Batshit attendance policies

[sunhasgotthis]

Hmmm WTAF?!

x.com/trumpetlill/status/1825815386085859379?s=46&t=G9BWOZlYGPa1_pR7aKkbHQ

Whoever wrote it would be better off spending their time learning the difference between effect and affect. I’m not normally a pedant but it’s a school ffs

If you have children with specific issues then create specific care plans for them.

Do not punish every parent because it is easier than dealing with difficult/dangerous ones.

That also goes for children - if you have children who have specific issues, do not punish all the children in the class because of that.

This is one of these people who think that just because they are in a position of authority , can call social services for what they want , no matter what the matter really is. Crazy , God save The King

Why does it say for covid "when your child feels well enough" but it doesn't say that for respiratory infections? Even "just" a cold can make you feel like absolute shit.

My DD's school sent something round saying "don't keep your child off if they have a cold". Ridiculous - I'll keep my child off if I feel she isn't well enough to attend. She has only done reception so far and has 100% attendance, so I don't keep her off at the drop of a hat. But if she's not well enough to go, the specific cause of that illness isn't really relevant.

I feel like so many rules get introduced because a small minority of people are awful. I don’t think it actually helps those that really need it. All the average parents get caught up in it and they are often easier to engage with so statistically staff look like they are doing well. Children who need help should be given it without needing to create idiotic rules.

If they turned up at my door I’d tell them where to go. I went to a school like this and it was absolutely awful. I hated it and because I hated it so much it made me misbehave even more!

exactly @Lovelysummerdays

Bullying parents to send in unwell children allows the attendance statistics to look good and hide the fact that some children have much bigger attendance issues (although persistent absence is usually recorded separately)

If children are unwell they are best at home. They cannot learn when they feel rotten. It is unfair to them, the other children and staff at the school.

Did covid teach us nothing at all?

If this had been put in place by my primary and secondary schools then they would have become aware that I was kept away from school whenever “DM” had gone too far and left marks where they’d be seen.
Parents also complain about kids signed off from PE still having to change into kit - “DM” had me signed off from PE for most of my school life because getting changed in school would have exposed the bruises.
BUT even knowing this, I as a parent AND a school attendance officer think that the policy posted in the OP is ridiculous and probably unworkable.

I thought exactly the same thing .

School budgets are been cut , Sen children aren’t been adequately supported , teacher shortages but let’s spend that budget sending someone to a child’s house who probably has a sickness bug which is probably caused by someone not keeping their child off 🤷‍♂️..

If someone has bruises from a parent, won't they be put in bed under covers 'asleep' when attendance checks are made?

Insinuating kids/teachers are lying and pressurising the spread of illness is hardly putting children's well-being first, especially when 1,000 kids a week on average are developing long covid (England), let alone all the other nasty stuff that's also circulating.

@JustAMiddleAgedDirtBagBaby agree - looks like they're saying if you have an appointment, just trek to school and back first so that you can be marked as present! They don't even try to disguise that all they're bothered about are the figures.

Schools are under pressure to get their stats up and resorting to doing stuff like this. They'd be better off using the attendance officer to help pick up the anxious school-refusers but I'd be willing to bet a mars bar that that support isn't available, even when requested.
Ours has decided to change the school hours and give an extra week off in October half term, in order to rig the figures.
I used to do the First Day phone calls for a year cohort - you were looking sometimes at 35 absences. If a third were off on a second day that's 12 home visits. Personally, I'm not sure it can be done.
It says ALL but again, I'd bet my bottom dollar they'll call on the ones they suspect of truancy/holidays/staying in bed, rather than a student whose mum is on the PTA.
It won't help in the long run for struggling parents (whether that's uniform, heating, hot water, SEND or mental health) - because they're not offering support there - it's just a stick to beat them with. It will further isolate parents or force them into off-rolling. But stats are up, so hey, we fixed it.

Sounds absolutely awful to be home with a vomiting bug, lying in bed with a sick bucket, and then your teacher (or someone from the school) appears at the foot of the bed!

Or you're throwing up in the bathroom and hear that someone from the school needs you to come out and see them.

Surely schools are going to have to employ people whose full time job will be to carry out these visits. What about the grandparents who live some distance away but step in to look after children when their parents are at work?

I just can’t see this working.

https://www.ascl.org.uk/News/Blog/August-2024/Understanding-the-New-Attendance-Codes-A-guide-for

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf300da44f1c4c23e5bd1b/Working_together_to_improve_school_attendance_-_August_2024.pdf

From that guidance: Good attendance starts with close and productive relationships with parents and pupils. Schools should treat all pupils and parents with dignity and staff should model respectful relationships to build a positive relationship between home and school that can be the foundation of good attendance.

I'm not sure the school policy is promoting this.

Our school had this policy. I had a choice between an 8.15 appointment that would have got her back to school for 9.15 but miss registration or a 10.15 one and miss an hour of school. So I had to go for the 10.15 one. Bat shit. She could have lost 15 minutes of learning instead of an hour.

... and they wonder why we have an anxiety problem in our teen population.

Good grief.

This is absolutely what it will do. Those families who are struggling with chonically ill children will be stressed out of their minds and before they know it they will be struggling with MH issues as well as chronically ill children.

It's such rubbish.

Some of those guidelines are cruel . My dc couldnt even wear shoes when they had hfm as the blisters were so widespread and painful. They couldn’t swallow and their hands were covered and sore if I’d sent them in they’d have been in pain and unable to learn as clue or have concentrated. Same with tonsillitis - it can be incredibly painful.

Proof of a temperature as well ? What if a child has ibuprofen or paracetamol and it goes down will they call the parent a liar ??

But some illnesses are missing from the list. What if my child has a cough, cold, flu, period pain, anxiety, sprained ankle, constipation then??

This is what happens with targets .schools play the system to get the results Ofsted want not what is best for the child.

'introduce a range of new attendance codes to better reflect the diverse reasons for student absences.'

'The new attendance codes aim to provide a more nuanced approach, allowing schools to accurately reflect the reasons for student absences and, in turn, better support students' educational journeys.'

'These changes are particularly focused on ensuring that schools can move away from the overly broad ‘other’ category and instead use more specific codes that provide a clearer picture of where students are and why they might be absent. This shift is intended to enhance the accuracy of attendance data, making it easier for schools and local authorities to track and support students.'

That seems at odds with the para pasted below which takes a specific code and makes it generic. Face-to-face is also not the be all and end all and seems pretty discriminatory against kids that e.g. may not be able to attend all the time due to fluctuating health (ironically including those who face long term health conditions over batshit policies which encourage attendance, even when that's going to make others in the class ill).

'Remote education and attendance recording
With the rise of remote education, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been some confusion around how to record the attendance of students who are learning remotely. The DfE has made it clear that if a student is not physically present at an educational setting, they should be recorded as absent. This includes students engaging with the curriculum remotely, who must be marked absent using the most appropriate absence code.

The importance of face-to-face education
A key message in the new guidance is the prioritisation of face-to-face education. While the DfE recognises the value of remote learning, particularly for students with medical needs or those who face other barriers to in-person attendance, the emphasis remains on physical attendance whenever possible. This approach reflects a broader understanding that being present in a school environment is crucial for students' social and academic development.

However, this focus on physical attendance does raise some concerns. For example, students who are accessing lessons online, whether through a virtual classroom or using technology like AV1 to participate in live lessons, will still be marked as absent. This has led to some criticism that the new codes could disincentivise schools from continuing effective remote learning practices for students who are unable to attend school in person.

Blame ofsted