absurd. He doesn't belong in mainstream schooling and the whole system is failing everyone from him to you and all the other pupils in the class. What an appalling situation

I'm so shocked by this thread. OP I'm so sorry you have been put in this situation it's wrong in every way.

I agree. Let somebody else manage this impossible situation. All very well for the Head to insist the child is included but down to OP to manage what sounds like an impossible situation. He should have one to one support to keep him and other children safe.

It’s really unfortunate that Scotland has gone this way. Getting rid of so many specialist schools is just ridiculous. It’s not fair on anyone: the child, the other pupils or the staff. School is meant to be a place for learning and nobody is getting any of that done in this sort of environment. I really sympathise, OP. I distinctly remember one lad I taught with quite significant needs. When he was on his meds and with his TA it was perfectly possible to include him but when he hadn’t had his meds the classroom was dangerous snd no one got anything done. By year 11 the kid was considerably bigger than me so it was actually very intimidating (lovely lad as he was on a good day). Your Head is being spineless, afraid of the backlash. Perhaps he could attend the party - if his mum goes. If the Head is not going to ensure that appropriate adjustments are put in place then call in sick. See how well they cope when they experience for one day what you’re having to deal with every day.

I've been there - pregnant and with 2 extremely violent children. We cancelled a school trip for the whole class because the parents insisted their son come despite us needing to evacuate the class multiple times a day and he'd broken various arms/legs of members of staff in the classroom. But they insisted he'd be fine out in public! The head decided to cancel rather than risk a complaint to the LA.

I went off sick and the next day he broke my TA's jaw. I've left teaching now and both children are still in school, still terrorising the teachers and the rest of the staff. Parents have been offered a specialist school place for one of them and declined it.

It's madness and fails everybody - teacher, pupil who can't cope and especially the rest of the children who come to school terrified.

Go off sick if necessary. You'll be held responsible and blamed when something goes wrong on the trip and blamed if you don't take him.

Where on earth are the teaching unions in this? Why are they not pulling staff out of this school until these pupils are in different placements? I must confess that I don't understand the parents in this situation either.

I echo Jabtastics comment- where the hell are the unions in this? If you have a child presenting a risk of violence or total disruption to teaching then the whole thing is a dangerous untenable farce. These SEN kids should not be in mainstream education - it’s absurd to even think for one second that they will flourish or that the rest of the pupils in their class stand a chance of doing so.

Such behaviours and characteristics are not tolerated in the workplace so why should young children and teachers be forced to endure them in the classroom?

Parents who fail to see this are deluded and are at the root of the problem- for heavens sake put your child in a safe environment where their needs can be properly met and they stand a chance of learning to their ability and they’re not going to be perceived as disrupters.

I think the EIS violent behaviour advice states that teachers could be found in breach of contract if they refuse to teach a person who has physically assaulted them.

There is no legal protection for children or young people not adults who are hurt in school ( as far as I'm aware).

@kotcheff sadly think that's the case
Teachers are seen as the issue for not agreeing to be verbal and physical punchbags.

This is ridiculous! A school is a teachers place of work and the employer has a duty of care to take steps to keep their employees safe.
Unions should be insisting risk assessments are robust and updated regularly, and insist on mitigations put in place to ensure the safety of staff.
During COVID the unions insisted on face masks in schools to protect teachers but it's ok for them to be assaulted as part of their job🤷‍♀️

@Onand most of us would love to, but there isn't space!

Goodness, how do you expect op to manage this? Keep the child, herself & other children safe? As great as it would be, we can’t include everyone to the detriment of others. If the situation is unmanageable then it’s unmanageable.

Gosh, I’m so sorry, this sounds horrendous for all involved.

I agree. She can’t. Unfortunately that’s the way it works.

The op needs to put in some extra work regarding her head teacher and parent council (not governors!!) She needs risk assessments. Ask parents to come along. Ask for extra staff. She can’t just say no without providing extra provisions. That’s discrimination. Literally. Not my opinion. If she can’t get any of these then her risk assessment is not working for the child and then she can say no.

Thats the job of a teacher these days. It’s rubbish but nothing is changing in the next few weeks.

I'll add that not all parents are prepared to come out and support their own children.

We had parents who switched off their phones as soon as their children got through the school gate, just so that we couldn't disturb them by getting in contact.

We had one ASD diagnosed pupil who was deliberately violent towards staff. Believe, me these weren't meltdowns - it was calculated. He knew exactly what he was doing. I've worked with ASD pupils for 40 yrs. This pupil is the only example I can think of where an ASD pupil was deliberately violent. He was playing the system.

For the sake of the other pupils, we had to organise for him to work in a separate room with more than one member of staff there. This usually meant that a TA or teacher would be assigned to the pupil for the period, at the same time as another member of staff was having their "non-contact time" there.

The Ed Psych assigned to us was worse than useless.

We asked the mother to come in and work with us on temporary basis. Her tactic was to sit through the meeting, smile, say nothing, agree to nothing - and then leave.

I understand that many parents of "difficult" children see school as respite for the parents. However, it's even harder for a classroom teacher to work with such a child, since the teacher is typically working with the child plus 30 others.

In the end, our LA agreed that the pupil I mentioned above could move to a larger school where staff were pulled away from other pupils to work with him. Minimal compliance was rewarded with chocolate. He got what he wanted - he never had to set foot in a regular class again.

That might sound like a win, but his "support" took away from children who probably needed it more.