Playtime

[cuddlepop]

Did anyone catch the news at lunchtime today.?
Reporting Scotland were highlighting the lack of playtime for kids who are autistic in a special unit attached to a local primary school in Wick.Council's arguement is that they have know budget to cover supervised break times .
Our kids get supervised playtimes at primary level but at secondary there is a pupil who has had know playtime for three years.:mad:
Surely these are discrimination issues?

[Naefearjustbeer]

Didnt see the news but that sounds terrible. Some kids that require particlar educational needs are being let down at the proper unit. Yet others that need it are being kept in mainstream classes. Start sacking some of the high heid yins at the council and that will free up some cash to pay for the folk needed to actually do the jobs that are in short supply.

[changilass]

I think if that were my child, I would be heading down to the school or, if we were both working I would be paying for someone to go through Disclosure Scotland checks and paying them to supervise the kids during their break rather than having them sat in watching all the other kids playing through the window, poor wee souls.

[3boys4me]

Hi there I have had my fair share of dealing with Highland Councils Education department and unless you screAM at the top of your lungs, they do nothing. They were going to leave my child last year with vey little speech wit someone who hadn't gotten a chance to know him because of contracts. We got our way a bit after being on the cover of the caithness courier but it took that and an article in the p&J before they would even hold a meeting with us. They have no concern for common sense or children's well being, all that is of concern is the money in their pocket. Something needs to change, good for them for going on the radio etc, I wish them all the luck and shout as loud as you can!

[cuddlepop]

Its probably going to be on the Scottish national news on BBC 1 tonight.
There was two interviews with parents.Perhapse the parents involved should contact there local councillor.Highland Council dont like it when they get involved.
We got Mr Kennedy involved over here and he was more than helpful.
Like you say though you've got to scream and shout for your kids to get them anything.
I'm effectively "black listed " for support work for them as I have witnessed "bad practice" as opposed to good.
When my child leaves education then I'll go to the papers,their too terrified things will be made more difficult for them if their still there:mad:

[pat]

Heard it and could not believe this is allowed to happen to children in autism spectrum. It would not happen to prisoners as they can and do voice their greivances, attention is paid and things sorted.
These children are often unable to express their feelings and emotions, they know something is different but often find it difficult or impossible to tell, write or express what is bothering them and for these children to be shut away is unbelieveable, back to the dark ages where anything different was shut away.
My pal has a son in the autistic range, they have a continual battle to ensure he is part of the class and not excluded from any things due to his autism. It is a continual struggle for this little boy, extremely intelligent, but as he says "my brain works slightly differently to some people, I can understand at my age lots of things they cannot understand when they are adults. I have my view of the world and they have a different view."
If someone has shouted at him at school, it can take a long time before you find out - but you can tell from his behaviour that something has happened, it can weeks or months for him to tell you why he perhaps stopped or started doing something. When he explains why, they check, the child has been treated incorrectly at that time and witnessed by other people who let it pass but when questioned admit what did happen.
An autism spectrum child does not usually know how to tell untruths - so out of the mouths of babes comes the truth.
Much success in acquiring the correct care package.

[cuddlepop]

Well they did show the clip again on the news on BBC 1 but there was nothing on North tonight.
So much for local news.:eek:

[Moby]

It was interesting to see that the Highland council had no representative - they have been aware of this problem since November last year - surely that was long enought to prepare a statement!:roll:

[cuddlepop]

This problem appears to be Highland wide.
Maybe there hoping its that "big boy again and he ran away";)

[Moby]

Does anyone know what the hourly rate of pay is for a support/auxilliary worker? 2 playtimes a day - thats 30 minutes x 5 days a weeks - surely it can't cost too much to provide the kids with a playground assistant - probably cost a great deal less than the risk assessment that has put a stop to the playtimes in the first place. Surely this must be an infringement of their human rights???

[cuddlepop]

Lets just say it £5.70.I done it a few years back and I think then it was £5 56 an hour.
Its not that expensive and anyway its their right to go out and play.Plenty money is being spent on lanuage support assistants for the Polish kids:mad:

[golach]

Plenty money is being spent on lanuage support assistants for the Polish kids:mad:
How much exactly is being spent on language support?

[cuddlepop]

Golach I'm not sure of the figuere but i'm sure Highland wide its over £100 000.for this financial year.
Highland has the greatest percentage of Polish immigrants into their area and they have to provide support for these kids as English is not their first lanuage.
You ask any parent of an Autistic child and they'll tell you English isn't theirs either.:eek: :mad:

[brandy]

i do know we are 2 speach therapists down.. because my little boy is desprate in need for speech therapy..
im a bit confused here..
when the kids are out on the play ground is the teacher not with them?
surley kids are not let out on their own?
dont they have to be supervised at all times?
what the dif. between being in the class room and being outside?

[cuddlepop]

Brandy you should have a general playground supervisor who is responsilble for so many kids.Janitor usually carries out this duty too.
Autistic kids can require one to one support especially in open conditions.
I think that's where the problem arises.
The classroom assistants require a breaktime too so maybe this could be resolved just by timetabling breaks.
I've seen parent's volunteer to supervise playtime just so there kids get out.

[brandy]

so the children are not allowed outside on thier own?
are autistic children in the mainstream schools, or are they in a special class, suited to their needs?
is there any way to get volunteers to suprevise play time for autistic children?
and if so, is there any way to give them training and get them thru the disclosure thing, so that they would be able to work with the children, and have the training they needed to work one on one with autistic children?
there are loads of volunteer groups, surley if we could get the people willing to help out for free, then the council could provide training and help getting it started?
after all its not like its hours a day.. and would only amount to a few hours a week. and it would be such a worthy cause.

[sdgf]

Yes it is an infringement of a childs right's not to let them out to play - the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child says so. This is quoted in Highland Council's own Play Strategy document "All to Play For".

One of the key objectives of this strategy is "Encouraging Outdoor Play".

The strategy is actually very good - its just the implementation that's not so hot in the case of the children at CEYAC.

The problem at CEYAC is one of funding for additional staff - not the lack of people willing to do the job. Highland Council appear to be unwilling to find the necessary funds despite being at odds with their own strategy.

This is in effect discrimination as the amounts of money we are talking about is in no way unreasoanble to allow the strategy to be implemented.

If you feel strongly about this or anything else regarding Highland Council, get on to your own councillor, your MP, MSP, the media or phone or write to the council directly.

The Highland Council is a public service paid for by you and accountable to you. It might not look that way and the people who run it might not like to think that way but it is.

It's your money they're spending. If you went and bought a pair of trousers, got them home and found they had three legs you wouldn't just think "Ah well, there's nothing can be done about it". Why should the services you buy off the council be any different?

[Moby]

There was a letter in the local paper last week, it stated:

"While the centre remains understaffed, outreach work by CEYAC staff to support children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in mainstream primaries has dwindled from 2.5 days a week to practically nothing."

I found this quite shocking - I thought supported integration, wherever possible, into the mainstream system would be vital.

[cuddlepop]

Agree totaly that the right of any child to play is enshrined in the 'EC Rights of the Child' but further in this specific case, it is also covered in the D D Act and the Ed Scot Act. Too often we here the story not enough cash is the excuse. No doubt that education budgets have been cut and that priorities have to be prioritiesed (that sounds like HC speak) but letting kids out to play? There has been talk of volunteers being trained to undertake this task, but again that is just a cop out. HC are legally obliged to provide this service end of story. If they want to use volunters thats their perogative, but surely training and paying people is a far better answer. Of course we must remember that with autistic children (and adults) continuity and familiarity are the keys to success. A different volunteer turning up each day will possibly have more of a negative effect, perhaps not in school but in the evening when they come home having had a disruppted routine.

Again, HC produce a lot of policies that are paid lip service to, misinterpreted by staff and often ignored or worse not communicated to staff.

One more thought. who is supervising the kids as they look out the window watching their peers play?