Period pain proof required for school sick days

This is absurd. Periods can be horrendous, not just the pain but the exhaustion/fatigue, some suffer with headaches etc too because of them. This Head needs to wear a period pain simulator until they realise how difficult it can be to function when you have your period.

Me too. But I also come from an area of the UK where many parents refuse to let their daughters wear anything other than pads & will authorise absences during swimming / PE days then blame period pain.

The thing is if a girl has such severe period pain it impacts attendance (because painkillers don’t touch it) you would want the parents to seek medical help. But a lot of parents often help girls take time off on PE / swimming days while on their periods because they don’t want them to wear tampons / take medication which isn’t right.

What fresh hell is this?! I am so glad I don't live in the UK. I often had to 'power through' period pains. The result was that I didn't even realise I was in labour with my first child because the contractions were so easy compared to my period pains. 🙄

Good grief. This is where the complete focus on academic progress from y2 to yr 11 has taken us. Ignore the fact that a poorly child or one vomiting due to severe period pain will not be learning, heads just want that attendance.

I’ve never taken a day off for a cold, but my ex always does. That’s not to say I don’t feel rough with it, especially when it turns into sinus, but I can work from home. I went back to work the day after I was released from hospital with acute pancreatitis (have a few days as until a major surgery i got it a lot and was worried about losing my job).

I think for kids at school it won’t hurt. My DD was on less than 80% attendance in year 8-9 due to health issues, and she got 11 x 9’s in her GCSE’s this year. So I have always let mine off if they feel rough.

It's madness. I've got classrooms full of coughing teenagers, using up all the tissues and sneezing everywhere. I teach girls who tell me that they really suffer every month. The Head spoke to us all about "powering through". It's absolute idiocy and we had a union meeting because of staff being expected to come in when ill as well. It's really making me angry.

How can you prove how much pain you're in? It's not uncommon for someone to be ill enough that they shouldn't go to school (or work, for that matter), yet not ill enough to need medical attention of any kind. In fact, forcing someone to jump through hoops to prove they are ill or are experiencing pain probably only prolongs their discomfort. In a system that's already strained, it's so illogical to create even greater demand!

Headteachers (let's be honest, 90% of actual teachers won't support this) are not parents and shouldn't be allowed to pretend they're capable of telling when a child is sufficiently ill to warrant a day off. If my child has a cold severe enough to affect their sleep, energy or comfort they're staying off, end of.

I've taken days off work with a cold. You can feel absolutely rotten with a cold.

According to some, covid is "just a cold"!

This obsession with perfect attendance is ridiculous.

These head teachers. What is wrong with them? They shouldn't be anywhere near education.