Possible discrimination?????

[dmh9282]

I received a telephone call from my sister in law tonight (19/05/2011). Her daughter (10 years old) has a school trip next year (P7) and she wants to go on it. She has diabetes and has a trained class room assistant (who is going on the school trip) to help her throughout her school day. The school principle spoke to my sister in law and informed her that her daughter couldn't go on the school trip unless one of her parents were to go with her. She has an insulin pump and occasionally her blood sugar levels need to be checked throughout the night.
So my question is should the school be making more of an effort to facilitate my niece going on this school trip without a parent even though the classroom assistant is going as well.

[China Doll]

If something happened to her then the parents would blame the school and it seems a bit unreasonable to expect the assistant to check the blood levels through the night if necessary. Could one of the parents go? That might be a way to get round it. My dad used to volunteer on the school trips/days out etc as an extra hand. Or have they done away with that sort of thing now?

[RATTER15]

To be honest, it sounds like they are trying to accommodate, they just a bit of help from the Mother..

[Eve]

It is likely they are nervous about the implications of something going wrong, not only for the girl but the potential action if something goes wrong. Sign of the compensation culture times!

Maybe they also feel it would be better to manage her diabetes with a parent there who is used to her full time care, not just in a class room. Sounds they they are trying to find a way to help her come and be safe and well too whilst protecting themselves. Better than them just saying she can't come at all.

[askyourgran]

I think the school is right to protect themselves. A child with an illness which needs to be monitored will need that extra bit of attention during the school trip. If anything went wrong the school would be the first in line for a claim for compensation,

[dmh9282]

Thanks for the prompt replies. I think my niece wants a bit of independance from her parents and wants to go away with and stay in a room with her friends. The mum probably won't want to hear any of the answers. So I'll stick my fingers in my ears and pretend I didn't ask the question. I'll let her find out for herself. Thanks again for taking your time.

[welshlibranr]

whether the classroom assistant is going or not, as her parent,I would need to be there too, just to make sure that she is well!..............

[Buenchico]

I'm with the others on this. (i.e. it sounds as if the school is trying to offer a solution while, at the same time,meeting their legal obligations in respect of the welfare of the child).

However I'll just add a relevant note from my own experiences of running residential school trips:
Whenever I organised such trips, I always had a policy of taking at least one parent with us. (Most of the trips were football or cricket tours, and I'd invite at least one of the dads, who regularly supported the teams, to join us). However I was fully aware that the child(ren) of that parent would definitely NOT want to be seen to be 'tied to Dad's apron strings'). There was no way that I would consider putting parent and son into the same room. Dad joined the staff in our room/dormitory and their son(s) joined their mates in their own accommodation.

If your S-I-L (or another responsible relative) can accompany the group, I'm sure that the school would do everything possible to make sure that your niece had an 'independent' experience.

Chris