Are schools asking for medical evidence now if child off school sick now?

There will be more to this story.

The previous school I worked at took the school mini bus round to a pupils house as they were frequently 'ill'. The mum struggled to persuade the child to go to school and couldn't drive them in due to other siblings so would just call in sick as it was easier.

Unless there was a history here a school would not just turn up!

There's always two sides to every story. Sometimes its quite amusing seeing what a parent says (usually told by their child) when you know what actually happened.

Have you ever called an ambulance to a secondary school? Unless they have had an MI, anaphylaxis etc, you will wait hours. Even when a child was knocked out as he fell, having a seizure, we were told the wait time was 6 hours. The same when a student had a full knee dislocation out on the field, the same when a pupil had said they took 3 boxes of paracetamol….

You can pay for additional insurance as a teacher, presumably if this was part of that role they would do that. I and many staff are also insured to drive the school minibus so that's an option at all.

I've heard of this before but usually it's for persistent school refusal where often the staff can convince the child where the parents are unable to for example in a family where the parent had addiction issues and didn't do a lot of parenting.

I've also heard of schools doing home visits or being a bit more persistent about proof when the child is off the week before half term and their mates have all been laughing about how they are on holiday and not really sick.

Yes, but I wouldn't put it past my ds' last primary head, who was obsessed with having perfect attendance figures, and once spent three weeks rudely demanding a doctor's note for my ds being off for a week.

If the stupid woman had used her eyes, the fact ds had gone from noisy boisterous 6yo to pale skinny waif with huge eyes and no energy, in that week, would have told her all she needed to know.

The last time the school rang, I told them I'd already provided a detailed note, we'd discussed it several times and I didn't expect to discuss it again.

Most teachers are brilliant but there's always the odd one or two.

Visited 6 individual homes average 20-40 visits a week.
No police presence why would I need it? I take my school ID in 18 months noones ever asked to see it. Only had 2 people who wouldn't let me in the house.
This week had 1 pupil who told Mum too ill to come in told me it was a friendship issue and came into school with me, probably bring her in every other week.
Year 11 boy told Mum he was too ill with migraine to come in them told me 'I just cant be arsed' put his uniform on and came in with me.
Tuesday i reported a safeguarding concern after bringing a pupil in was told by DSL no more 1:1 visits had to take a second member of staff. When this was reported to the social worker we were told 'its pathetic if I visited alone why cant you!'

I’ve heard of schools picking up children who are repeatedly late or absent without good reason in a mini bus.
Not sick children though.

And what memeber of staff would agree to drive to the home of a poorly child and then repeat the journey back to school with the germ filled, potentially vomiting/ pooping child in their own car.Perfect was to add to the number of sick people in a school

You do realise there’s more to OP’s story than “meany teachers kidnapped my kid” right?

Except they didn’t really did they?

Did you seriously need to ask that? Being alone on your own with a child, puts both the adult and the child in a vulnerable position.

If you work alone with children, then yes it does! It protects both the child and the adult.

If my child was poorly enough for me to decide they should stay at home, no teacher would even get across the threshold. They'd get short shrift from me. Who the hell do they think they are?

I am the parent. I know my ds best. I decide.

End of.

Did you take all six children as a group of singularly? Did you have police presence? What legitimate proof do you carry to identify yourself? Do you personally decide if a child is ill? Are you medically qualified?

Does everything have to be a safeguarding concern these days?

Yes if attendance is a concern and it appears there might be educational neglect at play.

Ambulance

So what happens when a student needs to get to A&E quickly?

Yeah that never happened 🤣🤣

So how do you protect yourself from accusations from a child? Which seems more likely if the kids are being brought unwillingly.

You're on your own with a child in an enclosed space. It does not seem sensible and wouldn't be allowed in many professions.

Yes on my own its what I do daily

On your own? Because that's a big safeguarding concern.

Why not? You just need the parents permission and the correct insurance, ive brought 3 absent pupils into school today and visited 6 in total.

I'm a school attendance officer can only bring children into school with parents permission so not sure you have the full story there.
Its common at our school to ask for medical evidence. Any thing over 15 days of illness in 1 academic year has to be reported to the LA. If due to medical that would be different so its important absences are recorded correctly.

Schools do go out and bring children in, this is a daily occurrence, not usually if they are truly ill though.

At DDs school, after 4 days off they knock on your door and do like a welfare check of sorts. We had this once but I was at work and neither DD or DH answered the door so they posted a card through and left. I called the school and they asked for evidence she was ill. My request for a docs appointment was enough. If not, they accepted a receipt for whatever medicine she had needed that day.

it’s nothing too invasive.