Special schools

[Trumpeterwolf]

I teach in a special school for children with physical disabilities and complex medical needs.
We have been open for key worker’s children but few have taken up the offer. Following risk assessments we have been closed to other children even if they had an EHCP (which all our children do)
I’m back to the confusion of late March and going round in circles about how returning will work.

Normally I am in a room with 4 other adults and 10 children. On a normal day the children have multiple changes of position, intimate care, medication, enteral feeds.

These children learn through close interaction. Many of them can’t see or hear. We do a lot of singing and rocking. We use sensory materials, fabrics, tonnes of resources. They can’t hold things easily, they mouth and chew objects, they obviously have no control over coughs, sneezes or any other bodily fluids.

I adore my job and these children. I just can’t see how it will work. They won’t be able to learn anything if they are spread out in their chairs. They will be uncomfortable and unhappy. The only benefit will be that their parents will get a break.

So then I just think we’ll carry on as usual and take the risk. But that’s a scary thought and seems so at odds to the advice everywhere else.

Anyone got any inspired ideas?

The advice at the moment is minimal. My current cohort of children have significant issues with spitting, some also bite.

According to the space and numbers of children we'll be ok but there doesn't seem to be much advice about spitting and biting. Just "be more careful with hygiene"

But then I can't see us managing to wear full protective clothing or excluding children who bite and spit (they need to be there as much as anybody else) So not sure what the answer is.

Hoping for some clearer guidance but resigned to the fact that it might not come.

I also have pupils that spit in my class and several that are unable to control their own saliva, as well as pupils that place their hands in their mouths either as part of stimming behaviours or to bite themselves

I genuinely don't even know how to start thinking of an answer but I am sure PPE isn't the way forward as it creates so many barriers for communication and learning

Part of me thinks I'm no more at risk now as I've been dealing with this behaviour from several different pupils for years -but my support staff and teachers that have less challenging behaviours in their classrooms are very concerned

No I can’t imagine PPE is the answer.
It just seems such a gamble, not just with my health (I’m reasonably confident I would cope and recover ok if I caught it) but that of my family, the TAs and other children.
Certainly no easy answer-will see what the additional guidance says and what headteacher comes up with

I think it'll boil down to massive amounts of cleaning.
Personally; wash hands and face every hours or so and use hand gel.
Change clothes at lunchtime and the end of the day.
Hot shower and hair wash as soon as I arrive home every day.

Children: wash their hands every hour or so, clean and disinfect all toys as often as possible.
Be hyper aware of any symptoms and send them home if they show anything.

Classroom: wipe everything down constantly with anti-bac wipes. Plenty of fresh air in the room and go outside as much as possible.

Also, for behaviour, we may have to request that guidance on the use of seclusion is given so that a spitting or biting child can be put in a safe room, with adults on the other side of a door whilst in crisis rather than being held.

Nothing's ideal but we'll have to work with it, for now I think.

I have been carrying on as usual without PPE. I wash my hands frequently and change my clothes when I get home. I will not be wearing a mask or gloves to work with the children.

Our children have become surprisingly ok with PPE [ 2 cohorts -complex autism and pmld]
The PPE will help to protect the children who are very vulnerable otherwise we could have a similar position to the nursery homes

meant nursing homes

Where are you getting PPE? I don’t even have running water in my classroom (old building) and our cleaner is shielding

Sorry late reply - our health authority is supply some. The rest the school is buying at what was exorbitant prices.

My DS is in his small specialist school at the moment and there are maybe 2-3 in each day. It's a PRU though some have learning difficulties and of course many have EHCPs but they all understand they need to keep distance - they have been doing lots of outdoor stuff, DCs working independently and lots of hand washing. DCs in school have a learning pack the same as that sent home so they all have their own kit (we've been sent pencils, play dough, everything, he's not in every day).

I work in the same kind of setting but in Scotland so we won’t be back until August. I was looking after keyworkers children yesterday. It’s impossible to social distance, one boy was very distressed he was seeking comfort, he had his head in my lap and I was giving him a deep pressure massage to try to calm him (it’s in his care plan), I also had to take his hand at transitions, help him eat and do his personal care for him.

We also have a number of children who mouth objects as a sensory need, spit on themselves and the floor and have a few biters too. Unless we had full PPE including face shields and frequent changes of gloves I don’t know how it would work. Some of my children would react really badly to face masks too.

I am really worried about families getting no respite at the moment as well, it’s so difficult for them.

Something to consider is st a guess some of your children arrive by transport often multiple children on same bus /taxi

Know at our school this been flagged up as some of children on transport for 90 mins enclosed space and not all have ability and or understanding when coughing or sneezing to cover face

Yes transport is another issue. Guidance to have max 2 adults per room means we could only have a max of 3 kids in most classes.
I’ve been looking through some photos from ‘before’ and it’s stark how close adults are to the children the majority of the time.

Also the fact that these kids are in and out of hospitals, have carers visiting... the contacts are more risky than other kids.

Some will be shielding so we probably won’t see them for a long time.

It’s so sad

DS school has at least one child coming in a taxi again. Or child, minibus, child in back, escort in the middle, driver at front. Just about 2m but only just!

*One child.
One. I did correct that!