How bad was this potential safeguarding incident?

[veryfrustratedteacher]

I am upset and worried about something that happened - or rather, nearly happened. I feel I cannot say anything because it was senior leaders and it's a small school where everyone is great friends.

Please bear with, this is long.

Myself (teacher) and my TAs were told by two separate senior leaders that we would be having a meeting with the SENCO from 10-10.30 about a child. This was during assembly and my class's playtime - clearly organised so it didn't disturb classtime and I would be back to teach my next lesson.

The SENCO teaches her own class. We turned up and waited 5 minutes for her to leave her class, then she had to print things off for us. It was 10:15 by the time we started the actual meeting.

At just gone half past, I started twitching because it was clear we weren't finished yet and I knew the children would be coming back into class from play and there would be no one there. The SENCO said it's ok, the Deputy Head (also a teacher) was going to bring the children in and settle them. However, I just felt uneasy and went to check, because the Deputy had her own class to be teaching. The Deputy Head wasn't there, but her TA was. I told her we won't be long. Well, we were another 45 minutes. When I got back, it was chaos.

My Year 1 class is difficult and there are two very challenging children with significant behavioural problems. Both need 1:1s. The poor level 2 TA was left on her own with them for 45 minutes, which I think is unacceptable and a safeguarding issue.

What I find worse is that the TA told me that the Deputy hadn't asked her to cover the class. The Deputy had never turned up or passed on a message. The TA had been passing randomly, popped her head in to say hello to me, saw the children were alone, and stayed to look after them.

If that TA hadn't gone past, and I hadn't gone to check, that vulnerable and challenging class of young children would have been on their own for 45 minutes. God knows what might have happened.

So my issues here are that the SENCO wasn't prepared for the meeting, she wrongly predicted how long it would take and didn't sort appropriate cover.
Then, that the Deputy clearly 'forgot' that she was meant to supervise my class.
This Deputy has numerous other situations where she hasn't been professional.

Am I over-reacting? Is this as unacceptable as I think? I mentioned it to another teacher and they said 'these things sometimes happen in school'.

I think it's very poor from those you've mentioned (deputy and SENCO) but I'm surprised that you didn't think to arrange with someone what would happen if your meeting overran . Those sorts of meetings nearly always run over the allotted time so I think the onus was on you to have a back up plan in case you were late back.

The main issue is that the SENCo didn't adequately plan for the meeting, and that meant that appropriate time wasn't allocated and cover wasn't put in place, however as a class teacher you're also responsible for cover in my opinion.

It's one thing for a colleague to bring a class in and settle them for a few minutes whilst their teacher has been delayed (what the SENCO said) and quite another to be landed with a class when you're meant to be teaching your own because nobody in the meeting made appropriate plans (what actually happened because no teacher can be in 2 classes at once).

Of course I might be rude, but if meetings are overrunning and I have a class to get back to I ask for an update on the agenda as "I have to return to class in 10 minutes and want to make sure I've given all relevant contributions". The fact you knew your class weren't covered, were at best being babysat, and you stayed for 45 minutes is on you.

The fact that a TA arrived to a class of unsupervised children is an issue i would be raising, but I think you also need to take responsibility for some of the situation.

I think this was very poor management from your senior leaders. Firstly, I think it’s a bit of an ask to expect you to meet during playtime - I’d never expect my staff to do that. Secondly, it’s not acceptable that the SENCo wasn’t ready for the meeting and wasted your valuable time. Thirdly, if senior staff are asking to meet with you during class time, then they should be arranging appropriate cover, which clearly wasn’t the case. This poor management could easily have resulted in a safeguarding issue and the school could’ve had a problem on their hands if something had happened and there wasn’t correct supervision. Presumably 45 minutes of learning was also lost?

In that scenario I would have either left the meeting at 10.30 or sent the TAs back to class. You didn't all need to stay, one could have updated the others.

I think you ALL messed that up really. Fortunately nothing DID happen, so just have a better plan for next time.

Just to be clear, in my school it is always SL who organise cover - most especially if it is for a meeting they have organised.

I suppose I should have been firm and said I need to go back, can we finish this another time? but I find that a very difficult thing to say to a SL. Looking back, I should have just said it. So I guess some onus is on me.

Also yeah, the children lost out on their maths lesson.

Also the SENCO specifically wanted all of my class team there. So I didn't think she'd be impressed if one of us left.

@veryfrustratedteacher

Just to be clear, in my school it is always SL who organise cover - most especially if it is for a meeting they have organised.

I suppose I should have been firm and said I need to go back, can we finish this another time? but I find that a very difficult thing to say to a SL. Looking back, I should have just said it. So I guess some onus is on me.

Also yeah, the children lost out on their maths lesson.

I think that’s right OP. The onus is on the senior leaders who have taken you out of class, to arrange cover. I don’t think you are at fault. I suppose the only thing you could have done was to say you were worried about the class, as the meeting progressed.

Of course it wasn't the OPs responsibility to organise cover! SLT should have had it sorted out.

It wasn't on the OP to arrange cover. However, she went to check on her class and knew the situation they were in wasn't satisfactory. In that scenario, I would have said the meeting needed to be adjourned. I am SLT though, I can see that a more junior member of staff might not have as much confidence to do that.

2reefsin30knots
That's what I'd have done.
How was the SENCO to know the class weren't being appropriately supervised if nobody told them?

A teacher seeing their class inappropriately supervised and going back into a meeting for 45 minutes isn't on the SENCO, unless the teacher said to the SENCO "my class weren't covered, and a level 2 TA is currently sitting with them but I'm concerned about he behaviour. What would you like to do in this situation?" and the SENCO said it was fine.

But I know I'm quite confident and haven't got the patience for disorganised SLT.

Oh I should mention, the TA who was with the class is very capable, but I don't feel anyone should be left alone with that class regardless, and especially a level 2 who is not paid to do that duty.

I do really wish I'd had the confidence to say I wasn't happy, looking back, but the Senco was plowing ahead and I just felt relieved that at least the class wasn't alone.

No it isn't a big safeguarding incident. It is an everyday fuck up. Ultimately the kids were not alone so going down that route is not worth it. It sounds like a miscommunication. If the meeting was supposed to be short and you were supposed to be teaching your class you shouldn't have left them for 45 mins on a vague the deputy will settle the class. Settling and bringing in because you might be 5 mins late is not 45 mins in any case. I think you shouldn't have stayed in the meeting.

I agree, it's difficult to say this was a safeguarding issue as the children were supervised, albeit badly. You're not to blame, but going forward your class probably need you to stand up for them a bit more and be politely assertive about managing overrunning meetings.