Vaccine scare boy 'improving'
A teenager is
"improving" in intensive care after a severe allergic reaction to a
vaccination at a school in Aberystwyth.
Dominic Hamer, 13,
is off a ventilator and talking. It is hoped he will be transferred
to a paediatric ward at Bronglais Hospital later.
Ten other pupils
from Ysgol Gyfun Penweddig were also treated after "adverse effects"
to the injections.
Two other pupils
will be discharged on Wednesday, said the hospital.
Nearly 120 pupils
at the comprehensive school were being injected with the BCG
vaccine, which combats tuberculosis.
A Ceredigion NHS
Trust spokesman said it was investigating, and had stopped the batch
of vaccine being used.
All
these diseases that we are protecting against have had a horrible
track record
Dr Mike Simmonds, Welsh Assembly Government
Dominic was said to
have had an anaphylactic shock, which is defined as a very sudden
serious physical reaction caused by an allergy.
Three fellow pupils
were kept in overnight for observation, but the rest were
discharged.
Bronglais Hospital
chief executive Alison Williams said Dominic had improved overnight.
She said on
Wednesday that medical staff "hope to move him to a paediatric ward
later today and send him home at the end of the week".
The trust has said
it is working closely with the school to ensure that pupils and
parents receive any information or support they require.
Individual advisory
letters have also been issued to pupils.
Brian Thomas, head
of corporate services at the trust, confirmed the batch of vaccine
had been withdrawn.
Intensive care
A statement from
the trust said the batch of vaccines used at the school had also
been used on Monday without any adverse effects.
A team of four
doctors and three nurses had been conducting the vaccinations at
Penweddig Comprehensive.
The statement said:
"At 12.30pm, nine children presented at the accident and emergency
department of Bronglais General Hospital following a suspected
adverse reaction to a BCG immunisation.
"Another two pupils
attended the department in mid afternoon."
"Following
assessment, 10 of the pupils were admitted for observations and one
pupil admitted to the intensive care unit."
Reaction
Dr Mike Simmonds,
the Welsh Assembly Government's Senior Medical Officer, said
youngsters who are receiving the BCG vaccination are first given a
"star" injection in their forearm.
"If you don't get a
reaction to that you then go on to get the actual vaccine which is
given actually within the layers of the skin".
Dr Simmonds told
Radio Wales that reactions to vaccinations to children were
"incredibly rare". Only 80 cases had been identified in a three-year
period among the millions of vaccinations administered across the
UK.
"All these diseases
that we are protecting against have had a horrible track record," he
said.
"TB is a long-term
illness. In the past people were in hospital for weeks and weeks if
they survived that illness.
"Measles just kills
and can kill very rapidly, and is still one of the biggest killers
across the world".
Crackdown on school discipline
All schools in
England should take their share of pupils who have been
expelled, Education Secretary Charles Clarke has said.
This would stop disruptive children being
concentrated in so called "sink-schools".
In a crackdown on bad behaviour, head
teachers may also be given powers to search pupils for knives.
Mr Clarke wants to encourage schools in
England to arrange for surprise police searches of their
premises.
'Sharing responsibility'
He said that the plans to make schools
take on disruptive pupils would only result in about three or
four excluded pupils a year going to each school.
All schools - including
popular schools - should work together to take responsibility
for these issues
Education Secretary, Charles Clarke
This means all schools
- including leading secondaries and selective grammars - would
need to take in pupils expelled from other schools in their
area.
"All schools - including popular schools -
should work together to take responsibility for these issues,"
Mr Clarke told the Today programme on BBC Radio Four.
"If everyone says lets forget these
pupils, lets just cast them out into the street - that would not
be right."
Later on Thursday, Mr Clarke told a
conference of new head teachers: "I expect head teachers to
promote good behaviour in their schools, but where they judge it
necessary, they have every right to exercise permanent
exclusion.
"However when excluded children are deemed
ready to be readmitted to a new school, it is important that
heads do not have to take more than their fair share of
challenging or excluded pupils, simply because they have places
available."
Existing schemes
Various schemes along the lines suggested
by Mr Clarke already operate at present. In Surrey, for
instance, the county's 53 secondary school head teachers have
signed up to a "points" system under which each starts with
1,000.
They lose some if they have a high number
of pupils with special needs or from poor homes, then are put in
a league table with those with most points being first to take
excluded pupils.
Schools have points
added for excluding children and taken away for accepting them.
Pupils carrying weapons is a major area which is expected to be
highlighted by Mr Clarke.
In November 2003, 14-year-old Luke
Walmsley was stabbed to death at the Birkbeck School in North
Somercotes, Lincolnshire, by a fellow student.
His mother Jayne is campaigning for
tougher sentences for those caught with knives.
'Dumped on schools'
The National Association of Head Teachers,
backed the government's action, saying there should be "zero
tolerance" of knives and other offensive weapons, with more
back-up from the police for schools.
The group's general secretary David Hart,
also said it was in favour of moves to share out expelled
pupils.
"We endorse the need for limits to be
placed on the number of excluded pupils who are dumped on
schools because they have spare places.
"Too often this has a bad impact on a
small number of schools in each local education authority."
The Department for Education and Skills
says it will consult people on plans to allow head teachers to
search pupils they believe may be carrying weapons.
Currently they can ask pupils to turn out
their pockets, but can not search them.
They are also encouraging schools to have
arrangements with their local police forces to undertake snap
searches if they think knives are on school premises.
And they are supporting Home office moves
to raise the age at which knives can legally be bought from 16 -
to perhaps 18.
Teachers want
better pupil safety
Secondary teachers say they are worried about the lack of legal
protection for pupils in Scotland.
The Scottish
Secondary Teachers' Association is campaigning for a change in
the health and safety legislation affecting young people in
schools.
It said
teachers and other staff benefited from extensive provisions in
laws and regulations - but not pupils.
Yet the pupils
made up about 90% of the people in a typical school building -
and had no choice about being there.
Stuck in one place
The only
reference was that "suitable regard" should be had to those
using a building but not working there when considering health
and safety issues.
"It is high time that pupils are given the same status as
teachers and other staff in schools"
David Eaglesham
SSTA leader
The association
said it had always been agreed that non-employees could not be
covered, being a "transient population" - shoppers or train
passengers, for example.
But the
situation for school pupils was entirely different, as they
spent almost 30 hours a week in the same place - and had to
attend by law.
"It is high
time that pupils are given the same status as teachers and other
staff in schools," said the association's general secretary,
David Eaglesham.
"It is no
longer sufficient for them to be given secondary consideration
when planning buildings and determining proper facilities."
Behaviour issue
He claimed that
in many PFI-funded projects pupils were not given sufficient
consideration.
"If mandatory
standards were established mirroring those which apply to adults
then the situation would be much more satisfactory."
An added
consideration was that pupils' behaviour improved significantly
where good buildings gave them a sense of pride and
responsibility.
The association
intends to raise the matter with the Scottish Executive, which
was not available for comment.
The association
has also said that more teachers are being subjected to abusive
and even violent behaviour at parents' meetings.
In an advice
leaflet, it said schools should have a "zero tolerance" approach
and ban parents who ignored warnings about their behaviour.
Schoolgirl stabbed
on bus by gang
A 14-year-old girl was stabbed on a bus as she was travelling
home from school in Birmingham.
The teenager was attacked by a group of girls on the number 94
Chelmsley Wood bus near to Millennium Point in Digbeth on
Tuesday.
The victim from Kingshurst, Solihull, was taken to hospital with
minor back injuries. She was treated for a puncture wound before
being discharged.
A 14-year-old girl is in custody after being arrested on
suspicion of robbery.
Police say a group of girls were seen running from the scene
shortly after the girl and her friends were attacked at 1630
GMT. A knife was also recovered.
The bus driver called for assistance after stopping outside
Millennium Point.
Officers are investigating two reported robberies and an assault
with intent to rob.
CCTV footage from the number 94 service is being examined.
Minibus carrying
children crashes
A minibus carrying 18 school children has been involved in a
head-on crash with a van in Cheshire.
The bus, which was carrying children from private junior school
Abbeygate College in Saighton, crashed in the village of Bruera,
near Chester.
The accident happened on Chapel Lane on Tuesday afternoon.
The van driver suffered serious head and leg injuries. Two
13-year-old pupils and the bus driver were also taken to
hospital as a precaution.
'Walking wounded'
Twelve other children who were on board were said to be shaken
but uninjured.
Two passengers in the van also received minor injuries in the
crash.
Five ambulances, two fire engines, and paramedic teams were sent
to the scene just after 1600 GMT.
A Cheshire Police spokesman said: "There were 18 children on the
minibus aged between nine and 17.
"Twelve of them are walking wounded and another two have been
taken to hospital as a precaution.
"There were three people in the van and the driver has suffered
serious injuries.
"He was taken to hospital although the injuries are not believed
to be life threatening."
A spokesman for Abbeygate College said the children were taken
back to the school to be collected by their parents.
Octogenarian driving
school bus
A council says older people are welcome to drive school buses as
long as they are safe.
Staffordshire County Council has defended its policy after it
was revealed that an 80-year-old regularly drives school buses
in Uttoxeter.
Other companies employ drivers in their 70s, and some parents
say they are concerned at the situation.
But council spokesman Richard Caddy says all older drivers are
tested before the bus companies take them on.
Annual medicals
Bus driver Ron Ayre, who is 75 and runs Robin Hood coaches in
Rudyard in the Staffordshire Moorlands, says he would have no
concerns about employing an older driver.
He told BBC Radio Stoke: "They have medicals every 12 months and
providing they pass them, there's no problem.
"I think the main thing is that they enjoy what they are doing."
The DVLA in Swansea says there is no upper age limit for driving
a bus, but drivers over 65 have to make a self-declaration of
any health problems, and if they are ill between times they have
to let the authorities know.
"A Government report into
outdoor education 'appears unsympathetic and dismissive of schools'
fear of litigation', according to
the UK's largest teacher's union, NASUWT. Outdoor education: aspects
of good practice says that 'despite general recognition of the value
of outdoor education and residential experiences, some schools
remain unconvinced of the benefits when weighed against risks and
fears of litigation'. The report was commissioned by the Department
for Education and Skills and published by the Office for Standards
in Education (OfSTED). It also found outdoor education, at school
and in outdoor centres, enables students to develop both social and
physical skills.
A recent study by the Government's Better Regulation Task Force
found that the number of accident claims registered in 2003/4 fell
by nearly 60,000, and its report Better Routes to Redress (May 2004)
found little evidence to support the idea that compensation claims
are rising. "The benefits of outdoor education are far too important
to forfeit, and by far outweigh the risks of an accident occurring.
If teachers follow recognised safety procedures and guidance they
have nothing to fear from the law," says chief inspector of schools,
David Bell. Visit:
www.ofsted.gov.uk "
A review of how teachers deal with weapons
and drugs brought into Scottish schools has been ordered
following the Jodi Jones murder trial.
Luke Mitchell was convicted of the knife
killing of his 14-year-old girlfriend in Dalkeith, Midlothian.
The prosecution highlighted his
knife-carrying and cannabis smoking.
Education Minister Peter Peacock has
ordered an internal review by officials to look at whether the
case has any implications for schools.
Mitchell, 16, of Newbattle Road, Dalkeith,
is awaiting sentence for the murder of Jodi on 30 June, 2003.
The killer, who was 14 at the time of the
murder, repeatedly stabbed Jodi on a wooded path.
'Involve the police'
The High Court in Edinburgh heard he had a
fascination with knives and he was also a heavy cannabis user.
Jodi and Mitchell were pupils at St
David's Roman Catholic High School in Dalkeith and the jury was
told that Mitchell would smoke cannabis during his lunch break.
The Scottish Executive said it was
considering whether or not the case has implications for policy.
An executive spokesman said: "Currently,
if a teacher suspects a child is carrying a weapons or drugs,
they should involve the police.
"However, the education minister has
ordered an internal review of all potential implications arising
from the Jodi Jones case.
"This will look at current guidelines on
drugs and weapons and how teachers raise concerns.
"If anything needs to change to improve
practice then action will be taken."
The move has been welcomed by Ronnie
Smith, head of Scotland's largest teaching union, the
Educational Institute of Scotland.
Mr Smith stressed that Jodi's murder did
not take place on school premises or in school hours but said he
would like to see clear guidelines backed by the executive and
education authorities.
He said: "I think teachers act very
cautiously for fear that they will be accused of some wrongdoing
and invading pupils' privacy.
"If we can get clear guidelines, backed by
the Scottish Executive, backed by education authorities, so that
teachers know just exactly what they can or cannot do, then it
would give them greater confidence to manage potentially
difficult situations.
"I think there would be more effective
discipline if there was that clarity that we don't have at the
moment."
MPs urge £30m school
trip boost
School trip provision is "extremely patchy" and ministers
should allocate £30m to support them, MPs say.
The
Commons education select committee is calling for a
"champion" to promote outdoor activities in England.
It has
asked the NASUWT teachers' union to revoke its advice to
members not to run trips because of the risks of legal
action if a child is injured.
Rules
must change so staff no longer "feel vulnerable", the
committee's report adds.
'False perception'
The
Department for Education and Skills (DfES) should create a
"Manifesto for Outdoor Learning", giving all pupils the
right to trips outside school, the MPs say.
This,
they add, would need about £30m, the current level of
funding for the Music Manifesto.
Teachers
were "deterred by the false perception that a high degree of
risk attaches to outdoor education as well as by cumbersome
bureaucracy and issues of funding, time and resources".
Accidents are still very rare
Barry Sheerman,
Education select committee
In
England in 2003, there were between 7 million and 10 million
pupil visits but only one death, the report notes.
The
education committee's chairman, Barry Sheerman, said: "We
have to get away from the culture of fear that has grown
around school trips and introduce some element of commons
sense.
"Accidents are still very rare and the government must work
to remove the fear of litigation, which is part of the
growing 'compensation culture'.
"The
NASUWT union, which currently advises its members not to
participate in school trips, should change its policy
immediately."
The
union's general secretary, Chris Keates, puts the policy
down to the "rise of the blame culture".
She said:
"I am disappointed that the select committee asserts that
our concerns are a perception rather than a reality.
"A golden
opportunity has been missed to act in the interests of
teachers and pupils by accepting the need for additional
safeguards and supporting their early introduction."
Danish example
The
select committee praised efforts in some other countries to
provide outdoor learning.
In
Denmark, schools based in forests "used the natural
environment to stimulate pupils" and "experience a carefully
monitored element of risk".
There
was, by contrast, "considerable unexploited potential" in
England.
A DfES
spokesman said: "We are currently looking at ways in which
we can further enrich the curriculum by supporting teachers
and schools to deliver high-quality, safe out-of-school
activities."
Children 'lack web
safety advice'
Nearly one in three UK children have not had any lessons on how
to use the internet safely, a study suggests.
Those most at
risk of encountering pornography or paedophiles were the most
expert computer users, the survey of nine to 19-year-olds found.
They entered
sites more adventurously, ignoring safety concerns, London
School of Economics researchers said.
Those who
stuck to a narrower range of sites were less likely to be
exposed, the survey of 1,500 young people added.
Bullying
Even children
whose internet use was supervised by their parents were not
protected from the dangers.
The number
exposed to internet porn, bullying and invasions of privacy was
likely to rise without greater efforts to make internet use
safe.
Professor
Sonia Livingstone, who conducted the research, said: "We are
talking about contact risks, children giving out personal
information online, going into chat rooms without knowing the
safety rules and possibly meeting people they first met in a
chat room."
She added:
"We began with the assumption that as children use the internet
and became more skilled they would manage to avoid the risks.
"We found the
opposite was true."
'More effort'
The research
involved a series of focus group discussions and a UK-wide
survey.
It found
children who avoided the risks were able to do so "by making
only a narrow and unadventurous use of the internet".
Prof
Livingstone said: "Restricting children and young people's
internet use reduces the risks but also carries a cost because
it reduces their opportunities online.
"It is of
concern that even the most skilled young people are not avoiding
online risks.
"If we want
to make sure that in five years' time young people aren't at
greater risk online, more effort is needed to make the internet
safer for them."
School trip teachers
'reassured'
Teachers supervising school trips have
been reassured they will not be liable to prosecution over
accidents - as long as they have followed guidelines.
Education Secretary Ruth Kelly wants
teachers to continue school trips - and not to fear legal
action.
"Staff who take reasonable
care and follow employer guidelines are ... protected by the
law," says guidance issued by the education department.
Teachers described the comments as
"extremely helpful".
Full safety guidelines will be sent to
schools this summer. And a Manifesto for Education Outside the
Classroom, promoting "high quality outdoor learning", will be
launched in the autumn.
Ms Kelly says that she
does not want teachers' worries about vulnerability to
prosecution to deter schools from giving pupils the benefits of
field trips and outdoor education.
'Confidence'
The NASUWT teachers' union had warned its
members to be careful about the threat of legal action if pupils
were to be injured during an out-of-school visit.
But the union warmly welcomed the comments
of Ms Kelly, saying they were "extremely helpful" and
represented a "significant step in the right direction".
Ms Kelly had reassured
teachers that if they followed correct safety guidelines they
should not face the threat of prosecution.
"We want to make sure that all teachers
have the confidence to continue offering these experiences and
that everyone involved in a school trip, including parents, are
aware of their rights and responsibilities," Ms Kelly said.
Guidelines for out-of-school trips are to
be published in the summer - and they will emphasise that:
"Staff who take reasonable care, and follow employer guidelines
are, in the event of any unfortunate accident, protected by the
law."
"By carrying out
straightforward, compulsory safety checks teachers can protect
both pupils and staff on a school visit and minimise the risk of
litigation," says the education department.
Head teachers' leader, David Hart,
welcomed the support for school visits.
"We must get away from the totally
unfounded belief that a solicitor's letter is always waiting
around the corner whenever a school visit takes place," said Mr
Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Head
Teachers.
The Shadow Education Secretary, Tim
Collins, urged an end to this "absurd spat", saying that "a
simple signed note from parents acknowledging their acceptance
of any risk would suffice to ensure that our children continue
to both enjoy and learn from school trips".
'Extremely patchy'
Last week a report from the Commons
education select committee said school trip provision was
"extremely patchy" and ministers should allocate £30m more to
providing them. And it called for changes so staff no longer
"feel vulnerable" to legal actions.
It said teachers were "deterred by the
false perception that a high degree of risk attaches to outdoor
education as well as by cumbersome bureaucracy and issues of
funding, time and resources".
In England in 2003, there were between
seven million and 10 million pupil visits but only one death,
the report noted.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is to issue
a report giving advice to teachers taking pupils on field trips.
The report will focus on Max Palmer, 10,
from Fleetwood, Lancashire, who was swept away in a small
flooded river near Glenridding, Cumbria, in May 2002.
Teacher Paul Ellis pleaded guilty to
manslaughter and was jailed for one year last September.
The HSE said their advice would provide
practical advice for teachers taking groups of pupils on
educational trips.
'Pool plunge'
Max, a pupil at Fleetwood Primary School,
was with his mother who was helping on a trip organised by
Fleetwood High School when he got into difficulties and drowned
in cold, fast-flowing water in Glenridding Beck.
Mr Ellis took the pupils on the adventure
weekend, where pupils were "pool plunging" in the beck.
He was described as "grossly negligent"
for allowing Max into the water.
Justin McCracken, Deputy Director General
of the HSE, said school trips were a vital part of a child's
education.
'Risk aware'
"Adventure activities provide the ideal
opportunity to make children 'risk aware' by involving them in
practical decision-making in challenging environments," he said.
"HSE's views, and its recommendations
following its investigation of the Glenridding tragedy, mirror
those of the Commons Education Select Committee.
"HSE will continue to champion the message
that sensible health and safety is about managing risk rather
than eliminating it."
The report will be published on 9 March.
Schools are expected to be advised to
follow the government's guidance on field trips and put
arrangements in place for assessing and monitoring trip leaders.
Education Secretary Ruth Kelly said last
week she wants teachers to continue school trips - and not to
fear legal action.
More than 20 children and a lorry driver had to be
taken to hospital after a crash involving a school bus.
The northbound A469 between Llanbradach and Ystrad
Mynach in the south Wales valleys was closed following the collision at
0810GMT on Tuesday.
The lorry driver was cut out of his cab on the
Llanbradach by-pass.
One girl has serious leg injuries and other pupils
from Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni were treated for shock.
Three fire engines were called to the scene from Cefn
Fforest, Caerphilly and Pontypridd. A rescue tender from Pontypridd was also
there.
Assistance
The bus was taking pupils to Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni on
a coach operated by Castell Coaches.
It is thought the bus had broken down and was waiting
for assistance from the police when the lorry collided with it.
Gwent Police said neither the girl or lorry driver had
life-threatening injuries.
Twelve children were taken to Caerphilly Miners'
Hospital, and 12 to Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr, the Welsh Ambulance
Service said.
The driver was taken to the University Hospital of
Wales in Cardiff and is reported to be in a stable condition.
Police said the northbound carriageway had been closed
and traffic was being diverted via Llanbradach.
Investigations have begun at a school
where 10 people became ill with possible carbon monoxide
poisoning.
Seven studen
