What should I be asking the school to do?

[MeanMom]

My DD (13) has been having all sorts of problems which I have mentioned in previous posts. Basically she has SEN because of vision problems (which may or may not be fixed soon ) but she also has Type 1 diabetes.

We have a meeting (rescheduled to 30th March) to discuss her IEP (never seen by us) and getting her back into school (off with depression and anxiety since half term and on several other occasions before).

This specific question is about her interaction with another girl in her class which is a big problem. The other girl 'O' - has I assume SEN herself - school cannot of course tell me anything but my DD says she has TA in most lessons to get her to engage in lessons - often just puts head down onto desk - asks 'weird' questions, rude to teachers etc. The school want DD to share TA with her - DD needs a TA to make sure she is safe using equiptment (and I gather it would be TA's job to make sure lessons were accessible - ie that she can read the work)

The problem is 'O' has a needle phobia recently developed (the inplication being 'caused by my DD') and of course DD has needles with her all the time. The girl has taken DD's kit from her bag. DD has been told to make sure 'O' not around when she injects but DD worries that she cannot mention her diabetes at all in case 'O' has a 'wobbly' (it has happened) so she is constantly on edge around 'O' and worried she will have to treat a 'hypo' in her presence.

AIBU to say they cannot share a TA and that they shouldn't really be in the same class? I don't know the answer as DD does not want to change classes and I can understand why 'O' wouldn't want to either. Can anyone come up with a solution or two I could put forward to school? The situation really contributes to her anxiety and her diabetes control:(

Does O have a statement with her TA in it. If so she can't really be shared.
Is the TA going to have them both at the same time?

Can you suggest that the school do a risk assessment of the situation before using this particular solution. You can then contribute to the risks as can O's parents!?

SDK - I don't know what other girl has (school can't tell me) but I don't think it is likely she has a statement as SENCO told me there are only two in school with statement (big school so unlikely statistically?) SENCO also told me they wouldn't be getting any more TA's .

Yes they would need to use the TA at same time but for different things/reasons. DD much quieter so can see her needs coming second.

I will remember the 'risk assessment' part -thank you. I do wonder what 'O' and her parents have to say about this - bet they haven't been asked

Well it's not really O or her parents problem. It is the school that needs to support your daughter. Have you considered applying for a staement yourself?

wassup Yes I had been advised to persue a statement but DDs vision problems will probably be addressed within next couple of months so any reports I got from that angle would be on the lines of 'we don't know yet'. I don't know of any child who has a statement 'just' for diabetes (it is not really an 'educational need'. And do you get a statement for anxiety/depression?

It is the needle issue that I cannot see a solution to:(

Can anyone see a solution other than the two girls being put in different classes?

Meanmom, if they are put in different classes I can see that your DD might not get access to a TA at all. If this is temporary, I don't think you are going to be able to budge them. Is there another TA that is available in a different class? If your DD doesn't have a statement, she's unlikely to get her own TA, she'll have to share with some other DC.

It's impossible to come up with alternatives without knowing why O has a TA, and what condition (if any) she has. I think this is only going to work one of two ways. Either school suddenly agrees to be helpful and co-operative and acknowledge the fact that if they can't disclose the problem to you, then they are stuck being responsible for a solution. Or you find a way to force them. Tbh in practice I think they need to be separated and though I'm sure it doesn't seem "fair" quite possibly your DD would cope with a move far better than O would.

Agree that "risk assessment" is one phrase that might trigger a response. There is a new Ofsted inspection criterion re: pupil behaviour and safety and I think it's fairly clear your child does not feel safe which is a key measurement for them, and I think should be stressed by you, in writing, in your explanation to them of why sharing a TA is a spectacularly bad idea. I'm not sure how you work this veiled threat in without being too crass, but Ofsted claim they will finally be using data on ParentView (parent online feedback on schools - very sparsely updated so a few bad reviews look disproportionately bad).

Also there must be some disability discrimination angle: the school are putting your DD in a position where she is fearful of the consequences of having to use her pen in class - which is a double-whammy as the diabetes might be considered a disability which they have to make reasonable adaptation for - and so might the anxiety which their mismanagement of it is causing.

The needle issue isn't tempory - DD's diabetes insnt going to go away.

Sharing a TA may or may not be temporary - they will still be in same class so issue of O's needle phobia will still have an impact on DD's self esteem and anxiety.

Should I just insist that the other girl -O- be moved to another class? (even if this means loosing TA for DD)?

X post - thank you R

Agree that DD shouldn't have to move but that is the only solution I could think of. I actually want her to move to a different class as another class has a girl with diabetes in it (DD doesn't know who - school very secretive) and she could do with the support.

Your cooments are very helpful Thank you