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Original poster

Low attendance- I am very worried

28 replies

Easterbunnymum · 22/04/2019 18:00

DD is in year 5 and I just found a letter in her school bag from school, saying they are worried about her attendance of 90% which is very low.

She did missed quite a few school days, but all were authorised by the school. She had two music exams, two private school exams, then a chest infection with two rounds of antibiotics before Christmas and a very bad diarrhoea and vomiting for 5 days just before Easter holidays. I called school every single day when she was sick and updated the school office. They themselves told me to keep her home for 2 days after her diarrhoea finished.

DD is top of the class in maths and English, in fact she is so advanced in maths she gets extra extension work printed just for her every week, she is a gifted musician and healthy and well looked after. I am now very worried about what’s going to happen. And we already booked an interview in another prep school, so will have to miss another day. Is it serious? How much should I worry?

OP posts:
greenelephantscarf · 22/04/2019 18:03

don't worry.
your dd isn't truanting and seems to be doing well overall.

BeautyQueenFromMars · 22/04/2019 18:44

Don't worry. It's a standard letter that goes out, they won't really be worried about your dd's attendance.

BiBiBirdie · 22/04/2019 18:47

Trust me,I get these all the time, and DS has serious health issues. Even the school rolls their eyes. It's purely a box ticking enterprise, they're more concerned with children with repeated, unexplained long periods of absences where their education is suffering.

Interested in this thread?

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Guylian2019 · 22/04/2019 18:48

Just because the days were authorised doesn't mean the attendance isn't 90%! That's really poor attendance. Basically 1 in every 10 days absent. Imagine if you were off 1 day every fortnight from work!

Original poster
Easterbunnymum · 22/04/2019 19:01

Thank you for your replies. But what can I do about DD being sick? Should I send her with vomiting to school from now on?

OP posts:
Original poster
Easterbunnymum · 22/04/2019 19:04

To be honest she learns more at home when she is absent, I always do a few hours of maths/English/science daily when she is home, and she reads a lot in bed if she is too sick to sit at her desk. She loves to study.

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Guylian2019 · 22/04/2019 19:08

No but you shouldn't be sounding so incredulous that you've had a letter either. 90% is poor. Can it be lessened in the future e.g. coming back to school after music exams or entrance exams etc. D&V doesn't normally require 5 days. You maybe need to think whether there have been occasions where she could have got back to school quicker. It doesn't matter how smart she is. A child can always make progress but 90% means 1 day in 10 missed.

Guylian2019 · 22/04/2019 19:10

How do you know she learns more at home than at school? Do you have an education degree or child development degree. Are you fully up to date with new learning strategies, curriculum etc?

That's not to say I doubt kids learn a huge amount at home in a lot of families but you are seeming very dismissive of school and that don't care attitude will eventually rub off on her.

Hwory · 22/04/2019 19:13

Why do you need to take a full day off school for a prep school interview?

Doesn’t matter how smart you are an absence is an absence.

Original poster
Easterbunnymum · 22/04/2019 19:23

I know she learns more at home because we are preparing her for 10+/11+ Exams and she has a tutor who is also a primary school teacher and DD is working at least two years ahead of her classmates. Her school teacher knows about her tutoring at home, very supportive. She never mentioned absence, we just had a parents meeting recently, it was never brought up before.

We can’t return back to school after the exam because the exam itself as around 4 hours and there is an hour travel time on top, there is no point coming back to school for 45 min. And anyway she missed 2 weeks with a terrible chest infection, she was very poorly and we took her 3 times to GP in 2 weeks. Then she had diarrhoea and fever 39.7 for 5 days. I called school and they advised me to keep her home for a further 2 days. I asked GP for a note but they refused.

OP posts:
Walktwomoons · 22/04/2019 19:23

Don't worry. Schools have attendance targets and blindly send out these nasty letters to parents from a computer generated list. Doesn't have anything to do with how the child is doing or whether the absence was authorised. Your child's teacher probably doesn't even know a letter was sent... And if they do know, they won't care as long as your daughter isn't falling behind. This sort of thing isn't really aimed at kids like your daughter, but it's all done by percentages.

Beanybye · 22/04/2019 19:27

Don’t worry about it, it’s one of those letters that automatically gets triggered. Seriously don’t give it another thought. She’s obviously very capable and well looked after she’s just had a run of bad luck with her health.

trinity0097 · 22/04/2019 19:27

Check how they have coded the entrance school exam days. They shouldn’t count as absence. J is the correct code that should have been applied, but most primary schools wouldn’t be aware of it’s use as it’s more common in secondary schools and private schools where children go for lots of entrance assessments and interviews,

funnylittlefloozie · 22/04/2019 19:28

Just out of interest, why do you have a tutor for entrance exams / 11+? Surely a child who isnt intrinsically bright enough to pass the exam without tutoring is going to really struggle with the ongoing work once they have a place.

Original poster
Easterbunnymum · 22/04/2019 19:29

Thank you so much for your replies! I got so stressed, just ate a whole Easter egg that DC we’re saving for later.

Will definitely call tomorrow and check regarding the code.

OP posts:
Guylian2019 · 22/04/2019 19:30

No offence but you have no idea that your daughter is working 2 years above her classmates. No school would ever tell you that and if that has come from your daughter children misunderstand things. It sounds like she's doing well but that's not to say she couldn't be doing even better if she actually attended school more regularly.

Original poster
Easterbunnymum · 22/04/2019 19:31

@funnylittlefloozie, you must be joking. I dare you to try St Paul’s/City test without prior tutoring. It’s a known fact that maths in both is closer to 13+ than to most 11+ at other schools... How a child can pass this exam without extra tutoring? Especially after an average state school.

OP posts:
Original poster
Easterbunnymum · 22/04/2019 19:34

what does it matter anyway? But if you really want a proof pm me, I’ll send you copies of DD CAT test and IESB tests results together with her NFER scores.

OP posts:
Original poster
Easterbunnymum · 22/04/2019 19:36

What=why

OP posts:
Guylian2019 · 22/04/2019 19:40

None of that would prove anything and to be honest the fact that you're willing to send those to a random stranger is very, very odd and very worrying.

Mind you, who am I to talk? I'm just a senior teacher at a state school probably of the kind you're so disparaging about.

Lovestonap · 22/04/2019 19:41

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Original poster
Easterbunnymum · 22/04/2019 19:44

Well I was obviously sarcastic. I am just trying to explain the situation because I got so scared, did not know how to deal with it. Instead people are questioning me how do I know DD levels. It’s irrelevant, I just mentioned it to demonstrate her absence is not affecting her performance.

OP posts:
Yabbers · 22/04/2019 19:44

It’s a known fact that maths in both is closer to 13+ than to most 11+ at other schools...

But if your daughter is working two years ahead of her classmates that wouldn’t be a problem, surely?

Original poster
Easterbunnymum · 22/04/2019 19:45

Tanners, I hope it won’t, that’s why I paid a tutor for two years to prepare her.

OP posts:
LoubyLou1234 · 22/04/2019 19:54

I hope your child actually gets to be a child besides being so brilliantly clever and all the tutoring and exams she seems to sit.