Nova ScotiaA Cape Breton family is fighting to get an extra teacher’s assistant to help monitor the blood sugar levels of their child with diabetes. So far, the school is refusing to do so. Family trying to get second teaching assistant in class to monitor blood sugar levelsAnna Rak · CBC News · Posted: Nov 10, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 4 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Rhys Fewer is spending his time at home instead of the classroom because his family is concerned for his safety. (Anna Rak/CBC)A family in Cape Breton is fighting to get an extra teaching assistant for their child who is suffering from asymptomatic Type 1 diabetes. Rhys Fewer is in primary at Bras d’Or Elementary School. But he has been homeschooled for the past month because his family is concerned for his safety. Fewer’s grandmother, Corinne Foster, says there are four full-time students in Rhys’s class who require a teaching assistant. She says two more part-time students who need a teaching assistant will soon be joining the class.But she says there is one teaching assistant in the classroom.Fewer says he misses recess and spending time with his friends. (Anna Rak/CBC)“I just don’t feel like I’m being watched enough,” said Rhys, who is five.For his family, not having someone to actively monitor Rhys’s blood sugar levels is problematic.“There have been several mistakes made in relation to his Type 1 diabetes,” says Foster.“We can’t have that. We need Rhys to come home at the end of the day to us. We love Rhys so much, and we cannot stand back and let this happen to our grandson.”Rhys’s body cannot produce the proper amount of insulin — the hormone that lowers the amount of sugar in the bloodstream.Rhys’s grandmother, Corinne Foster, wants the school to hire another teaching assistant in his class. (Anna Rak/CBC)Rhys gets insulin shots every time he eats and when his blood sugar levels are too high. He requires a teaching assistant to help him monitor those levels. A device on his arm monitors his levels. It sends alerts to his phone when they are too low or too high.Foster said Rhys was left alone with his phone turned off in some instances while in school. She said the family worried something could happen in those hours.Laura O’Driscoll from Diabetes Canada says that it is important to help young children monitor their levels so they can learn how to manage their diabetes from a young age.“We need to ensure that policies are implemented consistently across the province, whether it be in a rural setting, an urban setting, mainland or Cape Breton,” says O’Driscoll. “Otherwise, more gaps and issues will continue to jeopardize care.” Foster says the principal of the school wouldn’t assign another teaching assistant to the class after the family expressed their concerns. The family sent letters to the minister of education and the school board explaining the issue. Rhys’s pediatrician also wrote a letter to the school, saying that he needs to share a teaching assistant with only one or two other students to ensure proper monitoring. In a statement, Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education said “that school administration and regional staff are aware of the family’s concerns and are working to come to a resolution. Bras d’Or Elementary and CBVRCE are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all students.”MORE TOP STORIESABOUT THE AUTHORAnna Rak is a reporter for CBC Cape Breton.
Cape Breton family says school lacks proper support to assist child with diabetes
