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b)Its bloody ME that gets them (him) there ever day. Gets them there on time every day. Even if Dh takes them its still me rushing them all out of teh house to get here on time. There no effort from the children....
They hand those out at DS's school too and he didn't get one due to having caught every blimmin' thing going. He did get a certificate for excellent punctuality though and I definitely took the credit for that!
working in a school with bad attendance these things can work and create a bit of intr form competition to get the kids into school. Agree it's unfair on the kids who are ill or have hosp apts but tbh schools are judged on their attendance figures. My poor ds had to have two days off as headmaster said he couldn't go in when he had slapped cheek so he won't get it this year!
Quite the contrary I think its a brill idea, teaches the kids the value of school attendance. OK they might not be making all the effort now but little thinkgs like this make school a positive and fun place for them to be. Surely thats how you want your child to feel about school. And surely its supporting everything you're doing to get them up ready and out of the house on time??
My friends got two boys aged 7 and 9. The 7 year old was ill and missed a weeks school as a result. The 9 year old never missed a day
At the end of term the school took all pupils with 100% attendance to Alton Towers. The 9 year old was told he could go the 7 year old was told he had to stay at school (my friend din't let either of them go but took them himself in the holiday)
YANBU it is unfair to exclude children from reward if they were absent through no fault of their own
My dd's school do this every term, the teacher joked last term that dd1 should have got a certificate for 100% non attendance, she broke her arm. Luckily dd saw the funny side. But whats the point in making kids feel bad that they never got a certificate, they can't help illness.
LadyTH - I absolutely agree that it's the parents not the children who should be rewarded for excellent attendance and punctuality. Mine would have at least a day off every week with a mystery illness and be late more often than not were I not on top of them.
My third child, not yet at school, has a chronic illness which will necessitate ongoing clinic appointments and spells in hospital. How unfair if someone in her position were made to feel they'd failed by their less than perfect attendance, when they're also struggling with being different from their peers because of their illness??
DS1 won't be getting one this term cos he was ill. He'll be heartbroken in that assembly. He also won't get the No Tardy certificate cos he was late - I made him go back and search for his lost jacket. I warned him he would be late. We still do not have the jacket. Tis a mare. He had a 100% uniform party yesterday tho. They throw a party for all the kids who always wear uniform (except on the once monthly no uniform days).
Funny, I've found I've stopped minding about this.
Up till last year, we were being bullied by dd's headteacher, because she has a permanent medical condition which leads to high absent rates. He did everything to make us leave his school, so he could get the nice rewards you get for a high attendance rate. It was horrible and she would frequently come home in tears.
It was exactly the sort of situation described by Janni. He knew perfectly well she was ill, but he would say things like 'yes, we do know she is ill but you can't expect us to be happy about it'. Her class would miss out on treats because they didn't meet the attendance targets thanks to her.
He even sent for social services and tried to present us as a problem family. I remember dd sobbing into her pillow that 'if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have to go through all this'.
Her life was being made a misery over this wretched attendance, because the headteacher thought the way the school was judged was more important than actually being supportive to its pupils.
Then the headteacher left, dd still has the same condition (and always will), but she is not being bullied about- so I don't really care any more. Even dd sits through the weekly attendance assemblies with an indifferent smile. And when ds brought home his first certificate, I just shrugged.
But I have seen how this system works when it is at its worst.
Our school is going to introduce this. I feel the same as LTH and objected to the suggestion - I think it discriminates against those with chronic conditions. It's hardly a child's fault if they're ill, is it? And, as you say, with primary age children, we're the ones who get them to school on time.
these things are a bit unnecessary, especially when bugs go round the class like wildfire. DS1 got one in reception when he was one of the few children in the year to not get chicken pox. Silly.
I can see the point in secondary schools with poor attendance records - as long as they find a way of rewarding children who genuinely did have good reason for being absent (e.g. the 100 per cent uniform thing).
My father is a governor at a comp with a genuinely comprehensive intake. They decided not to do these certificates because some of them may not attend because of chronic conditions/SN/family circumstances, which is hardly their fault, although the school tries to work with families to encourage them to get good attendance. (Am not suggesting SN = bad attendance, btw, just that in some cases with some children there might be days that are harder than others - local special school was shut down and my father's school took in most of the children who had been there.)
However, if a child doesn't turn up without any contact from parents, they have members of staff who call the home. If no answer they go round there to find out what's going on. So major disincentive to anyone who tries to bunk off or malinger.
You don't need to make children with chronic conditions or whatever feel bad in order to encourage good attendance.
I agree LTH. Plus, let's be honest, is a parent who would keep their child off school for anything other than a valid reason really going to be that bothered whether their child gets a certificate or not? The trip to Alton Towers thing is just damn right WRONG. Maybe to exclude children with unauthorised absences??? After all isn't that what schools are judged on? But genuine absences should not be discriminated against imo.
