Nanny has plumbed new depths of stupidity by temporarily banning a seven year old blind schoolgirl from using her white cane in school due to health and safety concerns.
Lily-Grace Hooper was told she could not use her cane at Hambrook Primary School in Winterbourne Down near Bristol.
Lily-Grace has been using the lightweight cane in school since April without issue. However, thanks to a risk assessment (pass the sick bag someone) carried out by the school the cane is now regarded as a risk to others, lest they trip up over it.
The school's "solution" is for Lily-Grace to be guided everywhere she walks by adults, and for her to walk "carefully over all surfaces".
How the fuck does that help her learn to be independent?
The school insist that the measure is temporary.
Head teacher Jo Dent is quoted by the BBC:
"The pupil has not been banned from bringing in their cane, we have simply asked them to not use it around school as a temporary measure until we have the chance to meet with the parent and discuss the situation.Okay two things here:
It was initially hoped we would have this resolved within a day or two.
The school's mobility officer raised health and safety issues around the new cane following a recent risk assessment.
We have to consider all of our pupils, so it is important that we have an opportunity to discuss the situation before we make any decisions.
We are very keen to resolve this issue as soon as possible and have been actively seeking to engage with the parent to bring this to an agreeable conclusion."
1 What the fuck is a "mobility officer", and why does a school need one?
2 How does meeting with the parents change the situation wrt Lily-Grace being allowed to use the cane? Either the risk assessment is bollocks or it isn't, a discussion cannot change the validity or otherwise of a risk assessment.....or can it? In other words, the school regards the risk assessment as bollocks and needs a means to bin it.
Nanny and her risk assessments need to be binned!
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It'd have to be a brave parent who tried to sue if their kid tripped over a blind kid's cane and got injured.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it is taking time for the parent of the blind child to come in to discuss this non issue because they are talking to their lawyer with regard to suing the school for breaching the Dis ability Discrimination Act.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem the Head teacher may be one of Nanny's little helpers because, from the quote above, I see she refers to the pupil (singular) as "them" rather than "she." Is it a grammatical error or political correctness namely, not using gender specific pronouns......Either way, I wonder if this person is really of the calibre one would expect from a head teacher and leader of a school.
I too wonder why a school would need a "Mobility Officer" and wonder whether the person who likes to be called an officer is employed by the school or local Nanny? If it is the latter, then I suspect he or she is trying to justify their silly position by finding something to jump all over, of course, the situation has more than likely not arose before because, no sensible person would ever think of raising such a daft issue.
Since you ask, a school only needs a Orientation and Mobility Specialist (commonly known as a Mobility Officer) when they have a visually impaired pupil. They are not employed by the school but are provided by local Sensory Support Units and are there to teach mobility (which means giving instruction to VI children to travel in their environment, often alongside other self-help skills specific to visual impairment which the school would not have the relevant experience to provide).
DeleteI'd also like to point out the the Disability Discrimination Act was repealed half a decade ago and was replaced by the Equalities Act 2010.
My understanding is that the school is well run and delivers good outcomes for learners, so to attack the Head is unwarranted and unfair.
That said, proper discourse would have prevented this becoming a problem and LG would not have been disadvantaged in the way that she has.
Since you ask, a school only needs a Orientation and Mobility Specialist (commonly known as a Mobility Officer) when they have a visually impaired pupil. They are not employed by the school but are provided by local Sensory Support Units and are there to teach mobility (which means giving instruction to VI children to travel in their environment, often alongside other self-help skills specific to visual impairment which the school would not have the relevant experience to provide).
DeleteI'd also like to point out the the Disability Discrimination Act was repealed half a decade ago and was replaced by the Equalities Act 2010.
My understanding is that the school is well run and delivers good outcomes for learners, so to attack the Head is unwarranted and unfair.
That said, proper discourse would have prevented this becoming a problem and LG would not have been disadvantaged in the way that she has.
I thought I'd heard everything, but this really is the limit!
ReplyDelete"Head teacher Jo Dent is quoted by the BBC as saying that the pupil had not been banned from bringing in their cane, but had simply been "asked" not to use it around school as a temporary measure until they school had had the chance to meet with the parent and "discuss" the situation."
"Asked" in this case probably means "ordered or face suspension or expulsion, whilst "Discuss the situation" no doubt equates to "Do as we say...or we'll have you!".
"What the fuck is a "mobility officer", and why does a school need one?"
My guess, Ken, would be some jobsworth appointed by the LEA to poke their noses into other people's business!
In my humble opinion, it would serve the school right if the parents sued them under the Disability Discrimination Act!
Yes, I was going to say thath a mobility officer is someone who teaches cane skills and life skills to visually impaired adults and children. So they are not jobs worths. I'm visually impaired so I know what I'm talking about. I think the issue is the length of the cane but I don't think that's right because when I went to school I had a long cane and I went to mainstream school. The children, teachers and other staff had to look out for me so they wouldn't trip up and if they did it wasn't my fault it was their fault for not looking where they were going. It is they who have the eyes that can see clearly so they should use them. it is the same in this case and I hope the issue is resolved now.
ReplyDeleteHead teacher Jo Dent is quoted by the BBC as saying that the pupil had not been banned from bringing in their cane, but had simply been "asked" not to use it around school as a temporary measure until they school had had the chance to meet with the parent and "discuss" the situation.
ReplyDeletehealth and safety training