My son fell and hit his head at school but we weren't told, how do i approach this?

scottishchick27

apesxx wrote: »

i would talk to the school about it. You should have been told. My DD comes home with a bumped head letter from school near enough weekly lol. The letter we usually get just has advice about what to watch out for and what to do if any of the symptops arise and then it has a bit for the teacher to write how, where and date too.

They have something very similar at DS's nursery too.

Mine too, I'm thinking of buying her a crash helmet for break times

JimmyTheWig

Mojisola wrote: »

That's not good enough. If a child has had an accident, particularly a bump on the head, a member of staff should tell whoever comes to collect the child.

I agree. It's not the child's responsibility to tell their carers / remember to pass on letters. If letters aren't getting home about something important like this then they need a different way of communicating.

Can't remember where it was (preschool, possibly) but they had a system where a child would get a "I bumped my head today" sticker, so even if the staff forgot to pass the message on then the parents would still know.


To answer the original question, comments should go to the class teacher in the first instance. If they don't give a decent enough answer or it happens again then raise it with the stage leader, deputy head, head, chair of governors - in that order. Missing out either the stage leader or the deputy is fine but it needs to go via the head before you can go to the governors.

It may just be the case that some parents aren't as interested in hearing these things as others. So it may just be that you need to make them aware that you, at least, want to be told about such incidents.

andygb

I would suggest getting to/contacting the school, and ask why it was not dealt with correctly, because from what you have said, it was more than just a slight bump on the head.

jen007

My sons school has a policy of if a child hits their head, then they phone parents and inform them. Then it's up to the parent on what to do, but usually the teacher/first aider will say the child is fine and will be observed closely for the rest of the day.

Maysie

They use the sticker and letter system at our school. Quite handy as they do forget but if we see the sticker we know to look for a letter or ask them. School phone if they think there is any need to see a doctor.

Sounds like you had a lacklustre reply thats not good enough.

heartbreak_star

I'm a sports coach, not a teacher, and I report back to the parents if their kids have complained about so much as a sore finger!

I think you've been fobbed off.

HBS x

michelefauk

I also think its not acceptable. At our school, if it happened at lunchtime, the playground supervisor would have give the class teacher a Head Letter (which are on bright yellow paper so they don't get mixed up with anything else) and the class teacher would have physically given it to the parent or carer at home time along with a brief discussion about what happened. If the child is going to the After School club, the same procedure is followed with the letter being given to the After School Supervisor and the parent would also be telephoned to inform them, as children are notoriously unreliable at passing on messages!
It would also be in the Accident Book.

I think you need to have another word, maybe with the Head this time, and ask about their policy on children's injuries as it doesn't sound as though it is being followed.
Hope your son is ok

FBaby

OP, in my kids' school, parents only get letter if children have gone to the medical person in charge. They will then make an assessment and the letter will follow. The decision as to whether a child need medical assessment depends on all the factors, but mainly how the child is acting. If the child is in tears, holding his head, saying that it hurts, and feels a bump, then he will be sent immediately. If however the child is laughing, saying X kick me and I fell down, but when asked if it hurts they respond 'not really', then they won't be overly concern just keep on eye on them.

As for the sickness...it is very doubtful it has anything to do with it. Sickness due to head injury means a serious blow to the brain and if the doctor had been concerned it was related, he would have sent him immediately to A&E.

katie1812

At the school I work at, we log every accident and give out 'bumped head' stickers for the child to wear on their uniform, with the date and time written on, so it is obvious if anything more serious happens as an after effect.

Also, for any injury that was caused by a pupil being unkind (ie. actually meaning to do it) is noted in the pupil's contact book so their parent/carer knows.

I would ask to speak to the class teacher and hopefully they will be able to help you, and possibly the headteacher just asking what the policy with injuries is as this is not acceptable!

jellyhead

FBaby wrote: »

As for the sickness...it is very doubtful it has anything to do with it. Sickness due to head injury means a serious blow to the brain and if the doctor had been concerned it was related, he would have sent him immediately to A&E.

I have clumsy children and they've been sent to A&E when they've been sick after a head injury. It's never been any more serious than concussion but they do need to check their ears, eyes etc. for a while.

I'd be more concerned that they let your child come to school less than 24 hours after vomiting, to be honest!

But that's not the issue - any head injury could potentially lead to complications and you really should have had a note. At our school the staff put the note directly into the child's bag, because children can't be relied upon to bring all notes home or check their tray. For a head injury, especially when they are young and might forget to tell you, a teacher also speaks to the parent about it.

Something's gone wrong somewhere, and I hope you get a satisfactory response.