To be pleased DS said what he did.......

[mumbar]

even though I told him it wasn't his place.

Basically DS school do awards for 100% attendance. (I personally do not agree with these)

Been out at hospital appointment so late and when signing DS in he saw the list from last term (sept-Dec).

He asked where he name was and I said he'd had 1 1/2 days off so wouldn't be there.

DS reply (in front of HT )

' but Mummy, one for hospital appointment and 1 was when I had allergic reaction at night, its not my fault I have allergies'.

This is totally my opinion (well any child with chronic medical needs who can't help missing school).

I have never expressed this in front of him but abviously children do notice these things.

Is 100% attendance better than doing well in school? It is better than making sure your homework is done, making sure you are considerate to other pupils, more important than working well in class in an individual role or in a team? Better than keeping your school clean, or accompanying an injured friend to the school nurse? Or returning a lot item to the owner?

No, not imo. My daughter has been rewarded for being a 'caring & loyal' class member when she did some of the above. She received a free 50c canteen voucher for picking up litter. And to me, that is more important than her attending 100%. That being said, she doesn't get time off for no reason.

My daughter had several days off last year, because she had to be quarantined because of swine flu. Because the other kid's mother wanted to see "attendance 100%" on his end of yr report!

And the whole whooping cough thing saw my children quarantined over the school summer holiday (In Australia, so we get 7 weeks at xmas) for a week while awaiting results. Again, because 100% attendance is more important to my friend than anything else.

Trying to gain that 100% makes some people lose their morals!

I still think it is unfair not to recognise a child who has had a full years attendance, it is an achievement

Is it? It wasn't when I was a kid, it was just something you had to do. You went to school. You just did it!

mumbar Sounds like you DS is very mature and clued in. I was one of those kids that never got sick and every year was giving an attendance award, (well, until I got to highschool) but when I came home to show my mom, all she would say is 'at least you get an award for something.'... I suppose. I hate them. I agree, going to school is just something that you do and shouldn't be awarded. I wouldn't say it was unfair but I would say to DD if she said what your DS said mumbar "sometimes, those in power have some bizarre ideas they inflict on the rest of us and there's not a whole hell of a lot we can do. Trust me, this ain't one of those awards that will make or break you... it just ridiculous. That's all."

Thanks everyone.

I actually totally agree that they are usful in cases of poor attendance due to laziness, well actually I'm not, teacher friend says they still have poor attendance as these parents dont give a fuck.
Surely a certificate should be based on a child. So the child whos bottom in Maths (maybe SEN) can get an award for excellents maths - but excellent for them not compared to their peers.

I'll ask DS if he wants to speak to his school councillors in his class and ask them to discuss it at the next meeting. That was brilliant the DS who did that. (sorry can't remember whos DS and if I flick back the page I'll lose what ive written!!)

Blus DS

I love that children can democratically challenge unfair rules. Its even better if those in charge listen.

What did the head say when your ds said that and you replied that you were proud of him for coming in every day he was able?

I think you're right. I hate what is, basically, a reward for being lucky enough to not get sick.

Your immune system gets a certificate. Lovely.

She didn't say anything. She was only in earshot and secretary was signing him in. She just busstled over what she was doing and said, 'oh lots of people don't get one' with a look at the HT.

They then told DS to go to class, bade me a quick farewell and moved on.

Think a nerve may have been touched.

I don't really understand these threads. Yes lots of children won't be able to win an attendance award because of poor health. But lots of children won't be able to win other awards no matter how hard they try e.g. art.

I have never heard of attendance awards - what a vile concept, I am surprised they are legal given current disability discrimination legislation. I would certainly challenge them if my children's school tried to impose such nonsense - rewarding not having a chronic health condition, how nasty and insensitive is that?

I would be proud of your son - 'out of the mouth of babes' - and further I would tell him I disagreed with the awards and would be taking that view to the head teacher. I want my children to learn it is OK to challenge authority when you believe it to be unjust - a far more important life skill than the accident of good health.

Its a non award really, I like my children to get awards for real things, we have 100s of certificates for reading, math, and so on, If they are ill they stay home, only irresponsible people send sick children to school

But the point is that some children will never achieve awards for "real" things however hard they try.

differentnameforthis -It must be an unusual achievement - look at all those on here that are moaning because their child couldn't do it.

Agree Lesley- most things are luck- are you going to say the kid who is great at sports shouldn't be recognised for winning sports day races, or the gifted muscician shouldn't get his music certificates, or the gymnast, or the artist- much of which are luck of your genes just like good health.

Xh worked in a SN school where a lot of kids have a lot of time off & they didn't want to do the Certs. OFSTEd queried why they didn't ...

DS1 is having braces so you can imagine how many orthodontist appointments we have had

DS2 had 99.9% as he had a Friday off when he had a temp.

It is the most stupid "award"

I would much rather my child be awarded for learning something not for just turning up

Lesley33
'But the point is that some children will never achieve awards for "real" things however hard they try'.

The point is they can try. You can't try to be healthy, it is an accident of birth.

(Not singling you out Lesley33, just using your quote, I know many others expressed a similar view).

I have one healthy child and one with a chronic condition. Healthy child just needs to see her sister in hospital to know she won the genetic lottery - giving her a certificate for that would make her sad and angry on her sister's behalf. So glad her school doesn't do them as we would never accept one.

I urge anyone whose child receives this award to refuse to accept it on a point of principle and to explain to their child why it is discriminatory and unfair.

All children can try to achieve 100% attendance, even though some have no chance because of illness/chronic health conditions.

Other children can try and be good at art, but would have been unlikely to have been better than my DS who seemed to be born with an ability to draw great pictures. DS sister and brother tried hard at art,but were never anywhere near as good.

Similarly my other DS tried hard at sports, but seemed to be naturally clumsy and had no chance of winning anything in sports.

All school awards are achieved through a mixture of effort and luck - luck to be born good at something. Apart from those that are awarded for effort and things like this.

Sorry I meant to say other children in DS class were unlikely to be better at art than him - not children everwhere! He was good at art, but not that fantastic.

It is different to not be as good at art or sport, not matter how you try, than to not be in full health, however hard you try.

being bad at art is not life limiting; having a chronic health condition is. Hence why these 'awards' are so callous.

Both my OH and I have chronic health conditions that we have had since children - OH's is genetic. Having a serious chronic health condition can cause lots of problems - chronic pain, mobility difficulties, lots of hospital admissions, etc.

TBH not getting an attendance award, which were given out when I was a child, was the least of my problems.

I may be wrong, but I suspect that posters here do not have children with serious chronic health conditions. Quite simply because there are far bigger issues those families face.

Yes a child with a chronic healoth condition may get upset very short term about not getting an attendance award. But young children get upset at many things that are only very short term and really not a big deal.

The things that really upset me as a child about my chronic health condition were(sorry very rare so saying what it is would identify me to many people:

1. Not being able to go to ballet classes which all my friends went to.
2. Hospital admissions.
3. Pain caused by my condition.
4. My parents anxiety and upset.

I find a lot of the arguments against the 100% award very petty.
The line has been drawn, 100% being 100%.

There will be some kids (some mentioned here) who are aware of the award and although feel the disapointment of not achieving (through no fault of their own) still have that sense within them to try for it. This in itself is valuable. If there was no award some would lack the incentive to try and attend every day (this applies more to high school than primary)

It is not just the 'few' who will have no chance of the 100%, it is the vast majority - so no particular group of children are being singled out. But for the few who achieve then surely others can either be pleased for them, or simply keep quiet and not ridicule the award. The child who achieves it may feel very proud.
100% attendance should be acknowledged, as should any other achievement.

This achievement can be used to help a school leaver gain employment. Again, you may say that this is unfair towards those who missed a few days through no fault of their own, but the same can be said of many achievemnts eg, a lower grade in maths because they were ill on the day of the exam/the school swapped teachers half way through the year/life at home is crap and study is impossible/etc etc. Life is unfair, but for goodness sake, please allow children to aim for any achievement they can!

But it isn't an achievement to have 100% attendance. That's the point.

You can't do it through hard work, or through study, or through sheer determination. You can do it through not getting sick. That is no acheivement. That's chance. You are being rewarded for chance not acheivement.

That's like thinking being born in a certain country was an achievement, or having brown eyes is an achievement.

Should you be praised and rewarded for something that is nothing to do with your effort and determination, or should you be rewarded for working at things that are within your control?

achievement [əˈtʃiːvmənt]
n

1. something that has been accomplished, esp by hard work, ability, or heroism
2. successful completion; accomplishment

The ability to attend every day?? Whether this was achieved by not being ill, or by not living too far away when 2 foot of snow fell or whatever. they had the ability to attend therefor achieved something.

I suspect it is ability as in skill, if you see it in context - hard work, heroism - skill aka ability, capability, talent. An accomplishment. There is no skill to not getting sick. It is not an accomplishment.