SEN schooling in the midst of a pandemic

We are very lucky to be included in an article from BBC Ouch regarding the rollout of the vaccine to SEN schools, click here for the full article.

Langside School is a specialist school based in Poole and operated by Dorset’s disability charity, Diverse Abilities. The school supports more than 25 pupils aged two to 19 with multiple and profound learning difficulties, as well as complex medical and physical needs.

Mark Powell, CEO at Diverse Abilities, commented: “Due to the varying needs of our learners, all staff must wear full PPE at all times – with one classroom setting requiring full scrubs – as well as adhering to social distancing guidelines. The children and young people depend on us for all aspects of their school life including being fed orally or via tube, given oxygen, medical support, repositioning and personal care. Such necessities make it a challenge to social distance and deliver essential education.

“Obtaining PPE was very difficult and extremely costly at the beginning of the pandemic, with little guidance available. Over the summer term in 2020 we were able to increase the number of pupils coming back to school, including those requiring aerosol generating procedures (AGPs). We reopened to all pupils at the beginning of this academic year and are still supporting many children that are not shielding with their families. The level of PPE we are wearing (especially in AGP classes) is on par with a hospital, and we use the same criteria. Alongside this, our staff were required to be tested for FFP3 masks and this proved tricky at times with some needing to travel more than 20 miles for this.

“PPE is a wonderful barrier to prevent the spread of the virus, but it is a devastating barrier to the development and wellbeing of our pupils as they are unable to see our whole faces or receive the touch and closeness they would normally feel. Having the vaccine would mean we are able to break down those barriers and return to teaching and supporting our pupils in the way they need us to.

“Although we are a school and the education of those in our care is essential, the fact we have nurses, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists on site to form part of our children’s school provision means that our school can be classified as a health setting, which are on top of the list for priority vaccinations. The vaccine would not only allow our children to receive the specialised regular care that they so desperately need, it would also reduce stress and anxiety for our staff and their families, many of whom still have children attending mainstream schooling as children of key workers.

“We understand the need to vaccinate the older population to reduce the strain on the NHS, but COVID is not ageist. Teachers and school staff come in all ages and come in contact both directly and indirectly with so many people.

“As a school, we are confident that we are doing everything we need to in order to manage the risk and control the virus in order to keep ourselves, our students, their families, and our families safe, but being provided with the vaccine will allow our children and young people who already have tremendous difficulty communicating the ability to see our faces again and receive physical contact without barriers and increase their mental wellbeing alongside their physical health.”