Is this extremely petty of my children's school?

Our school insists on letters for stuff like this as well, although didn't ask for one when I needed to pick my eldest up for a fracture clinic appointment at short notice... I guess her arm being in a plaster cast was a giveaway though!

Very petty of school.

Last year for the whole term, every Thursday I was collecting my DD, at 15:00 so she could attend swim lessons at 15.30. School didn't mind at all. She still had 100% attendance.

They won’t mark them as absent though, because you will obviously get proof at the appointment or send it on to them a day or so later. They will only do that if you don’t send them any proof, which is entirely reasonable as proof is so easy to get (you were even offered it and turned it down) that the only reason you wouldn’t give them any is if you are lying, in which case fair enough. You’re not lying, so send them proof and it’ll go down as authorised.

I’d just let them mark it as unauthorised. Our school doesn’t like you taking dentist appts etc in school time but every nhs dentist round here won’t do after-school for kids so there’s no choice 😅

Just let them mark it as unauthorised. Who cares?

Off topic but I wouldn't trust an appointment time unless I was given confirmation.

It's more important to check they can see properly than have the last ten minutes in school.

How bad is it, really, to be marked down as unauthorised absence? What's going to happen? They're not going to fail their GCSEs. It's just a mark on a target sheet. Take them and forget about it.

I like the idea sending proof and escalating to the head-teacher. Then ask for your child’s attendance records to show good attendance and send to the board of governors.

It won’t change anything for you this time, but if there it could raise the issue do tolerance and make them do the majority of the paperwork

Why am I not surprised it was a man.

Totally agree

Not so much petty as jobsworth and unable to think flexibly.

Unless is it a hospital type eye appointment or an emergency their galsses have broken type appointment I'd have thought an optician's appointment in school time would be unauthorised anyway.

it is petty but otoh if everyone did it it would be more work for the school.
just make appointments in time for after school travel

I'd fetch them and allow the unauthorized absence, then write to the head with proof of the appointment and ask for an apology - and complain to the governors. My nephew's children were refused a day off school to attend their great-uncle (my DH)'s funeral as he was not a 'close enough' relative (NB very close family, they knew him well). A fine of £60 each if they took the day off. As it happened the funeral was during their half-term (but not that of my school age DGCs or DGGCs - who all attended the wake, though only the eldest attended the funeral) so it didn't matter, but it is the parents who should decide whether the time off is necessary, not the school - and I have maintained this ever since this nonsense came up, when at school meetings etc (I was a teacher).

English schools are ridiculous and yes it was petty of them.

Thankfully in Wales, they take a sensible approach. My kids attendance hasn't been the best this year(due to illness and appointments) but I've never had any issues with the school. There were bugs doing the rounds a lot this winter and the school believe us when they have to be off. Primary never even ask to see letters.

It's not petty. It's because so many parents think it ok to take children out 10-20 minutes for weekends away etc (to beat the traffic, or get to their destination by the kid's tea time). In reality it's a ginormous hassle for the school. Not because the child misses significant education (unless you are doing it very often), but because the teacher has got to interrupt the lesson to get your kid with coat, bag etc. They then have to get someone to escort them to the office, the office staff have to sign the child out (even though it doesn't need the register altering, they still need a fire record). It interrupts things a lot, which is fine if it's one child that day with a genuine medical need. If it's 20 kids whose parents want to get away early to beat traffic and some of those 20 do it most weeks in summer, that's hassle the school don't need.

I'm a teacher OP - this is completely ridiculous. Tell the Head that you don't appreciate being disbelieved by the school secretary.

Could have taken a photo at the opticians as proof?

Why is it automatically assumed that you are lying if you don’t have documentary proof? Can’t they just take your word for it? It’s heavy handed for the loss of 10 minutes and I agree that it’s petty.

I had a similar experience with my son’s school. I was ordered to go home and write an email to the school (even though I had just told her verbally) and provide a letter. And she was really rude and abrupt and told my husband off (in front of my son) when he brought him back to school later in the day.

Sorry but I was more concerned about my son who had to have a blood test to rule out leukaemia.

In the case laid out in the OP, the kids were at school for both registrations and missed a whole 10 minutes at the end of the day. They could have "missed" that much education having a difficult shit.

Assuming OP is a normal parent who makes an effort to get her kids into school on time and keeps the school up to date about any illnesses etc, demanding a note for missing 10 whole minutes at the end of the school day and saying it will be marked as an unauthorised absence does absolutely nothing but undermine her rapport with the school.

I worked in a school office for many years. The days before holidays were spent fetching children from class to go sudden medical or dental appointments. Very disruptive for the classes, teachers get annoyed. Book bags , coats, change of shoes, jumpers have to be found. Children may has to be found in playground, assembly’s, music lessons. It also meant we couldn’t get on with our own work so had to stay behind to get it finished. So staff do get cross at you picking you child up early. It’s not just 10 minutes earlier. You are probably the twelfth person that day.

😂😂😂😂

I’m baffled as to why you wouldn’t just smile and say ‘okay’. What does it matter what code they put in a register?

As for op it's absolutely ridiculous the school asking for this or saying it would count as an absence but one unauthorised absence means nothing to you or your dc in the long run so I'd be taking it anyway. You have a legitimate reason and I'm sure there is a reason you didn't make it later. I will add though it is a pain when parents come and take dc out early, especially when we are short staffed. We get a lot of appointments pop up when it's raining (ie parents don't want to stand and wait in the playground) and we're back and forward like a yo-yo taking dc to the office meaning no one is a bit to help the wider class get ready to go home