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Papito September 22, 2020 11:39

It's the start of a new year in school, back to full classes, staggered drop off and pick up times and all that brings its own problems for our children. It definitely does for ours.

My question is about a yearly recurring event though. Every year we have to fill in a "Consent for regular & local non-hazardous, off-school-site activities (EDVIS13)" form. One question on there reads: "My child has the following lifelong condition or disability"

I never fill anything in there, but always wonder if I should mention developmental trauma and attachment difficulties.

Earlier questions on the form already talk about

"my child has a condition requiring regular medical treatment or medication",
"any illness, accident or injury suffered by your child which staff should be aware off"
and "my child suffers from the following allergies",

all of which are mostly on the physical side, before "My child has the following lifelong condition or disability" comes up.

What do other parents do? Just curious.

Thank you!

Edited 17/02/2021

Serrakunda27 September 22, 2020 19:49

If it was something that might effect their ability to participate fully or if they would need support I would include it. I only included ASD as, in case of incident/accident then its the only thing that could be a factor.

I think its partly an insurance issue.If something happened and there were things the staff didn’t know about the child there may a liability issue.

Edited 17/02/2021

Papito September 24, 2020 07:25

Thanks Serrakunda. Our children always need support, also on school trips, but I won't bring it up specifically on the form then. I don't want to open up a can of worms, where the school becomes reluctant to take them on a trip. In the past they have sometimes asked one of us parents to join the trip to support one of our children. That was/is fine, but I want to make sure our children aren't excluded from trips.

Edited 17/02/2021

Lettice September 24, 2020 10:20

It's not OK to exclude any child from trips. If there's a recognised need for additional support, then it might be helpful to have it noted on the form in advance. Then it is formally documented and you have something to refer back to if an issue arises later with inclusion on school trips.

Also, it might be helpful from a safety viewpoint. Developmental trauma and attachment can typically affect a child's ability to absorb instructions addressed to a large group. I found outward-bound type instructors would often pitch their safety briefings way over my child's head.

.... and you can't keep worms in cans for very long.... in my experience....

Edited 17/02/2021

Safia September 24, 2020 10:27

Personally I would include it on the form as it potentially affects every aspect of your child’s schooling and is then something you can refer back to at any point when anything comes up. Also it serves as a way of educating the school or alerting them to the need for further training. I agree with Lettice - it is not acceptable to exclude a child from trips - possibly illegal - and they need to be alerted to any special accommodations needed when planning

Edited 17/02/2021

Papito October 8, 2020 13:52

Thanks Lettice and Safia. In the end I did fill it in.

We also changed the older children's school in the last week, different story, and I filled it in for the new school too.

Thanks for everyone's input. Much appreciated.

Edited 17/02/2021

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