School asking for medical evidence.

[Flossy1989]

DD attendance is not the best it's 89.6 she's off now with sickness abd and the poops. The school is asking for medical evidence. I mentioned this some time ago to the gp. Gp said they should not be demanding medical evidence. Also I don't take my children to the gp over a tummy bug. It's not needed and it's wasting GP time.

I'm tempted to send them a picture of her vomit. I won't. It just really pisses me off gp is not impressed either from what he said before.

I'm on hold to gp /reception now doubt I will get anywhere. Caller number 15

The school are not acting inappropriately at all. The child is barely going a fortnight without a day off (on average).

No I don't we don't go on holiday. Some I have medical evidence for like appointments etc.

There's Been a few belly bug type ones covid. Extremely heavy period. They say no to going to the toilet.

This type of presenteeism bullshit is a
Power move by schools/some teachers.
Blithely ignore & get on with your life.
You are her mother & know best.

Ignore this nonsense, op.
Jesus Christ!

She's been off for more than 1 day out of every 10. Good luck to op's daughter with holding down a job when she's older if her parents don't think that's a big deal.

I had to put phone down to gp as it was taking to long and it's noisy on the bus . I'm going to call at 8am tomorrow morning. It would be so much easier if gp had email contact.

I used to work as a welfare and attendance officer in a school.

I used to be the one made by SLT to make those phone calls. I used to get photographs of vomit in return. I used to have to demand medical evidence, even though I knew the dr wouldn’t give them. I was at the same local surgery as half the kids, I’d seen the big sign up at the drs saying they wouldn’t do it.

I had a bag of sick chucked at me by a parent once.

I fucking hated that job. Lasted 3 years.

Best advice:

Not now, but when you have a spare moment, create an email folder or similar and keep a record of all the times she is off and what for.

I also used an excel spreadsheet.

Your GP practice may be prepared to print off the appointments you have had so far this year which you can also scan/photograph and use.

If your daughter has bad periods and has concerns about accessing toilets during school time to change pads/deal with flooding etc then raise this with school and tell them their toilet policy is causing your DD to have to stay off. They may give your DD a toilet pass she can use.

Schools are not good at dealing with children with health problems, particularly gynae issues which bad periods are. You might find it helpful to take her to the GP anyway because if she is experiencing pain and or cramps and or flooding they may be able to help.

Well it will just have to be unauthorised then. 🤷

I cant send her in vomiting and shittimg can I. She has another 5 years at school/education there are parents that take their kids out for holidays . Dd has never been on holiday. She's off because she's been vomiting . She's been of times that have Been authorised which will be included within the attendece. I have already answered for them days . But there are a few days that don't have medical evidence due to the face I do t need to go wasting NHS time.

Oh, and @wutheringkites

I was off more than one day in ten at school. I have a Cambridge degree and a good job.

My DIL was off school more than one day in ten and now she works for the atomic energy authority modelling nuclear fusion. They even bought her a wheelchair because you can't take a wheelchair through the security screening.

Plenty of people with health issues are off more than one day in ten. Employers benefit from employing disabled people.

No doubt you'd tell Stephen Hawking he wasn't trying hard enough.

Wow a bag of sick thrown at you. That was one angry parent.

She had got low attendance though so what are you doing to help tackle it? You need to work with the school not against them.

You’re not a doctor …

Thought I'd check nothing stressful has happened at school OP? DD had an incident with a bully not being properly dealt with and suffered terrible diarrhea every night before the lesson in the week she had with them, which went on for several months. We moved schools in the end and we've not had anything like it since. Anxiety tummy can be very real so I thought I'd double check it's not something else layered in too.

Send in the photograph and offer to provide a sample jar of vomit if they choose to pressure you for unnecessary evidence again.

You are very unlikely to be fined

If there is a mix of authorised and unauthorised absence and it is due to illness and you can document that you informed the school appropriately you are not going to be fined.

If you are really worried about it take a photo of your DD and or her vomit etc so that in the frankly unlikely event of it making it to court you have evidence she was ill.

The courts do not fine parents for having ill children.

Yes I'm going to do this. I don't always take DD to gp over bugs etc . But I do want to compare when I have had clear medical evidence and when I have not .so I can compare them. Do I just do it from September?

Dd has some meds for her period. But she won't take them because she read that they can make her put on weight.

I would actually send in a photo of her vomit...not joking.

We are told we must provide proof of illness. There are lots of illnesses which make you ill enough to not be able to attend but the doctor won't help you with. The gp system will collapse if parents try to get appointments for d&v or high temps.

This is what I'm thinking to. That's why I want to get all the emails etc together so I can say look medical evidence for xx days. OK no evidence for my days then explain that gp does not give medical evidence for kids with bugs that do not need a gp. Also try touch base with gp tomorrow . And say what I have here . I don't think they will be impressed

I actually walked out of the job after one punched me.y

I'd video the kid throwing up and email it to them. I had to tell my local school off recently for asking stupid questions about my sick teen. They saw her looking like death on the Wednesday and she was still absolutely hacking her guts up on the Monday and they wanted some "evidence" that she'd been ill on Thurs and Fri. I should have boxed up the snotty tissue mountain and posted it to them. Instead I said she was ill and pointed out that they could go look at her if they weren't convinced she'd been ill and it could stand as unauthorised if they wanted it to - no skin off my nose! I'm not being bullied by a school administrator with a god complex.

Dd has some meds for her period. But she won't take them because she read that they can make her put on weight.

Start a thread under Health -> Women's health to discuss the medication.

Unfortunately unless your DD starts fighting to get it treated now she could find herself in her 30s or older being diagnosed with something more serious.

Send a photo i would. And have!

And if she has medical evidence apart from maybe a couple of days. What then?