We had 100% attendance awards for the whole class

[Summertrees]

I've been reading some threads about 100% attendance prizes and how unfair they are. I agree they're unfair.

But I remember when I was at school, we had a weekly award that was given to a whole class. As in, every member of the class had to be present every day, in order for the class to get the award. If you were away, you let the whole class down. A cup was given out in assembly once a week.

My class hardly ever got the cup because there was a boy in my class who was often away on a Friday. I remember being annoyed with him, and a few of us telling him many times it was his fault that our class almost never won.

With hindsight, I have no idea why he was away from school so frequently. I can see how unfair this was in him, that whatever his personal circumstances were, the rest of the class blamed him for not getting a prize.

Please tell me they don't do it like this any more!

Individuals get it at our school. A prize at the end of term. I'm amazed it's still allowed on disability discrimination grounds. I think it's unfair and silly to reward children (who can have almost no say in whether they attend school or not, if for example a parent won't take them, they can hardly wander in independently) who are just either lucky enough not to be ill or who attend school when poorly and infect everyone else?!

I agree it's stupid and unfair. I was just wondering if anyone else had the whole class award thing when they were at school? Is bad enough missing out on a prize because you were ill, but imagine the rest of the class blaming you because they didn't get a prize.

I have a child who has been unwell and not told us so that she can keep her attendance record.
I hate the things and I'm speaking as a school governor.

Attendance awards tend to be individual at my DCs’ schools, but the class with the highest attendance is also trumpeted in the newsletter (primary).

I agree it’s discriminatory and unfair. One of my DDs is autistic. She had lots of appointments that took her out of school, and went through a time of such high anxiety that she missed school here and there in primary. No attendance awards for her. Luckily, she couldn’t give a fuck, but other children could have been very upset by this. It’s unfair and discriminates against disabled and genuinely ill children.