# Saying a big hello to the Diabetes UK Forum.



## Stell (Oct 1, 2019)

Hello, I'm a parent of 5 year old who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes back in July last year.
It's been quite a journey so far.


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## Stell (Oct 1, 2019)

I have a question for members of this forum. My 5 year old's school is insisting finger pricks should be carried out outside the classroom. She is beginning to find this upsetting as it excludes her from activities. Have other members experienced this and what is the implication for hypos/severe hypos?


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## Ljc (Oct 1, 2019)

Stell said:


> I have a question for members of this forum. My 5 year old's school is insisting finger pricks should be carried out outside the classroom. She is beginning to find this upsetting as it excludes her from activities. Have other members experienced this and what is the implication for hypos/severe hypos?


Hello welcome to the forum 
I am sorry to hear your daughter is being treated this way.  Have you been given the reason  why they do this.
Personally I would challenge this and if they still insist on treating your daughter like this , it must be very upsetting for her , then get hour daughters DSN involved , you may however feel it best to get the DSN involved straight away.


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## Ljc (Oct 1, 2019)

Just had another thought what on earth would they do when your daughter has a hypo .


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## Stell (Oct 1, 2019)

Thank you so much for your reply Lin. I'm contacting the DSN right now!


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## Ljc (Oct 1, 2019)

Stell said:


> Thank you so much for your reply Lin. I'm contacting the DSN right now!


I do hope your DSN resolves this quickly  as it really seems the school needs some urgent education.

Please let us know how you  get on


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## Stell (Oct 1, 2019)

Yes Lin. I'm wondering about Hypos too.


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## Northerner (Oct 1, 2019)

Stell said:


> I have a question for members of this forum. My 5 year old's school is insisting finger pricks should be carried out outside the classroom. She is beginning to find this upsetting as it excludes her from activities. Have other members experienced this and what is the implication for hypos/severe hypos?



Hi Stell, welcome to the forum  She shouldn't be excluded or made to feel any different from her classmates. I would imagine that @Bronco Billy and/or @Sally71 have some information about what you should expect from her school, so hopefully they will be along to help out 

What insulin is she using? Has she been offered a Freestyle Libre system, which can replace many blood tests? (It's a sensor which sticks on the arm and you can then just wave a hone or scanner over it, through colthes, for a reading - far easier to achieve in class than a messy finger prick  Also, if you don't already have a copy, I would highly recommend getting Type 1 Diabetes in Children Adolescents and Young People by Ragnar Hanas, which is the 'bible' covering all aspects of living with Type 1 and immensely helpful and well-written


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## Stell (Oct 1, 2019)

Hi Northerner. She has a medtronic 640 pump and therefore only needs a few fingerpricks. I contacted the PDSN and she gave me her full support.  I've got the Hanas. Great book. thanks for your support.


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## Bronco Billy (Oct 1, 2019)

Hi Stell

Your daughter should not be made to leave the classroom or anywhere else to test. She should be able to test where she is. These situations usually arise because the school don’t know what they are required to do and often have reasons that have the child’s interests at heart, even though the opposite is the case in reality. Consequently, they are usually fairly easy to resolve. The link below is for the statutory guidance that all schools (except independent schools) are required to abide by.

https://assets.publishing.service.g...-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions.pdf

Elements of the guidance worth noting and making the school aware of are:

Page 4 – the key points paragraphs
Page 5 – para 1 of the introduction
Page 7 – paras 5 and 6
Page 11 – section 14
Page 25 – unacceptable practice. This is intended as advice rather than telling schools what they should do. Between you and I, the school probably won’t realise that, so don’t tell them that bit. It can be our little secret

An absolutely crucial part of how then school support your daughter is the care plan. Has she got one and what does it say about testing? The care plan should take into account not only your wishes, but your daughter’s as well.

You are right to be concerned about hypos. What the school may not realise is that it can be dangerous for a child with a hypo to move anywhere as their body doesn’t have enough glucose to supply the muscles with the energy they need to move. This can lead to serious consequences for the health and safety of the child.

If you have any further questions about the guidance or want me to go into more depth about any of it, please feel free to message me. 

Take care


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## Stell (Oct 2, 2019)

A big thank you for this. I've asked the school for their 'medical conditions policy' but I don't think they have one. The headmistress is less than impressive and is always telling us how she has to consider the welfare of other pupils. We were told last year that our daughter couldn't do 'holiday club' at half term and that they would review it this year. The headmistress told my wife last year that after looking into all the insurance and other concerns they could in fact take our daughter into the school! that's who we're dealing with... Thank s again for the support and my wife and I look forward to giving help on this forum as much as taking.


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## Bronco Billy (Oct 2, 2019)

If the school hasn’t got a medical conditions policy, that’s a failure for a start! Try not to worry, there are other tools at your disposal. I’ll post a more detailed response this evening. Meanwhile, would you mind messaging me the name of the school (don’t do it here), and I can look at the website to see what I can find?


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## Stell (Oct 2, 2019)

Hi. Thanks again. how do I message you? I really don't want the school's name public. All the best. Stell.


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## Ljc (Oct 2, 2019)

Stell said:


> Hi. Thanks again. how do I message you? I really don't want the school's name public. All the best. Stell.


@Stell . One way is, click on the persons name under their avatar then on the flag that pops up click on start a conversation.


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## SB2015 (Oct 2, 2019)

Welcome to the forum @Stell , sorry to hear that your daughter’s school is not yet on the ball with regard to her diabetes.  I hope that the PDSN can provide some help.  

It may be that the teachers do not understand the impact of hypos and how urgent it is for us to test and treat.  There is certainly no time to wander off to a school office, and will cause no problem to be done in the classroom.  

The attitude of the headteacher to your daughter attending holiday club is worrying and needs to be addressed, and as @Bronco Billy says they are required to have a medical conditions policy.  There should also be an individual care plan in place for your daughter, and all staff in the school should be aware of this.

As you no doubt know, with the proper approach by the school, T1 does not need to cause any issues, but they school needs to be prepared to manage hypos and hypers.

Let us know how things progress.


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## Stell (Oct 2, 2019)

Hi SB2015. Thank you. The school has just sent me their 'medical conditions policy'. The school generally is fine. the problem is the headmistress. When I emailed her about my daughter's need to be tested in the class she responded with the statement that the school 'will not be changing these arrangements'. I told her to contact our PDSN. We'll see.


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## Bronco Billy (Oct 2, 2019)

@Stell You can also message me in the same manner you did yesterday.


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## Stell (Oct 2, 2019)

Bronco Billy said:


> @Stell You can also message me in the same maanner you did yesterday.


Cheers. The school finally sent me their 'medical conditions policy' today (You can't find it on their website). So they do have one. My wife and I are having a meeting with the headmistress and the SENco soon. The care plan for our 5 year old contradicts the headmistress's statement that by taking our daughter out of the class for testing they are following the plan. She is also taken out of assembly which upsets her and her older sister who watches her leave. What legally can we do if the headmistress - as I fear she will - still insists our daughter must be taken out of the class? It seems so obvious to me that moving someone having a hypo is a bad idea.


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## Bronco Billy (Oct 2, 2019)

I have news for the school; the arrangements *have *to change! Type 1 diabetes is classified as a disability under the Equalities Act 2010. By excluding your daughter from school activities because of her disability, the school is breaking the law. It is also worth pointing out that the last point of the unacceptable practice I mentioned previously states:

_“prevent children from participating, or create unnecessary barriers to children participating in any aspect of school life, including school trips, e.g. by requiring parents to accompany the child.” _

If testing in the classroom is mentioned in the care plan and the school has signed the plan, the school have then agreed she can do it and this is what must happen_. _

The go-to document when heads are being particularly difficult is the reasonable adjustments guidance, which is part of the Equality Act.  You can find more information about it at https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/l...e-reasonable-adjustments-for-disabled-people/ I can send you the full document if you fancy a bit of bedtime reading. If you want more advice about this, please let me know.

Is your daughter taken out of assembly because she needs to test or for another reason? Does it happen regularly? What reason is being given? I’d still like to look at the school’s other policies if that’s ok. Sometimes, there are parts of other policies e.g. health and safety, that can be of use to parents in these situations. 

If necessary, you can escalate it to the governors, but maybe wait and see what the result of the meeting with the head and SENCO is. I’m sure you will prepare thoroughly for the meeting. Go into it armed with the evidence that backs up what you say, including legal quotes. Have a plan for the direction you want the meeting to go in and make sure you stick to it, don’t let the head follow her agenda.

If it helps, you can tell the head that the advice you’re getting from me is from someone who volunteered for the Diabetes UK care in school helpline, so I have been trained in these matters.


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## Stell (Oct 2, 2019)

This is a great help Bronco. My daughter has as far as we know been taken out of assembly for testing. This has happened a few times. She is certainly always taken out of class whenever she is tested. This has included times when she has had hypos. If I type the school's name in this space can anyone else see it? I'm really new to this stuff.


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## Bronco Billy (Oct 2, 2019)

Anything you write here can be seen. If you click on my name and select the ‘start a conversation’ option, that will be private and only you and I will be able to see it.


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## SB2015 (Oct 3, 2019)

Stell said:


> Hi SB2015. Thank you. The school has just sent me their 'medical conditions policy'. The school generally is fine. the problem is the headmistress. When I emailed her about my daughter's need to be tested in the class she responded with the statement that the school 'will not be changing these arrangements'. I told her to contact our PDSN. We'll see.



Out of interest, where does she expect your daughter to go?  Who to, how far, and who with?
If they are sending her off with a friend, are they expecting another pupil to deal with the hypo if it becomes a problem!!  If I have a hypo I purposely make sure that I am with others, and don’t go away on my own.
I shall be interested to hear what happens.

I go into local schools, as a volunteer for DUK, and do lessons with pupils (and staff) which, through an active lesson, explains different types of Diabetes.  There may be similar volunteers in your area.


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## Stell (Oct 3, 2019)

Hi. My daughter goes off with a TA who is fully trained and is really on the ball. The problem is with the headmistress. The rest of the school is great. Thankf for your concern.


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## C&E Guy (Oct 4, 2019)

You should have spoken with the Headmistress/Teachers before the term started.

It's a long time ago (before the days of finger pricking) but when I started school, I'd been Type 1 for 16 months), my dad went and spoke with the staff mainly around my requirement to eat at certain times and just to "make them aware". He also explained about my having to get time off for clinic appointments.

Fortunately, I never had a hypo at school - just at home.


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## Stell (Oct 4, 2019)

Hi C&E Guy. we did speak with the Headmistress/ Teachers before the term started. We discussed all our daughter's requirements with the help of our hospital team. We have a care plan signed for by the school. The headmistress has simply chosen to ignore what the care plan says which is an act of non-compliance.


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