Aibu about attendance prizes?

[namechangefornames]

Okay, leaving aside one's objections to attendance prizes anyway, we flexi school DD1 & she only attends Y1 4 days a week. Dd1 just told me that this means her class never get the prize for 100% attendance for the week. AIBU in thinking that is unfair, or should we just suck it up & feel guilty the rest of the class will never be rewarded because of our choice (agree with the head btw).

[namechangefornames]

Am contemplating talking to school about it on Monday - just asking them to disregard DD1 absence on that day of the week - will I sound bonkers?

[lougle]

Her attendance is 100% for the pro-rata week.

[thebody]

how fucking ridiculous op, agree say something.

these attendance prizes are bloody stupid.

how about a prize for the sensible parent who keeps sick kids off school so this bloody vomiting bug isn't spread by selfish fuck wits who send child back too soon.

[EduCated]

YANBU, seems bizarre that they would agree to a flexi-schooling arrangement, then essentially punish the rest of the class for it. Hopefully just some crossed wires somewhere, maybe speak to school in a 'DD told me this, just wanted to check and let you know as it seems the absence codes might be being marked down wrong'. Or something along those lines, but more eloquent

[Madmammy83]

But... if she only attends 4 days a week then she IS in full attendance so her class should be in with a shot... definitely have a word.

[trashcanjunkie]

aaaaargh YANBU. nobheads. I fucking hate the attendance pressure that goes on at school. It's beyond ridiculous. Both my dc's are excellent attenders, although will get a bout of tonsilitus about once a year lasting a week. This year school are pushing water bottles as prizes for 100% attendance. The kids have no chance as they were poorly - genuinely ill at the start of term, and they have to listen to the shit quacked out in golden assembly every friday. There's the massive weekly trophy (which the kids all covet madly) and the stupid fucking stickers to show which class has done the best over all, plus the most idiotic - trip to the cinema in school time for the overall winners. One of mine got this last year and I was like . Fortunately they don't give a rats arse about the water bottles, but it's a twattish system which doesn't actually work. People who keep their kids off unnecessarily still do so. The rest of us don't. Rant over.

[candycoatedwaterdrops]

If you don't mind me asking, what is the reason (in general) behind flexi-schooling?

[BohemianGirl]

I know its an obvious term but 'flexi school' - would you be able to explain it in words of one syllable for me I probably know it by an other term.

I probably know it as dual education, the child should be marked present for the day/s off site in an alternative educational environment. Come to think of it if you had a child with regular hospitalisation, that also would be airbrushed as time with the Medical PRU.

[namechangefornames]

Your responses have made me feel much more confident about mentioning it at school. It might well be this is just dd1 taking home a mis-understood message & that her class simply haven't own because they haven't had 100% attendance but I will check it out. You have made me realise that DD's pro rata attendance is 100% - wonder if she will get the half termly certificate again? We also culminate in a cinema trip in school time

candycoatedwaterdrops she spends one day a week at a forest school because we think it benefits her.

bohemiamgirl yes I guess it is dual education then as I know they have a code that records her as educated elsewhere on that day.

[Mouthfulofquiz]

I know this might not be a popular view but why does it matter? I didn't win a single prize for sports my entire school career because I wasn't sporty but I survived into adulthood!

[phantomnamechanger]

surely she is marked as educated off site or something and that does NOT affect the class attendance. This needs sorting or the class may start to resent DD.

[polgar]

Rather than kicking up a fuss over a completely inconsequential 'award', it would make more sense to educate your child on why this award is an irrelevance.

[namechangefornames]

mouthfulofquiz and polgar I'm not bothered about DD & we have talked about the daftness of these awards, but I am bothered that it is (apparently) affecting her classmates - they are only Y1, being clapped in assembley & getting extra playtime is a big deal to them.

[Feminine]

I don't understand what flexi-school is though?

I know you explained just now, but I still didn't get it? :)

[Feminine]

Sorry, I have seen now

[Hassled]

If she's being marked as Educated Off Site then that won't impact her attendance stats. Same as the code used for school trips - doesn't affect % attendance. I suspect your DD has got the wrong end of the stick.

[phantomnamechanger]

I would feel the same if, for example, a child had a regular afternoon off for hospital treatment or something. The class would end up resenting that child's misfortune if it meant they never got the trophy/extra playtime or whatever.

I do think it is important to strive for good attendance and get tomorrows workforce into good habits, but it is wrong when individual children can end up feeling blamed by their peers.

[LaGuardia]

she spends one day a week at a forest school because we think it benefits her.

[UniS]

DS's class will never win either. They are the smallest class in the school 20 kids (instead of 30) , so each child for each day is 1% of total. while in each other class 1 child 1 day = 0.666 % . It's rare that any class manages 100% in any given week.

[TheNomad]

According to the UK Dept of Education's 2013 advice on attendance -

"Where parents have entered in to flexi-schooling arrangements, schools may continue to offer those arrangements. Pupils should be marked absent from school during periods when they are receiving home education."

www.education.gov.uk/schools/pupilsupport/behaviour/attendance/a00223239/clarification-on-flexi-schooling