Campaigning for the abolition of seclusion rooms from all settings & the repeal of education order 1998 Art.4 1(c)
#SEND
*tweets are my personal views*
#NFFC
My kiddo stopped talking as a result of the trauma he suffered. He communicated by barking. For months I didn't understand why. Until a stranger asked him.
He barked because everyone likes dogs, so he thought if he acted like a dog...the staff would like him.
#RemoveTheRoom
"Pretty much every major human rights scandal that has occured in Ireland has related to women and children. To me, there is an inherit misogyny at the heart of the Irish state right from its very foundation" - Conall Ó Fátharta
#Stolen
I have just been seen a video of a mother from NI who's child has been put into a "reflection room" because they wore their branded school PE kit today instead of their formal school uniform in order to regulate their temperature in this warm weather.
I am appalled.
My kid was restrained in multiple ways & locked in a storeroom on his own for unknown periods of time.
He has life long injuries as a result.
That school was not the best place for him.
To continue to ignore the reality of what is happening in our schools is failing children.
I make no apologies for saying the best place for children is in school.
The Tories tinkered around the edges of a generational challenge. Labour are gripping it.
This week must be back-to-school week, not just for some children, but for all children.
@commaficionado
It's the effort for me... think its called ADHD paralysis... I want to do it so bad... but the steps needed to do it just leaves me useless... like I just don't have the spoons left.
"We now know that between 1922 and 1998 around 9,000 children died in the Irish mother and baby home system. Around 15% of all children that were born there. So that in itself is a pretty shocking figure."
Conall ÓFátharta
#Stolen
School anxiety to us transpires as lateness to school
Please don't give out to/shame your frequently late SEN students.
You have no idea the effort it takes for them to even just walk through the school door.
They are there. That is a positive stop treating it as a negative.
If Osborn leaves I'll actually be a tad annoyed... I dont care what anyone says, he plays more games then anyone and he gives his all, natural talent may not be all there but he is a warrior
#NFFC
and we need that passion at times
I can hear my kiddo on the phone to his friends and he is laughing, making plans and talking about happy things that happened in school this week.
I have dreamed of this moment.
Wonderful surprise as kiddo's new taxi driver knocked on the door to introduce themselves. This may seem like a really insignificant thing to most but this is trauma informed practice, this little action sets the tone for this whole new relationship that is based on trust.
ARE YOU JOKING?
The minister said even a turned off phone in a student's pocket is a distraction! So what are these pouches supposed to achieve!? A locked drawer is free ffs!
I honestly can't believe what I'm reading.
IMAGINE HOW MANY SEN KIDS THAT MONEY COULD HAVE SUPPORTED!
The Department of Education has set aside £250,000 for a “magnetic pouches” pilot scheme that will see the mobile phones of pupils at 10 schools in Northern Ireland locked away during classes.
➡️
From the kid who barked to communicate (as he thought school staff would like him if he acted like a dog, because everyone likes dogs) to the kid who just recieved 5 awards for his academic achievements in his post primary school.
It's been a journey kid 🫠
I am so proud 👏 💗
@DylaaanBarker
To Dylan's mum and dad, you truly raised a gentleman.He's been an inspiration to the whole
#nffcfamily
hopefully your at peace now young man
To those who have silently celebrated after 7 years (when the cells of your body have changed, meaning they had no longer touched any part of your body)
I'm sorry that happened to you, I'm also sorry that our government fails to provide appropriate healthcare & justice
#ItsNotOk
There are 9 kids in my kiddos class this morning 🥲 covid is ripping through schools and I'm honestly terrified of how it will affect my immunosuppressed child.
School almost killed him once.
And again I feel powerless.
@Sineadmcgar
It's sad to not see acknowledgement that she recieved no legal justice during this process. That is a failing of our legal/child protection systems not a failure of a mother.
The ONLY option she had to ensure her children knew she fought to protect them was social justice.
@commaficionado
Our education authority had this "training" only a matter of weeks ago 🥲
Same Education Authority btw who still maintain my autistic child being locked in a storeroom was not a child protection issue but a misuse of therapeutic intervention 🙃
"The nest" or the "pastoral care hub" has been described as a "calm down space" and a "consequence room"
It can't be both.
It simply can't be a safe space and a punishment room at the same time.
#dontexcludeme
Sexual assault victims can see the memes you're posting
NI is one of the most dangerous places to live as a woman
Theres a high likelihood that your friends, neighbours and/or family members have experienced sexual assault
You could lobby elected reps instead of chasing likes
*screams* stimming is a perfectly normal and cost effective self regulatory option children use to calm themselves.
Yet they face disciplinary sanctions as its seen as non complaince. ITS LITERALLY FREE AND YOU BRING IN EXPENSIVE BEHAVIOUR "EXPERTS" TO STOP CHILDREN DOING THIS.
We have different calanders, Catholics is standard January through to December, Protestants have January, February, March, March, March, March, March, March, September, October, November and December.
#ThingsKarenBradleyNeverKnew
@teamsquarepeg
Thank you for sharing this. The use of a "calm space" destroyed my child. There was nothing calm about being locked alone in a 6ft by 4ft empty storeroom with no access to a toilet, food or water. In 2018 we started the
#RemoveTheRoom
and
#StandardiseSafeSpaces
campaigns.
I am trying not to comment under every single tweet I see people linking the return to school as babysitting & not learning.
Welcome to the fight SEN parents have been raising for years, that simply a child being within a school building is not & should not be seen as adequate.
"He doesn't deserve mates. He deserves to sit in a fucking room, a padded cell on his own for the rest of his life. Horrible little twat"
This is what staff say about our disabled children.
#RemoveTheRoom
#Panorama
Today my kiddo was met with a smile and praised at school by staff who told him how kindhearted he was as he brought Easter eggs for his whole class
The same child who at age 6 was restrained and secluded daily and branded feral/bold/naughty by staff at his old school
My boy 💙
Kiddo caught their foot in the door of the car and let out a loud "fuck" glanced over at me cus he knew he'd be in trouble and literally said "the patriarchy"
😅😅😅😅 we both burst out laughing. I think I'll put this down as both a loss and a win at parenting 🤣
I can't help but scoff every time a DUP member speaks about this recall being a stunt when they literally recalled the assembly to try to block women the opportunity to access healthcare whilst knowing full well it wouldn't be CEDAW compliant to do so. 🥲
My experience of formal complaints proceedures.
They took years to complete, and all we got were several "sorry you believe we made you feel that way" apologies.
Can I put my hand on my heart and say it is worth all the stress?
No, for we didn't see any accountability.
Just a reminder that you can donate to food banks without the need to photograph the action of doing so.
Poverty is not a political photo opportunity... it is however a political choice.
@Jo_Frost
This was a "therapeutic intervention" in a school. That's why I questioned what a "reset space" is?
We raise valid concerns because of our lived experiences, which collectively all seem to paint a rather cohesive picture that school unfortunately was/is a punishment for some kids
Just been informed it's
#SingleParentsDay
(very on brand to be posting this so late in the day as a busy single parent)
My pride and joy ❤️ I've learnt so many unplanned lessons as a result of navigating this parenting journey alone. Very proud wee mummy. Uppa single parents✊️
@senresourceblog
No basic understanding of consent, permission, boundaries etc the child's introception is different to an adults, it's wrong to simply assume the child is cold. The coat is being used as a method of restraint as child cannot remove it themselves.
"Unfortunately in the first 7 years that the Dublin foundling hospital is operating, of the 4,025 children that enter the institution. 3,200 of them actually die."
- Dr. Sarah-Anne Buckley
#Stolen
"I just thought this was a wee informal chat"
-Always ask for minutes.
-Always bring a witness.
-Always email after a meeting has occurred with details of that meeting to the person you have met.
*Disclaimer* I am the parent of a child with direct lived experience of the use of restrictive practices.
Below are my personal thoughts of this proposed statutory guidance.
I would urge everyone to read the consultation themseleves and reply by Nov 3rd.
*details within QT*👇
DE has launched a consultation on statutory guidance on the Reduction and Management of Restrictive Practices in Educational Settings in Northern Ireland.
The consultation is an opportunity for interested parties to provide views on the guidance.
More -
Honestly, I've lost all fucks.
The trauma is so ingrained in my being now that I am numb to it.
I'm considered a "problem parent" because I know my children's rights. They can't threaten me with anything that I haven't already been threatened with.
The abuse is systemic 🫠
I know that schools are traumatising children in schools. Has anyone actually considered the trauma parents go through? Schools threatening parents with fines for attendance, threatening parents with social services, calling the police on children. When does this stop?
@ElaineMcgreevy
I was told by an Autistic charity here to increase the time I closed a door on my child for him to tolerate being left in a room alone after I told them my son had been locked in a storeroom at school.
I removed the internal doors from my house instead.
I remember the day we were given our little bag of books, I was a teen mum living in the middle of nowhere. Most of the stuff I got for my baby was second hand but these were new and I cherished them. They where more than simply books, they were my kids opportunity for better.
I honestly cried opening this, what an experience...
Even the smell as I opened the wrapping paper, every single thing about this feels like elegance and luxury... two things this young single country raised mum never thought she would get to experience.
Stunning 😍 I love it
Both my kids took part in IFA summer camps this week.
1 child attended the standard camp.
1 child attended the disability camp.
1 child was given a football at the end of their camp.
1 child was not given a football at the end of their camp.
I'll let you guess which.
Why?
Lads, I don't want to blow my own trumpet or anything...
But guess who as of this morning... is now a certified football coach? 😉
*grassroots, so don't get too excited. Still have no idea what a winger is, and don't even ask me what side of a pitch is left or right 😬
Thank you to each and every one of the elected reps who placed pressure on the EA to rectify their decision to not provide placement details for SEN students until after mainstream students had received theirs.
We recieved our email, a weight has been lifted 💙
@Al_Haslam
I don't have the correct words to express my gratitude for the work you have done in highlighting the human rights abuses our loved ones experience whilst in the "care" of others.
From schools to hospitals to end of life care in care homes...
We must break the cycle.
The mother speaking about how they had only fallen in love... yet they ended up in these horrible homes 💔
PFI- Pregnant from Ireland 💔
Their "crime"- falling in love.
#Stolen
@nirwnnews
I honestly can't believe what I've just read. I can't quiet fathom that a judge would believe once he's married off the abuse would simply cease. 🥲
One year ago today, kiddo and I made our way to Derry to meet the Minsiter of Education and her Dept of Education officials.
One year on, kiddo's confidence has increased ten fold. He is no longer stimming that he is a "bold boy", he is healing because he has been believed.
Kiddo can't sleep because of the noise of the wind, so we are having a candlelit picnic in the sitting room, he has just tried garlic and chive cheese on a cracker for the first time and apparently this is the greatest night of his life so far
#MemoryMaking
Children on their way to school this morning wearing skirts... it is literally freezing but they must attend school in a skirt as per misogynistic rigid uniform policies.
Feeling cold impacts your ability to learn.
Relax rigid uniform policies as a welfare issue!
@LeoDougan
@ArmaghLGFA
@LadiesFootball
@20x20_ie
Played with my mother once in a blitz and she clothes lined a blade for making fun of her for being on the pitch at the same time as her daughter. Then being the only medical professional on the pitch she then provided aid to the other woman before being sent off by the ref.
My kiddo was restrained in class, apparently heavy books were placed into his schoolbag, it was then tied around him on his seat on that occasion he was spinning around. Another occasion he was prone restrained by 3 adults for walking about his classroom. He wasn't hurting anyone
School staff please be aware of this 👇 not every child who displays tiredness in the classroom was up all night playing fortnight and fighting imaginary bad guys on the ps5 or xbox...
Some children are fighting a real life emotional/sensory battle just to sit in your classroom.
I've never claimed to be a teacher, nor have I ever claimed to be any kind of professional on here. I'm a young mummy who is a double University drop out because life dealt me with cards that I'm still holding onto. I didn't fold then and your trolling won't cause me to fold now.
I was rushing down a hallway and caught a glimpse of a woman I thought looked just like my mummy, I doubled back and then realised it was my own reflection...
I seen her for a split second. It was a beautiful second. 💝
Surestart is life changing. I was referred to surestart as a homeless mother of 2 who had just escaped a DV/DA relationship. I was at my lowest. But I was part of something. I felt included in everything. There was consultation throughout the experience. I was safe.
Held it all together until I walked into the kids school...
They have done so much for my kiddo's in the aftermath of everything...my kiddo had stopped talking, couldnt be alone and feared school.
Today I collected my kiddo and he had a massive smile
I'm so thankful to them
@AutSciPerson
Had appendicitis- everyone said it was "just cramps"
Was in labour- "your still walking about, you couldn't be that far along" I was 7cm.
Had a failling galbladder- everyone said it was "just grief"
@ElaineCrory
I studied Irish right up to ALevel and I have a gold fáinne.
It is not my first language, I enjoy speaking it, I enjoy learning it but I still require support and help with it.
I like that Michelle showed that there is no shame in requiring support.
We need to normalise that