An attendance meeting at school for 5 days off since September

Schools attendance really makes me mad. Kids get punished for being off poorly, they miss out on stuff from being ill. And then they drag themselves in still poorly and pass viruses onto vulnerable children. I’m sat typing this sat next to my sons bedside in hospital with our 7th admission in 14 months. Has covid taught us nothing?!?!

In our school they do the attendance every 4 weeks, my DD was off for the whole week so her attendance dropped below 90%. School sent me a letter asking me to come in and discuss her attendance so I phoned them up and said unless the school policy has changed and sick children have to come in to school then I am not sure there is much to talk about. They told me to ignore the letter.

My DD (6) was sent home from school on a Wednesday afternoon because she’d had one ‘runny poo’ in the toilet. I was told she couldn’t come back for 48 hours. She was absolutely fine, no other runny poos or anything but missed 2 full and 1 half day of school over it. Same child I had a letter about her attendance last year when she was off for a sickness bug and then a full week for chicken pox 🙄 5 days since September is IMO pretty normal for a young child being exposed to winter bugs 5 days a week and with a strictly enforced 48 hour no return rule for any sickness/runny poo.

I wouldn't entertain this. I'd say I'm happy to have a chat on the phone but I'm not wasting my time with a pointless meeting. Ask them if next time they would prefer you to send your vomiting child into school for the teachers to deal with.

I think it’s ridiculous that they actually want a meeting with you. Surely a telephone call will suffice where you explain the illnesses which you have already done anyway.

My dc gets lots of colds and then a horrendous cough. The school/s (happened in three schools) said she has to go in if she has a cold so I have sent her in then she starts coughing and spluttering and I get a phone call saying she should stay at home tomorrow 😐

I would go along .The teachers know their child ,but to the Council staff she is just another tick on a box ticking exercise! The thing is that although you are keeping her off for legitimate reasons ,how do they know unless from a meeting with you to clarify the issue

With all due respect how is this relevant? Just because by some sheer miracle your child hasn’t been sick during school time, doesn’t mean that it’s anyone’s fault that OP’s has?

Don’t even worry about it…go to the meeting or ask for it to be over the phone just to tick a box but then don’t give it another thought x

Schools are under pressure to improve their attendance statistics. Your dd's has likely dipped below their target percentage. It is not about authorised v. unauthorised but overall attendance. Nationally attendance has dropped from pre pandemic levels.

I'd advise going to the meeting. No point getting a reputation for bring awkward. One day, you may have some concerns you'd like them to listen to. Just explain why she has been off in an open, friendly way. Apart from a bit of your time, it won't cost you anything.

Schools are in dire straights and they waste time on pointless stuff like this.

Correction: Schools are in dire straits and instead of helping them in a meaningful way, the inept and interfering government/DfE/Ofsted insist that they must spend time on stuff like this in order to be considered a good school.

People need to accept that if they want their child to attend a 'good' or 'outstanding' school, then this is, in part, what they have asked for.

It’s for the school paperwork to try to look good for Ofsted so that they can show that they are ‘tackling issues’

And do people think that schools actually enjoy all this box ticking? Of course they want to look good for Ofsted, a publicised poor report is usually taken at face value and can damage a school, even teachers' lives.
5 days in one term of about 12 weeks is quite a high percentage, if schools didn't try to work with parents they would be criticised too.

This is insane! My DS has had more than this! Chickenpox, D&V twice and flu. The teachers haven’t batted an eyelid.

I love this. Excellent tactics!

Schools do get obsessed with attendance. They are under pressure from higher up/worried about an ofsted visit being triggered etc.

Sometimes letters/meetings etc are triggered by particular thresholds being crossed. Sometimes the person initiating the letter doesn’t know the exact situation. They should but they don’t.

Post covid has increased the excitement about attendance - particularly as figures have never quite recovered.

My last school’s figures reset every September. Some never quite got it that a week off in September gave an alarm bell ringing 75% attendance rate. By December a week off in that term gives a rate of 92%. Over the year that week off, given no more absences gives a rate of about 98%

I’d say go to the meeting, with dates, doctor’s visits etc and explain.

Asking what school can do is a valid point. Schools can try to ensure sufficient ventilation, put in HEPA filters, encourage staying home when sick to help overall health, attendance, wellbeing, concentration, learning of school population as a whole etc.

One to stick up for the school here. Schools and colleges are held to account by Ofsted over attendance to a, quite frankly, insane degree. I’ve just come out of an inspection where the top line attendance data was in the 90s but there were small pockets of provision where the attendance was sometimes in the 70s. The achievement data is very good. The conversations I had to have around the leadership response to this were absolutely ludicrous. My focus will now have to be on attendance to mitigate this as far as possible. That is time away from other more important areas of provision so that I can track attendance. It’s bats. Schools know that it’s bats. Attendance problems can fall into two areas of Ofsted judgements and one of those could limit the overall grade and then the school, its staff and community are forced into RI or worse. Most likely RI. Staff will then leave or stay but feel angry/demoralised. Parents will be upset/angry. It’s truly not a situation anyone wants to be in.

I would go to the meeting safe in the knowledge that no one really actually wants to be there and that we’re all just trying to muddle through a system that’s a bit shit.

I’m sure if your DD had two weeks off with chicken pox this meeting wouldn’t be happening. From your op though, it looks like she is had 2 days for D&V then three other odd days off. That’s four occasions of sickness in three months.

While it may not be the end of the world now, it does start a trend for the future if she has time off for every sniffle and each time she’s feeling a bit off.

Go to the meeting and see what they say. It won’t be a telling off, more just recommendations for helping get her in to school.

Christ, really?! Mine was ill every two weeks without fail in the winter he was 2/3 years old. It coincided with when Covid restrictions lifted and it was hideous. Every working parent I know has said the same - you get one winter when they pick up everything and you feel like you're on a treadmill of Calpol and sick buckets.

Thankfully he's now in Reception and has only had one day off so far, but I'm sure the kids who didn't go to nursery will be getting ill a LOT. Five days sounds about right to me. Probably another five next term too.

I can see how that's achievable if you have a long stretch of absence but who can get a gp appointment within one or two days of sickness here and there? I mean, for a start, this is an unnecessary burden on gp surgeries.

The figures are worked out on the basis of the number of days of the school year already elapsed, not as a proportion of the number of days in the entire school year. 5 days out of approximately 90 days gives a totally different figure to 5 days out of approximately 270 days. So if she has no further sickness then the percentage attendance will start to increase.

Just ask them if the meeting can be held at 6pm!

At my child's school if they have attendance that's low you normally have to bring proof eg appointment letter for doctor etc, prescription as an example. I know it is difficult and frustrating especially this time of year.

I was “invited” to attend one of those and was really irritated by it.

However, it wasn’t too bad … they said the main reason was to see if there was an underlying reason the child might not want to be at school or if we had difficulty getting them there. Anything they could help with basically. However they didn’t question when we said she was unwell and loved school.

They also asked if they could do anything and I said yes - make sure dc wears their coat at break and after school as they are 5 and I’m sick of her coming out in a t shirt in winter. They were quite obliging of this and I noticed an improved after.

Ended up feeling my irritation was disproportionate 😂

100% (no pun intended) this!
❤️

Make it clear to school that you won’t be attending the meeting because your DD was poorly for all 5 days she had off from school.

You could explain you would understand if it was a day a week etc but it was literally a couple of times of her being poorly, as all 5 year olds are.

Schools are obsessed with attendance…..until they’re not (covid).
She’s 5 and keeping up with everything and parents evening was perfect.

So it’s just for their stats they’re coming down hard.
If they get arsey, tell them that if she’s poorly again, you’ll be sure to bring her so she can vomit on their carpet 😂