100% Attendance Certificates

It’s such a load of shit. Last week, my DDs teacher was getting her all excited, telling her she was going to get a prize today for 100% attendance……

Guess what? Dd started with a high temperature last Friday night, came out in a rash, Saturday night thraot like razor blades. Antibiotics from OOH dr, she had Monday off school as she still felt grotty.

Her attendance fell to 98.55 % for that one day off, so no prize today. She came out of school sobbing.

She’s 5 and in year 1. She couldn’t help being ill. I couldn’t have sent her in on Monday, even the dr said to keep her at home for the day to give the antibiotics a chance to kick in.

My son had lots of time off school due to a health condition. We told him Attendance Certificates were given to less clever children so that they didn’t feel left out.

I think this is detrimental to children’s well being if they have been off school ill through no fault of their own. Anyway it’s not the children who decide not to go to school at this age, it’s their parents decision.

Yup my child had 1/2 day off to attend her granddad's funeral and she didn't get a 100% attendance.... Seems totally unfair ... Apparently it's 99% and she should do better (well maybe she will next term but seriously- she has had 1.5 days absence in 1 year and 1 term absence- once as the school fed her dairy and the other because of a death)....

My kids school just sends a notification telling me they had 100% attendance. Haven't received a certificate or badge ever and they've had 100% a couple of times. They get star of the week once per school year(each week 1 child from the class is nominated, different every week no one gets it twice) and certificates for class dojo milestones.

It's stupid. We used to call it 'the well done not being sick' certificate. Your 5 year old may be a little young for that level of cynicism and likes his shiny badge but you can start practicing the eye rolling for next year! 6 year olds get sarcasm.

Our school doesn’t do this and as a parent of a kid who has amazing nearly never been sick, but is high-masking neurodiverse and has had to force herself in on several occasions, I’m pretty peeved she doesn’t get recognised for it tbh. Yes, it’s shit for the kids who are unwell, but there are also kids who are sometimes in tears who forced themselves in because ‘it’s the right thing to do’. They absolutely deserve to be recognised.

It's silly to reward good health isn't it? It's not exactly something people have much control over - even less so children who have no control over their diet and lifestyle to maximise the chances of good health as an adult does.

How does this incentive attendance? If a kid's unwell, they're unwell. What about the kids who have serious health issues and yet come in as much as they are able - don't they deserve recognition? And as for the poor kids from dysfunctional families - do they think the child missing out on the opportunity of a certificate will make any difference at all to the parents?

It's one thing I really dislike (and I'm extremely fortunate in having a child who frequently gets these 'awards'). What do you say? Well done for not catching anything this term?

Friend’s daughter went to her aunt’s funeral (friend’s SIL), it was her only day off that year. Not only was she distraught about her aunt but she was upset to miss out on her award too. Totally unfair.

I’m with you - attendance awards are fundamentally wrong. My children’s school give out reward events for every 5 weeks of 100% attendance, which my children do not attend even though they often have 100% attendance. We have agreed that we don’t think it’s fair to reward good health (or germ spreading). They do attend the ‘good behaviour’ reward events.

Ours does this with bells on. I consider it cruelty.
DD knows it's not the priority in our eyes, and as her parents we have the last word.

We're 100% education focused, we hope to be raising a life-long learner. A child's health and their attitude towards learning is far more important than some frankly silly spreadsheet nonsense dreamed up someone who doesn't accept that illness is a fact of life.

Your post made me smile 😃

I work in a school and at the end of term we do give out attendance certificates but that is amongst a whole range of other ones, for house points, for showing great improvements in their work, showing the school values etc. Even if your child has got a longer term condition there are so many other chances to get rewarded so everyone will feel included and want to do their best.

It is pretty stupid honestly. My DD1 didn’t miss a day all term until she picked up Norovirus (from school!) and obviously had to be off a few days as per their own rules. If she hadn’t have caught it, she would have 100% attendance, but it was totally out of her control. Plus attendance in primary is often in the hands of parents anyway.

I hate it. Worse, when it’s a competition between classes. I had a form group where one of the boys had cancer, needless to say our class never had the best attendance in the year group. All the others could have had 100% attendance and they’d never have made up the average, what message does that even send?

It's bullshit. It's a reward for having good health which is a massive positive in itself.

Kids with long term conditions have no hope of attaining 100% and that's not their fault.

I agree with lots of these comments but do remember my DC being so happy when they got theirs. The headteacher made a really big thing of it during a special assembly.

I hate this at school. It makes children who can’t/wont attend feel awful. Most children don’t attend due to either health (physical or mental) or circumstances at home, or parenting reasons. Not their fault.

when they get older it just makes them think what’s the point, they can’t achieve 100% so why bother going much at all. It makes them stand out, and blames them for something they aren’t to blame for.

schools have to be hot on attendance but rewarding it like this is not necessary.

What you have just said is yet another example of why this does not work. He was only late for school what about the other children who have serious illnesses and absolutely have to have time off.

Definitely not, it’s another pressure on kids with exams and stuff. I suffer from chronic illness and before I was diagnosed I missed some exams at uni because I couldn’t get through a 3 hour exam without being violently ill. I felt like the world was ending! When I went to work I let myself get way too poorly until I got a diagnosis and then it felt like I was justified (even though that took 7 years).

I think it’s harmful to both the kids who get it and the ones who don’t to be honest.

my DD’s often got them, certainly encouraged them in later years to not to try it on

Every talent is watered down these days. If a young girl is brilliant at art and draws in her spare time why not tell her she has a talent in art. Children know the truth. They tell their friends if they feel that friend is better than them at something. And that's fine. We adults mess it all up by saying it hurts the other child's feelings. Then we end up with messed up adults who go on x factor or shows like that and when they sing the shatter the windows. Let kids be kids. Stop adults interfering in childhood. There we are - rant over!

It's crap. I never had 100% attendance as a kid because I had one or two hospital appointments a year for a disability. It used to make me sad that I was there for every other session that year except those appointments over something I had no control about but would never get a certificate.

My DC's school is fab. They don't award 100% attendance. They sometimes release the attendance figures per class and highlight in their weekly assembly which class had 'won' that week. It then never targets a specific child who has had time off for illness. I think they do reward kids who have worked hard to improve their addendance with the school and have got to 90%+ or similar but not for those who manage 100%.

My kids are grown up now but it's been going on for years.

It would be so much better to do it based on attendance of possible /available days - eg for the kids in hospital they were not available on those days so attendance is only measured on the rest of the time.

I guess that's far too complicated though but would be far more fair.

Our school has never done this. I think my kids would be so embarrassed to get this anyway. It’s like they found the only thing that’s good about them- attending school.