School coming to home to view sick child - Normal?

Wow! We'd be on the phone all day at my school.

Is it?
I've never heard of it happening with either pastoral staff or tbut might be dependent on the school.
I would certain query this and seek clarity OP.
And I hope that teacher has had chickenpox!

Yes I'd do the same, I'd be pretty mad if a teacher knocked on the door and requested I parade a poorly child in front of them, to decide in their expert medical opinion if they needed to be off? What if they were off with a headache or tummy ache and to look at appeared normal, what then? You are doing the school run with your other child so you clearly aren't on holiday or just too lazy to take your children to school, I'd be emailing them and clarifying exactly why they felt the need to show up unannounced to drag your child who was unwell out of bed? Next time you have norovirus in the house (you know there will be a next time with primary aged kids) make sure you invite them in 😁 they might believe you 24 hours later.

My school does a home visit if you haven’t called in for three days. If you were persistently late then that would be a safeguarding issue. I don’t know if I’m remembering correctly from safeguarding training but persistent lateness is often seen a sign of neglect.
Why don’t you drop the head an email and ask?

I’ve just looked up dd school policy out of interest from this post.
we have to phone by 9am every morning of illness. If we don’t and then we don’t answer a phone call, the next stage is for the DSL or deputy DDL to visit for a wellbeing check. If no answer then social care or police to be called.

It makes me wonder if something very specific has happened in the past with other parents and their child at your sons school.

So perhaps that’s why it’s been followed up. Perhaps it’s just a blanket thing with no allowances ie your Dd is still attending, so it doesn’t mean you’ve scarpered off on holiday.

We did 350 such visits in January
It is totally totally normal in many many schools.

(22 years as a Headteacher, LA adviser, chair in 2 schools, trustee in 3 mats and a government adviser on attendance) But hey I should listen to parents and teachers on an anonymous thread on mumsnet!

This is a policy in my current school. We have to have seen the child at least once every three days.
It is written as part of our safeguarding policy, and I suppose may seem a bit overzealous but we also have lots of students who school refuse and therefore it’s a good way of maintaining the connection to school.
However we are up front about it, it’s written in our policy, we have designated attendance officers. It’s just seen as normal now, but it’s been happening for years.

Does your school not start at 9, like most schools? So as long as you arrive before 9, you aren't actually late?

Quite unusual IMO.

Kids get ill all the time, especially in the early years of school.

Did you end up bringing him down to show her?

Yes, agree. My dc are at Uni now but even back when they were at Primary there was. Family Liaison Lead - though he was admin staff not a teacher. And he definitely visited pupils homes. Not just for a one off illness though, there would have to be other concerns too, I suppose persistence lateness might be one. Maybe schools have had to dish out these roles to actual teachers now if they can’t fund additional staff.

Of course it isn't totally normal.

As you'd know if you'd bothered to read posts from others saying it isn't. teachers and parents. This is not normal.

I agree.

Especially strange as he has a sibling who is in school. I'd contact the school and check this is standard protocol and not someone overstepping the mark, and why they felt it necessary. I agree with others safeguarding is important and all that but feels intrusive and worrying if you don't know why.

It's not normal otherwise we would all get home visits. There's a protocol that has to be followed so if OP had spoken to the school they wouldn't just rock up at her door would.

I've heard of schools requesting proof of sickness but that is usually due to poor attendance.

I was a teacher for many many years (Primary). Fair enough I retired several years ago so things may be different now. Teachers didn’t visit families at home apart from one visit just before the child started in Reception. These were booked in advance. All schools in the area I worked in had Educational Welfare Officers who would contact parents regarding attendance or lateness. It wasn’t the teacher’s role to do this.

Our school has a wellbeing officer who would do this if it was part of a pattern of lateness or other concerns.

I'm a TA in primary and have not heard of this. Yes, we hear a lot of concerns about persistent absence but not a one off like this. Even with persistent absence, it's more likely to be a letter or a phone call. Never heard of a teacher going around to the house.

That said, yes, I think it does make ridiculous assumptions about who cares for children when they are ill. I was ill a lot as a child (or 'ill' as I hated school) and I don't recall a single sick day home with either of my parents. I was always deposited at my grandparents like 20 minutes away because, of course, they needed to work. Would not being literally at home flag up an even bigger issue with the school?

Unusual but makes me think if something has happened historically to a child in that school to make this a procedure....not all kids have good homelives, you have nothing to hide so nothing to worry about, but this could save.kids who have no voice other than the.adults paid to look out for them.