A student has transferred to our school who has, apparently, made accusations about staff elsewhere which have resulted in disciplinary action being taken against them. The student is very strong willed, impetuous and with a vivid imagination. The instruction at our school is that two staff should be with them at all times, except when they are in the toilet. Needless to say that a student with SEN does not not take kindly to this.

 I would be interested to hear from colleagues working in the sector what insights they have about this sort of situation. I ask because it has been mooted that disciplinary action might well be taken against any member of staff allocated the task of shadowing the student in question if they fail to remain ever vigilant. It goes without saying that there are many and various reasons why this diktat may fail to be honoured in the hurly-burly of a newly minted special school.

 As ever, the unions (obsessed as they are with protecting the pension rights of their core demographic) seem to be very silent about this. This is doubly annoying. Staff at many independent SEN schools and provisions are paid a pittance but still held accountable to the nth degree by the managements and the various inspectorates, not to mention the utter nonsense that involves managers issuing orders who lack the necessary qualifications or legal nous to fully comprehend precisely it is what they are meant to be doing. 

Hi, I feel for you. This is actually quite a familiar situation, we have a few students who need to be constantly supervised and always in the presence of two members of staff. In practice I don't find it quite as onerous as it initially sounds.

The way it works for us is that although we make sure the pupil knows that s/he is being watched, stressing that it is for their own safety, we don't actually physically escort them around everywhere between two members of staff. The staff do follow or walk beside / close by and are vigilant. The pupil is handed over beteewn staff, but this can be by one of us standing at the door of the room / hall / playground and signaling to someone on duty / next teacher or whatever s/he's there, and the next adult acknowledging that signal.

I know it sounds a bit paranoid, but it's actually good practice to protect yourself anyway. In a special school the pupils are not always seen as reliable witnesses and their language and memory skills may not be up to accurate recall and recount. If a pupil is known to make accusations, you may be the next accused, it could be you being prosecuted and loosing your career on the word of this pupil. If there's always two members of staff around, you can be witnesses for each other. Everyone is much safer that way.

It occurs to me that three measures would reduce the likelihood of worst case scenarios. They are as follows:

a. a morning staff briefing at which it is made clear who is doing what and where the likely flashpoints and blindspots are likely to occur

b. a system whereby a member of staff sweeps the entire building on the hour would lessen the likelihood of situations escalating out of control

c. all staff to carry either walkie talkies or their own mobiles and to have access to the duty managers as and when an emergency is likely to occur

 My point in responding to this sort of situation is not to engage in union bashing but to express my dissatisfaction with being placed repeatedly in situations which are needlessly stressful if not downright dangerous by managers who seem utterly incapable of doing other than fire fighting. The preventative measures which I have suggested would lessen the likelihood of a repeat of the previous unsavoury allegations. I am still concerned though that if events were to make a mockery of any such plans that those of us in the firing line would yet again be left to our own devices.

  It also bears repeating that something needs to be done as a matter of some urgency to scotch the farcical situation whereby some students are indulged repeatedly while they blight the lives of those who were simply trying to help them. I worry about that there are far too many within this profession who are ever ready to wash their hands of others who have been less fortunate than them. Is this yet another expression of the latter day puritanism blighting our schools?

Well said! Bread and butter matters more than jam!!!