To expect a call from DS"s head of year after 2 days (sorry this is long)

[alfiethekittycat]

Been having a prob with my DS(14) with the school over his attendence in the last year.
He has had approx 7 days off sick whilst actually sick but another 7 days due to the death of a very close family member (2days) the funeral (2days) he went over the handlebars of his bike on the way to school (1 day) and the last week of last term was mugged and sprayed in the face (2 Days one of which was spent at the hospital)
He was told by his form tutor on his first day back of this term that the attendance is carried over therefore if he has another day off before half term he will go on report,
He was a bit off on Mon night and complained of stomach pains on Tues morning, He went to school even though I would have preferred him to stay home, He was given 2 sick notes by teacher but when showed these to reception was just sent back to class,
My DD who is in 2nd year of 6th Form spoke to his head of year about my concerns and was told head of year would call me either yesterday or today, no call as of yet,
I have called the school myself several times about this and am redirected to answerphone to leave a message but never get a call back'
Yesterday he was sent home and I kept him off today as he is still not himself,
Am I BU to worry, He is not truanting, every time he has been off I have phoned the school to explain why. It's an answer phone and not sure they listen to whole message as one time both were off sick and when i phoned got a text later thet day to say DS was not in school, Turns out they had only listened to first part of message about DD and had not waited to hear about DS.
Hopefully he will be back tommorrow.
I and my DD feel like he is being treated like a kid who bunks off but none of his absenccess ( sorry can not spell that) are unatherised) I have imformed the school every day of every time.

Alfie - you definitely need a meeting with the Head.

If you don't get anywhere with that, then write a letter to the LEA.

You'd think they'd have other kids to chase who are just wagging.

Sounds like you're a victim of the "system."
Schools are under huge pressure from above to crack down on absence and are going over the top (in my opinion). They are targetting everyone, not just persistent truants, possibly to avoid accusations of bias, even when there are perfectly valid reasons for absence. They are penalised by OFSTED, also, if attendance falls below a certain percentage.
Go higher and talk to someone who can sort this.

Just had a call from his Head of year, She says that as far as she is concerned this is a clean slate and today is his first day off, If I keep him off tomorrow then he needs to go docs as they can check which I was gonna do anyway.
Wasn't expecting a call at this time but she must have had his attendance record visible as she was aware of the berievement, funeral and when he was mugged,
I feel a bit better about all this as it was really getting to me,
I do't want to get into trouble with th ED but if my kids are genuinly sick then I wont send them to school.

Sorry your son has had such a horrible time, I'm sure he doesn't need to be threatened in this way by the school. Definitely contact the Head and explain his situation. I really hope things improve soon.

Thankyou everyone, His head of year semmed really understandable, She was my DD Year Head the last 2 years which is why my daughter felt comfortable to speak to her about it,
I have been a lone parent for the last 12 years and have coped really well, this ( the kids being off school) is the only thing I really struggle with, would be nice to have a second opinion sometimes as to whether they should go in or not.

I'm glad you've got it sorted out alfie, sounds like you've got a couple of good kids there looking out for each other! And that's a testament to the way you've raised them. In good conscience, I would keep a note of the conversation you had with the head of year, just in case anyone else in the school doubts what has been said. I doubt this will happen tbh, but it never hurts to be able to quote back to them if you need to.

All the best.

Thankyou taintedpaint I will keep a note of it,
TBH can't wait till he leaves in 2 years and goes to collage,
My dd has probably had the same amount if not more time off but her attendance has never been an issue, She fell over in the snow on her way to school last year and was sent to Matron 2 times who just sent her back to class with a swollen wrist saying she must have sprained it, I took her to hospital the following day and it turned out to be broken,
When she did go back no help was given seeing as her right hand was in plaster which she writes with, she just had to get on with it, She still has probs with it now.
Think that some schools these days are more concerned with reaching targets than the welfare of their pupils,

Alfie try and put it behind you now. Try to start this year with a clean slate.

Your kids sound lovely - you must be doing a great job!!

Sorry you son has had a tough time. His form tutor was wrong attendabce usually doesn't carry over from one school year to another. Glad the head got back to you and told you that your DS started with a clean slate this year.