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stressed parent

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cmills

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Parent of person with diabetes
Hi does anybody on here know the best way to handle my sons school. His 12 yrs old and type 1. Ever since starting secondry school they have been unhelpful to his needs. his attendence dropped due to them sending him home very time his levels risen to the extent that he had 50% by xmas. After having numerous meetings they finally got it that he needed to try and stay inif possible.
I have since received 2 letters in the past couple of days regarding his attendance. He enjoys school, yetit seems to be that they are not prepared to support him/us on this issue :(
 
cmills said:
Hi does anybody on here know the best way to handle my sons school. His 12 yrs old and type 1. Ever since starting secondry school they have been unhelpful to his needs. his attendence dropped due to them sending him home very time his levels risen to the extent that he had 50% by xmas. After having numerous meetings they finally got it that he needed to try and stay inif possible.
I have since received 2 letters in the past couple of days regarding his attendance. He enjoys school, yetit seems to be that they are not prepared to support him/us on this issue :(
Click to expand...

Get in touch with the school governors and the local education authority. I would also be making representation to my local PCT to see if they can help, and then my local MP, pointing out that the school are discriminating against your son, and are in breach of the Equality Act. They have a duty of care towards him and should have trained First Aiders on hand. It is a school after all. Let the school know what you intend to do and you may see a shift in their behaviour.
Good luck.
Kelly.
 
cmills said:
Hi does anybody on here know the best way to handle my sons school. His 12 yrs old and type 1. Ever since starting secondry school they have been unhelpful to his needs. his attendence dropped due to them sending him home very time his levels risen to the extent that he had 50% by xmas. After having numerous meetings they finally got it that he needed to try and stay inif possible.
I have since received 2 letters in the past couple of days regarding his attendance. He enjoys school, yetit seems to be that they are not prepared to support him/us on this issue :(
Click to expand...

Goodness me! I appreciate my son is much older (17) and only diagnosed at almost 16, but he has never been sent home from being too high, only when he was too low in the early days and struggling mentally to cope with it. How do the school know that he is 'too high' and how high is too high?

Has your son been diagnosed long? Is this all new since secondary school or did you have to deal with it at primary school level too?

My son won't even test at school so they wouldn't have a clue of his levels, but following a period of rebellion and changing of his regimes, it is not uncommon for him to be in the high teens when returning from school at the end of the day, but the school wouldn't have had a clue about this. If they did, and followed your son's school's lead, he probably wouldn't have been at school a single day this past term!

Maybe I am being naiive, but what is going to happen in the short term if he is on the high side? I would have thought they would be more inclined to send him home with persistent lows.

It really is unacceptable if it is the school making the decision against his and your wishes. They should stop interfering in my opinion! If he is feeling/appearing truly unwell, then it is a different matter.

Were the school given anything in writing following your son's diagnosis? If so, could they be following that to the letter and maybe taking it a bit too far? Is it maybe time you write (maybe with the assistance of your DSN) a new policy for the school to follow? As you have found out, they are soon on your back if the attendance isn't to their liking as it doesn't look good for their league table figures! Is there a nurse at your son's school? Mine has the modern day equivalent it seems, a first aider, but she is who deals with hypos and was a great point of contact in the early days, informing individual teachers, sorting out exam protocol etc. Might be worth seeing if you can find out who that is and speaking direct, and keep on at that one same person. The trouble with secondary schools is that they are so large that unless you can manage to have one point of contact, information can get lost in the system.

Other than that, I don't know what to suggest I'm afraid, but it isn't acceptable the way they are carrying on. Keep on their backs, they will soon get sick of you!

Good luck.
Tina
 
Just repeating question here...................

How do they know he is high?

Why would they send him home if high?

They should be trying to help him in anyway they can, which would really just be to let him test and treat himself without feeling pressurized or singled out.

I was 15 when diagnosed, was on 2 jags a day back then so no one really knew, apart from teachers and my close friends......🙂
 
The school should have a care plan- which they should fully understand-I would ask your team to arrange a school visit asap - 1 of our nurses went into the school right at the start to check all the teachers were aware- [ which they were not]-he needs to be able to test in class etc mmm I recall being called over anxious by a school secretary! at that first meeting!then she asked if he would ever get better!
 
What does a care plan involve, do the school need to active participate? I wouldn't of thought so, at least in Secondary!

Change days, eh?.....:D
 
Its just a form with the kids photo - condition and I think what to do in different situations etc they have to put it up in the sfaff room for all the staff to see- not long to the new arrival then!
 
Last edited:
delb t said:
Its just a form with the kids photo - condition and I think what to do in different situations etc they have to put it up in the sfaff room for all the staff to see- not long to the new arrival then!
Click to expand...

Not long at all, booked in for c section on the 21st at 7:30am, the first pictures released will be on here.......:D
 
novorapidboi26 said:
Just repeating question here...................

How do they know he is high?

Why would they send him home if high?
Click to expand...

That's what I'm wondering. Maybe you should have a word with the DSN, see if she has any good suggestions. Hopefully, he/she can go into school and teach them the basics.
A careplan is a good idea. Carol has a general one and she has a special one concerning GCSE exams too
 
I agree with others, School is trying to help but is not ! If it was me they wouldnt know what bg was. & NOT be in control 😱. Realy hope this gets sorted, good luck 😉
 
Hi

It's not good enough that he is missing that much school. I would involve DSN to meet with school and get a tight care plan in place as others have suggested. One that gives appropriate strategies for high BGs, other than sending him home fgs! 🙄

Try CWD website for more ideas re: careplans and schools. Best of luck 🙂
 
I was asked to go to school and collect my 12 year old daughter when she tested high just last week. This was in the middle of a period when we were battling constant highs and it turned out to be the insulin. I had phoned to update the school as they were aware of the problems earlier that week and was flabbergasted when they went to speak to my daughter to find out her last test and sent her home because it was high! My daughter was testing regularly and correcting and was really upset to be sent home. The head of year said with 400 other children to care for they could not risk my daughter 'slipping through the net'. I learnt from that not to tell the school too much!
 
I dont understand why are they sending them home if they are high? My daughter is at Nursery I allowed them to test her and give her correction (insulin) if she is high so why can't they?
 
I wouldnt like that Ruthe ! Its bad enuogh with trained peeps 😉
 
I used to go in Nursery to give her injections for 6 months until DSN trained 3 staffs, I'm happy with them and they will call if any problem. Is it trust issue or staffs not trained that you have a problem with?
 
stressed mum

Thank you to everybody who has replied it has been a great support and help. In reply to some of your questions, he has had type 1 for nearly 3 yrs and the school situation only since going into secondary school,(18 months or so). He has a care plan, and has test kit and insulin in school. Im attending a meeting next week and hope to get everything sorted. Yet only this week I have since found out the exercise can make blood sugar levels go up as well as down (this could explain the highs). thankyou again to everyone and good luck to those that are due babies 🙂
 
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