SGO latest....

[Ignatious]

So,... My children are currently on a SGO.

My youngest daughter had an accident at school, ultimately resulting in stitches to her forehead.

I have only just found out about this at my 3 monthly scheduled letterbox contact.

Should the school have contacted me?
Should the SG's have contacted me sooner?

Schools own policy is and I quote :-
First Aiders will:
• Provide attention to individuals as required.
• If the situation requires further medical intervention, arrange for the Ambulance
Service to called and stay with the patient until they arrive.
• Ensure parents are to be informed of a head injury.

Currently I have issues with the schools stance,.. always deferring to 'contact the special guardians'.

I know NOTHING about the incident. When it happened, How it happened, If she was transported to hospital or if the SG's were called and they took her. What protective measures are or have been put in place to ensure it doesn't happen again (to my or to another child).

Ignatious

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Ignatius,

Welcome to the parents' board and thank you for your post.

Firstly, I am sorry to hear about your daughter's injury and I hope she is recovering well.

You say that your daughter sustained an injury that required stitches at school and that you were informed of this at your 3 monthly scheduled letterbox contact? It would be helpful to know why your contact is restricted to letterbox contact.

You would like to know if the school or special guardian should have contacted you sooner. The school's policy says that
a parent should be informed of a head injury - as the special guardian has parental responsibility and is your child's main carer, the school may view contacting them as a sufficient response. If you do not have a good relationship with the special guardian, and would like to be informed of a significant injury in the future, I suggest that you request this in writing to the school and highlight that you still have parental responsibility for your child.

The special guardian has overriding parental responsibility for your child and should make decisions in your child's best interests. Ideally, the special guardian and child's parent will have a good relationship with effective communication. However, the special guardian is not necessarily obliged to share information with you sooner than they have done in a circumstance like this. If you are able to, I would advise that you ask the special guardian to share information about injuries in the future sooner than they have done in this case. If you would like some assistance in communicating with the special guardian, you can contact your local authority's special guardianship team and request an assessment of your needs, which may include facilitating improved communication/family mediation.

I hope you have found this helpful.

Best wishes,

Suzie.