My daughter was made clean up another kids vomit in class today.

Maryire · 20-10-2014 8:08pm #1

A child in my daughters class got sick today and a substitute teacher (he normally teaches resource but was their substitute for today) made her and another classmate clean up his vomit. They said they did not want to do it but he said "Just do it, it is the same as cleaning up spilt milk". They were given paper towels and that was it to clean it up. She is 9.

I am so angry and plan to go into the principal in the morning about the incident. She is not very approachable so I would like to know if there are any guidelines from a health and safety perspective that I can quote if she gives me the brush off.

I am so angry about this that I cannot think straight and am likely to blow a fuse when I go there tomorrow.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Mary

Doom · 20-10-2014 8:12pm

Just ask her to show you in the H&S manual where it says kids have to clean up vomit.
Pen a letter to Board of Management and give a copy to the principal too.

Maryire · 20-10-2014 8:23pm

We just got a pamphlet home on Friday on how to deal with issues, firstly we have to approach the teacher and if it is not resolved then go the principal, the BOM etc. She is adamant that this is how it goes and that you cannot send anything to the BOM before going through her first.

I just feel that going to the teacher will be a waste of time since he is not normally her teacher and he will blow it off and probably say "oops, won't happen again".

Not worried that there is any chance of her contracting Ebola or anything but the timing sucks since the kids have been talking about ebola in the schoolyard and she said "isn't that how the person in America got Ebola cleaning up vomit". Like a 9 year old needs to deal with this crap. He just sat there at his desk while they cleaned it up. This happened at lunch time so needless to say she did not eat her lunch and was starving by the time she got home.

seavill · 20-10-2014 10:25pm

Usually best to follow procedure regardless of how you feel it will be handled. You can still go to the principal afterwards if you are not happy with the response you get, however if you go straight to the BOM they will kick it straight back out saying procedure wasn't followed. Same as a grievance procedure in a job

byhookorbycrook · 21-10-2014 12:01am

The agreed procedure is the way to go. Make an appt to see the teacher and try to keep your cool, no matter how cross you feel. If this does not resolve the issue then the next step is to make an appt to talk to the principal. Again, if the issue is not resolved ,then you go to the BOM.
http://www.npc.ie/news-post.aspx?contentid=373

GarIT · 21-10-2014 12:04am

This seems insane to me. I'd be contacting a solicitor, the minister for education and any media that will listen and would refuse to allow my child be under the care of that person ever again.

byhookorbycrook · 21-10-2014 12:10am

GarIT wrote: »

This seems insane to me. I'd be contacting a solicitor, the minister for education and any media that will listen and would refuse to allow my child be under the care of that person ever again.

The DES will refer the OP straight back to the complaints procedure.

GarIT · 21-10-2014 1:05am

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

The DES will refer the OP straight back to the complaints procedure.

DES? I'd see this as a bit more serious than something the school could deal with themselves.

SterlingArcher · 21-10-2014 1:18am

Maybe a roundhouse to the stomach. And when he spews up his innards, tell him not to cry over spilt milk.

Then flip him upside down and mop the place.

But on a serious note. You are right to be annoyed.

percy212 · 21-10-2014 1:27am

Thats not acceptable. Who the hell would make a child clean up vomit. Jebus. Definitely go to the principal. Not on.

laurinjames · 21-10-2014 1:46am

GarIT wrote: »

This seems insane to me. I'd be contacting a solicitor, the minister for education and any media that will listen and would refuse to allow my child be under the care of that person ever again.

HYPERDRAMA !!!
Welcome to insanity then.
Good luck with that.
I think you left out contacting Ban Ki Moon.
You should chain yourself to the dail gates as well.
If you think this is bad, wait till you see what the rest of the real world has in store for you.

On a more serious note : The teacher was wrong, you should not ask anyone to do what you are not prepared to do yourself, and there is a health and safety / hygene issue as well.
I doubt any sub teacher, or anyone new to their job, is the most clued in and experienced person in the world, and gets everything right all day every day.
I'd talk to them first and if they don't see the error of their ways, talk to the principle.

byhookorbycrook · 21-10-2014 11:22am

GarIT wrote: »

DES? I'd see this as a bit more serious than something the school could deal with themselves.

I'm telling you that the Des will not get involved if the complaints procedure is not followed. They will bounce back any complaint that hasn't been through the steps .

As an aside, I sat beside a child in primary who was a serial vomiter and always ended up cleaning it up. I would hope teachers would have the cop nowadays to not ask a child to do so. Obviously not in this case, but I think talks of a solicitor are OTT.

byhookorbycrook · 21-10-2014 3:27pm

"Should I contact the Department about my complaint?

No, Under the Education Act 1998, legally, all schools are managed by the school Board of Management, on behalf of the school patrons or trustees or Education and Training Board (known as the management authority). It is the management authority that employs the school’s teachers and other staff members. In ETB schools, the ETB is the employer. The school principal manages the school on a day to day basis.

As the Department has no role in the employment of staff in schools or schools’ day to day management, a complaint about the child’s school and its staff should be made to the school itself.

Accordingly, whereas the Department provides funding and policy direction for schools, the Department does not have the power to instruct schools to follow a particular course of direction with regard to individual complaint cases.

Who do I contact when making a complaint about my child's school?

If you're worried about your child at school or you have a complaint about the school, your child's class teacher (or tutor) is the best person to approach first for an informal discussion.

If your complaint is about a staff member (excluding the principal), you should contact the school principal.

Complaints regarding the principal should be directed to management authority of the school.

How do I contact my child's teacher or school principal?

They will usually be in the classroom during the day, but you can leave a message with the school office asking the teacher/principal to contact you.

What if I am not happy with the teacher’s response?

If the teacher can't help, or if you are not satisfied with their response, you can talk to the principal of the school (depending on your complaint, a school’s own procedures may ask you to speak to another member of staff before speaking with the principal). You should be able to arrange a meeting or a telephone conversation through the school’s office.

What if I am not happy that the school principal has resolved my problem?

If you can't resolve a problem informally, the school should have a formal complaints procedure that you can follow. This procedure should lay out what you may have to do and how long it should take the school to deal with your complaint.

The standard complaints procedures have been agreed between school management authorities and teacher unions.

Typically, if having spoken with the school principal, you are still not happy that your complaint has been resolved you may contact the chairperson of the school’s management authority. In the case of ETB schools you may contact the Education and Training Board.

If the chairperson cannot resolve your complaint they should discuss the matter at a meeting of the management authority. Check with the chairperson if you should put your complaint in writing. Generally, only those complaints about teachers which are written and signed by parents may be investigated formally by the management authority.

Shortly after reaching its decision, the management authority will let you know its decision on your complaint. This decision ends the school complaints process.

Can anybody else investigate my complaint?

In accordance with the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002, the Office of the Ombudsman for Children provides an independent and impartial complaint handling service. Under section 9 of the Act, the Ombudsman for Children can investigate complaints relating to the administrative actions of a school recognised by the Department of Education and Skills provided the complainant has firstly and fully followed the school’s complaints procedures. The key criterion for any intervention by the Ombudsman for Children is that the action complained of has or may have adversely affected the child."

http://www.education.ie/en/Parents/Information/Complaints-Bullying-Child-Protection-Discrimination/Parental-Complaints.html

Maryire · 21-10-2014 4:00pm

Thanks for the responses. I did follow the proper procedure and I spoke to the teacher involved this morning and after listening to all his bullsh1t he finally said he did not act irresponsibly and apologised. I met the principal as I was walking out of his room and she asked me if everything was ok as she heard "raised voices". I told her what happened and I could see she was a bit taken aback when I told her what happened but who knows what she said to him, I am not going to be privy to that information. She also apologised.

My daughters regular teacher sent home a note with her saying how displeased she was at what happened and she would never ask or expect a student of hers to clean up after somebody else and was sorry about the incident. My daughter said that she called up all that were involved and got their story and she took notes so I am guessing the principal may have asked her to do that.

I doubt that I will hear anything more about it to be honest, but I feel a little better that I got it off my chest and spoke to him and the principal. I am not going to go any further with it as I cannot see what else can be accomplished. He told me he was down on his hands and knees cleaning it up with them which annoyed me making a liar out of my kid, the other kids told their teacher that was not the case when she was asking them what happened so I am relieved that my kid was not lying/exaggerating, at least now it will be known that he was the liar and not her.

Time to move on and hopefully nothing like this will ever be an issue again.

JacquesDeLad · 21-10-2014 5:07pm

Maryire wrote: »

A child in my daughters class got sick today and a substitute teacher (he normally teaches resource but was their substitute for today) made her and another classmate clean up his vomit. They said they did not want to do it but he said "Just do it, it is the same as cleaning up spilt milk". They were given paper towels and that was it to clean it up. She is 9.

That's wrong, obviously.

How would you deal with 10 or more , misbehaving children that weren't yours?

spurious · 21-10-2014 5:16pm

Done and dusted. Thread closed.

My daughter was made clean up another kids vomit in class today.

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