My 6-year-old daughter was a student of St Joseph's Church Kindergarten along Upp Bt Timah Road.
On the 26th Nov '09, the school organised a holiday program - ice-skating at Kallang Ice World. At 11am, I received a call from one of the teachers, Ms Ho, saying my daughter was "pushed, fell, hurt her chin, and bleeding". She went on to say she had to call me as she needed instructions as to whether I wanted the teachers to send my daughter to a clinic downstairs, or to wait for me at the skating rink. According to Ms Ho, the wound was bleeding quite a fair bit, and will most probably require stitches. As I was not there to assess the injury, I based my decision on what she described and left instructions to have my daughter sent to the clinic immediately while I made my way to the venue. I requested through Ms Ho that the doctor call me before any procedures were done on my daughter. Our phone conversation ended with her acknowledgment of my request.
As I was caught in heavy traffic, I rang Kallang Ice World at 11.20am to find out if my daughter had been sent to the clinic and if there was any update on the situation. The staff of Kallang Ice World knew nothing and could not answer any of my queries. I asked to speak with Ms Ho. Shortly after, Ms Ho came on the line and reported that my daughter had not been sent to the clinic because they "did not have her particulars". She went on to say the bleeding "had stopped".
I arrived at Kallang Ice World at around 11.30am. Upon entering the premises, I noticed my daughter was sitting in the crowd by herself, with no teacher within her immediate vicinity. It was only when I approached that Ms Ho ushered me towards my daughter. When I neared, I observed her chin was still dripping blood! By my estimate, having been called at 11am by Ms Ho, that the accident must have happened some minutes prior, and as the present time was already 11.45am, my daughter would have bled for about an hour or more.
When I asked, none of the teachers had gauze or tissues with them, so I carried my daughter to the skate rental counter and requested some tissues. Upon my questioning, I was told by the counter staff that none of the staff at Kallang Ice World is first-aid trained.
The Principal of St Joseph's Church Kindergarten, Miss Angeline Wong, was at a distance and did not approach me. I went up to her and expressed my disappointment at how the whole thing was being handled, and how my daughter was not given due care. The very first thing Miss Wong said, and very quickly, was that my daughter "fell on her own." Miss Wong went on to say they applied antiseptic cream, but she could not explain when I asked why the bleeding was not stopped prior to applying the cream.
My daughter told me later, that in order to contact me, the teachers had to get my number from her, an injured, bleeding, scared, and freezing girl. Why did St Joseph's Church Kindergarten not have such important details in hand?
I have since written to St Joseph's Church Kindergarten with questions pertaining to the incident, most important of all - why my specific instruction to send my daughter to the clinic to stop the bleeding was not carried out, causing further trauma to my daughter who was freezing and in pain. It has been 2 months since, but the school has not addressed any of my concerns, nor answered any of my relevant questions, which included:-
1) Could there be a lapse in supervision at the skating venue since none of the teachers is able to give an accurate account of the accident? My daughter, with the help of her classmate, held the side of the rink and got out themselves to look for help, while Miss Angeline Wong and 2 other teachers were skating in the rink.
2) Why did the teachers not have the relevant student particulars on hand so that my daughter could have been taken to the clinic sooner? Was the information not given to the school for precisely such circumstances?
3) Why did the school teachers not bring along a first-aid kit? Did they assume there would be access to one at the venue? The reply I later received from the Management Committee of St Joseph's Church Kindergarten was that they did have a first-aid kit. But when I was there, they could NOT provide me with gauze, or even a band-aid.
4) Why was there no conscientious effort to ensure my daughter remained safe after the fall? When I arrived she was seated among the crowd of children, with her chin still bleeding. No constant pressure was applied to the wound until the bleeding stopped, and no adult accompanied her to monitor her condition and provide comfort during the wait.
5) In evaluating the venue for school activities, was it discovered that Kallang Ice World has no trained First-Aider? St Joseph's Church Kindergarten later replied that their teachers are St John's trained first-aiders. That adds more mystery to why the bleeding was not stopped. Or why my daughter was left to sit in the middle of the crowd even though she had an injury.
6) No matter whose fault it is, fact remains there is an injured child. Would common decency not dictate that as much care as possible be given to him/her? From what could be observed, there seems to be a lapse in care.
I have also channeled my queries to the Ministry of Education (Pre-school Department) but have come up short, as they say Kindergartens are privately run. MOE however has been most helpful in trying to mediate the matter.
Recent report has it that pre-school education will not be nationalised. I can understand the academic aspects of it but does it also mean that negligence of such nature, in my daughter's case, will not be subject to scrutiny of any authoritative body? Whom can we parents turn to under such circumstances in seeking recourse? I personally feel that the issue was badly handled by St Joseph's Church Kindergarten - be it the Principal or the teachers. And such action is unbefitting of an educator, much less someone who helms a pre-school institution where very young children are left in their care.
Notwithstanding signed consent and indemnity forms, the school does bear responsibility in due care and diligence. These should be extended and exercised to the maximum capability of the school and her staff, who assumes such responsibility by virtue of accepting enrollment of said child in the school and during school activities. In my observation of the sequence of events and the responses I have received from the Principal, I fear to conclude that insufficient care and help was rendered. The entire time my daughter sat waiting, she was in fact cold, in pain, bleeding, and hungry. The sandwich she brought with her was only half eaten, as the other half was soaked in blood from her dripping chin.
-------------------------------------------------
This is a real-life incident. Yes, appalling to hear a school acted in such manner and further refuse to take responsibility or even offer a word of apology. I have named the parties and school involved as this is, like I said, a real-life incident and I have a social responsibility to alert/inform/recommend all parents be more vigilant.
Forum topics of such nature generally turn into a flaming war. I have no such agenda - so please refrain from making any antagonistic remarks, and in any such case I will choose not to reply. This post aims to throw caution to parents who have school-going children. Please watch out for your kids and be aware of what schools are doing. If you have a kind word or would like to ask after my daughter, I greatly appreciate it.
Now lets all get back to what we were doing, quit thinking about a piece of bloody sandwich
On the 26th Nov '09, the school organised a holiday program - ice-skating at Kallang Ice World. At 11am, I received a call from one of the teachers, Ms Ho, saying my daughter was "pushed, fell, hurt her chin, and bleeding". She went on to say she had to call me as she needed instructions as to whether I wanted the teachers to send my daughter to a clinic downstairs, or to wait for me at the skating rink. According to Ms Ho, the wound was bleeding quite a fair bit, and will most probably require stitches. As I was not there to assess the injury, I based my decision on what she described and left instructions to have my daughter sent to the clinic immediately while I made my way to the venue. I requested through Ms Ho that the doctor call me before any procedures were done on my daughter. Our phone conversation ended with her acknowledgment of my request.
As I was caught in heavy traffic, I rang Kallang Ice World at 11.20am to find out if my daughter had been sent to the clinic and if there was any update on the situation. The staff of Kallang Ice World knew nothing and could not answer any of my queries. I asked to speak with Ms Ho. Shortly after, Ms Ho came on the line and reported that my daughter had not been sent to the clinic because they "did not have her particulars". She went on to say the bleeding "had stopped".
I arrived at Kallang Ice World at around 11.30am. Upon entering the premises, I noticed my daughter was sitting in the crowd by herself, with no teacher within her immediate vicinity. It was only when I approached that Ms Ho ushered me towards my daughter. When I neared, I observed her chin was still dripping blood! By my estimate, having been called at 11am by Ms Ho, that the accident must have happened some minutes prior, and as the present time was already 11.45am, my daughter would have bled for about an hour or more.
When I asked, none of the teachers had gauze or tissues with them, so I carried my daughter to the skate rental counter and requested some tissues. Upon my questioning, I was told by the counter staff that none of the staff at Kallang Ice World is first-aid trained.
The Principal of St Joseph's Church Kindergarten, Miss Angeline Wong, was at a distance and did not approach me. I went up to her and expressed my disappointment at how the whole thing was being handled, and how my daughter was not given due care. The very first thing Miss Wong said, and very quickly, was that my daughter "fell on her own." Miss Wong went on to say they applied antiseptic cream, but she could not explain when I asked why the bleeding was not stopped prior to applying the cream.
My daughter told me later, that in order to contact me, the teachers had to get my number from her, an injured, bleeding, scared, and freezing girl. Why did St Joseph's Church Kindergarten not have such important details in hand?
I have since written to St Joseph's Church Kindergarten with questions pertaining to the incident, most important of all - why my specific instruction to send my daughter to the clinic to stop the bleeding was not carried out, causing further trauma to my daughter who was freezing and in pain. It has been 2 months since, but the school has not addressed any of my concerns, nor answered any of my relevant questions, which included:-
1) Could there be a lapse in supervision at the skating venue since none of the teachers is able to give an accurate account of the accident? My daughter, with the help of her classmate, held the side of the rink and got out themselves to look for help, while Miss Angeline Wong and 2 other teachers were skating in the rink.
2) Why did the teachers not have the relevant student particulars on hand so that my daughter could have been taken to the clinic sooner? Was the information not given to the school for precisely such circumstances?
3) Why did the school teachers not bring along a first-aid kit? Did they assume there would be access to one at the venue? The reply I later received from the Management Committee of St Joseph's Church Kindergarten was that they did have a first-aid kit. But when I was there, they could NOT provide me with gauze, or even a band-aid.
4) Why was there no conscientious effort to ensure my daughter remained safe after the fall? When I arrived she was seated among the crowd of children, with her chin still bleeding. No constant pressure was applied to the wound until the bleeding stopped, and no adult accompanied her to monitor her condition and provide comfort during the wait.
5) In evaluating the venue for school activities, was it discovered that Kallang Ice World has no trained First-Aider? St Joseph's Church Kindergarten later replied that their teachers are St John's trained first-aiders. That adds more mystery to why the bleeding was not stopped. Or why my daughter was left to sit in the middle of the crowd even though she had an injury.
6) No matter whose fault it is, fact remains there is an injured child. Would common decency not dictate that as much care as possible be given to him/her? From what could be observed, there seems to be a lapse in care.
I have also channeled my queries to the Ministry of Education (Pre-school Department) but have come up short, as they say Kindergartens are privately run. MOE however has been most helpful in trying to mediate the matter.
Recent report has it that pre-school education will not be nationalised. I can understand the academic aspects of it but does it also mean that negligence of such nature, in my daughter's case, will not be subject to scrutiny of any authoritative body? Whom can we parents turn to under such circumstances in seeking recourse? I personally feel that the issue was badly handled by St Joseph's Church Kindergarten - be it the Principal or the teachers. And such action is unbefitting of an educator, much less someone who helms a pre-school institution where very young children are left in their care.
Notwithstanding signed consent and indemnity forms, the school does bear responsibility in due care and diligence. These should be extended and exercised to the maximum capability of the school and her staff, who assumes such responsibility by virtue of accepting enrollment of said child in the school and during school activities. In my observation of the sequence of events and the responses I have received from the Principal, I fear to conclude that insufficient care and help was rendered. The entire time my daughter sat waiting, she was in fact cold, in pain, bleeding, and hungry. The sandwich she brought with her was only half eaten, as the other half was soaked in blood from her dripping chin.
-------------------------------------------------
This is a real-life incident. Yes, appalling to hear a school acted in such manner and further refuse to take responsibility or even offer a word of apology. I have named the parties and school involved as this is, like I said, a real-life incident and I have a social responsibility to alert/inform/recommend all parents be more vigilant.
Forum topics of such nature generally turn into a flaming war. I have no such agenda - so please refrain from making any antagonistic remarks, and in any such case I will choose not to reply. This post aims to throw caution to parents who have school-going children. Please watch out for your kids and be aware of what schools are doing. If you have a kind word or would like to ask after my daughter, I greatly appreciate it.
Now lets all get back to what we were doing, quit thinking about a piece of bloody sandwich
