I AM FUCKING DONE WITH THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
You know what really fucks me off; the fact that I am working with a 4 year old girl who has a plethora of health conditions but isn't recognised as 'special needs'. The fact that despite this girl suffering from epilepsy, cerebral palsy, benign brain tumours, seriously diminished eye sight, possible autism (definite traits of ASD) and sporadic vomiting attacks she will not receive the full level of care she is entitled to because she is not recognised as having 'special needs'. Both her parents and her epilepsy nurse have told us that had she attended an English language school she would most likely have ended up going to a Special needs school and they are so glad that hasn't had to happen (for the sake of her social and emotional development). What this means is that I am classed as a general classroom assistant rather than an SEN assistant and am subsequently paid less for the same work. Don't get me wrong here, I am happy to do the work for less money because I want to help her, but my work is not that of a general assistant. I toilet her, I massage her sore limbs, I have to physically move her hand when we're writing, I lift her when she falls, I speak for her when she won't talk to other grown ups, I have to develop a serious level of understanding with this wee girl. I love my job but it is HARD WORK, for me and her. It just fucks me off that neither of us are getting the recognition we deserve