To wish that schools wouldn't reward children for things they have no control over

[dealer]

Attendance, they give out certificates for 100% attendance each half term. Ds would occasionally have a day off for illness, dd1 hasn't had a day off since reception, she's in year 4. Ds wasn't assed, dd1 has mild sn and despite the fact that I tell her that she's really lucky to be so healthy, loves getting up in assembly for the certificates and feels it's an achievement.

They've now changed it, since it wasn't 'fair' and you will now only get a certificate for most improved attendance. Dd1 wants to know how to get one of these. Not sure how you improve on 5 years 100%.

And I hate it when they award class attendance, so the poor kid who has genuine health problems or parents who aren't very good at getting them there, get highlighted as bringing the class percentage down.

Walk to school week soon. We used to walk to school all the time when I was a sahm because we live 10 mins from the school. Now though, I work as a delivery driver so it's somewhat essential to take my vehicle with me. I need to drop dd2 at nursery 4 miles away 10 minutes later now as well, since the school nursery had no room for her.

Dd2 will be in school in September, so I could in theory walk them then and then go back for the van. But that would utterly pointless since I would then drive the van straight past the school again, same polution etc, and waste 20 mins work time.

Doesn't stop dd1 waving 'walk to school' leaflets at me, and telling me she needs to earn stickers though. Pointing out great facts such as car occupants are exposed to 3 times as much pollution on the school run as walkers. Don't really understand that since they're only in the car for 2 mins.

They usually walk home, but apparently that doesn't count.

Anyway it's all arbitrary stuff that kids are supposed to be motivated to do that they can't do anything about.

FFs just re read the thread and my post is completely off the scale

Sorry, it want good to vent though

FWIW I think attendance rewards are shit

Ok, what is the consensus then on having a general house rule that it's fine to go and do things even if you're not 100%?

That's how we do it - yes, you can go to school with a headache/bit of a cold/sore throat.... and you'll have to when you grow up, too. I sort of think that should be the kind of attitude that attendance certificates is based around.

So am genuinely curious - does that attitude seem wrong to you? Would you think that was unkind or unfair?

Because if so that would explain the vast differences in opinions about attendance prizes on here!

dancer - she's had awards for other things, best wild thing picture, trying hard in maths, the best one she got was for being a brilliant giraffe in drama! and she understands and is pleased for her friends when they get certificates for trying hard or doing well and she doesn't, its the injustice of the attendance ones she gets upset over.

My daughter nearly always doesn't feel well at school. I looked through her photos (they seem to take one each lesson to put in work books with the corresponding work) and she has thick purple rings around her eyes in each one which is the biggest sign her asthma is bad (she doesn't have the traditional asthma attacks, she gets "tired") and then she sleeps all the way home. She's badly constipated so in pain with her stomach all the time which also affects her appetite because it hurts to eat. Both ears are perforated so she has balance problems, pain etc.

So yes, I do think going to school with the general aches and pains (ahem...) is acceptable. Doesn't change that I don't think these awards are fair.

I completely get her view katz. But these awards are not aimed at her, you know that, or any child who's off sick from school. But if they encourage children AND parents to attend when they might otherwise not, do you not agree that's a good thing? And yes, in theory the parent should be rewarded not the child but to me if a positive outcome is better attendance all round then why not?

Hell, they should have had these awards when I was at school; I only had about 60% attendance

dancer - no, i personally think that 100% attendance should be its own reward, the fact that you've had the opportunity to learn everything offered to you by simply being able to attend 100% of the time, that should be the incentive not some silly piece of paper that makes a 5 year old feel worthless and that she's letting her class down because she has a medical condition necessitating several hospital appointments and time off of school. We seem to have lost sight in the country of how lucky we are to have the education system we do, that others go without any education.

katz, you could say that about any school awards though. In an ideal world there would be no awards at all. Success is its own reward and all that. But for some children the external reward (certificate) works better than the internal (sense of achivement).

I used to feel annoyed about the attendance awards. Mainly due to the fact my dd used to have lots of medical/hospital appointments and would be penalized on paperwork due to this even if I got her back in for the other half of the day. I recently heard in school that children who take term time holidays can now have it put down on record as on site learning by doing some tasks [sceptical].

Whoops meant

Several people have given examples of awards that make sure all children get awards. In fact it's hardly different from the workplace. Children being set individual targets that mean they're working against themselves and not other children.

When I was at school sports days were usually trialled for and you were put in things you were good at with children of a similar level. Which to me is the same as individual targets.

chloesmum that made me laugh... look at you being all posh and saying sceptical instead of hmm... !

But confudled, at work you don't have attendance targets set individually... You either go in, or you get sacked!

I wasn't talking about attendance targets.

Sorry I misunderstood.

pick no, ds absolutely doesnt stay at home with a cold. Your comment that yr dd goes to school "every single day" implied that she'd go to school regardless of illness.
Incidentally, I think it's your confrontational turn of phrase that is making some posters "target" you

Fair enough.
My DD has been to school every single day. She has never had more than a cough.cold etc since she started 4 years ago!

Hence why you think they're a great idea!
Ds has been at school for nearly a year
He's been off sick once cos he threw up in the dinner queue at lunchtime. He then wasn't allowed back for 2 days, even tho he was fine the next day
So his attendance is also good...except I don't agree with awards for this. He enjoys schopl so far, so getting him out isn't a huge effort. He shouldn't be formally rewarded for this. He's quote "the best reader in the class" which was said at parents night, but there's no suggestion of an award for this. I pupils
I far prefer the previous post which said her ds's school awarded pupils for individual achievements

Okay, okay... I have kind of changed my stance on this... I should say I don't take being stood corrected lightly you bastards!

It's an interesting question whether a child has control over something like "effort" or "enthusiasm". Isn't that just luck and/or family attitudes?

I really don't think it matters if every reward isn't available to every child. Nothing can ever be perfect in that way. Having a certificate for attendance might encourage some kids to go on when otherwise they might have exaggerated slightly in order to be able to stay off. Yes in other cases there's nothing the child can do but I think that's just one of those things.

This thread has been helpful in planning an item I wanted to bring to our Disability awareness group this week (I am disability governor) I want to talk about how attendance awards are in fact discriminatory. They can't be compared to awards for effort/enthusiasm/reading/sports etc because by their nature they are different, because they are not in the child's control, esp at primary level, and in fact re-iterate to chronically sick children that the world is really a shit place that doesn't care all that much (ref. welfare cuts)

So thanks, OP :)

I wouldn't mind awards per se.

But do think it is shit when children with chronic conditions have to sit through these bloody award assemblies where the head moralises about attendance and how all your chances in life will be ruined if you don't achieve 87% or whatever it is. Dd who has a chronic condition has done 7 years of those and is now school refusing.

Imagine a school where you had regular assemblies rubbing it into children how your chances in life are affected if you don't get an A in the maths test, and how the school is aiming at 100% As. Yes, you could argue that A's do make a difference and should be encouraged. You could argue that children who can't achieve an A should just accept that the awards are not for them. And you could certainly argue that some children could achieve better results if they worked harder. But I can't imagine either parents or teachers being very happy.

Anyway, what definitely should not be allowed are group awards for attendance, where a whole table or set is given a special treat for the best attendance record. Not too hard to work out what it feels like to be the disabled child who ruins the group's chances week after week

"blu she doesnt get he awards hmm They dont do them at her school.. because of a minority who don't stand a chance of being able to get them"

Well, there you are, you see - I know that, you said so in your previous post, and I was AGREEING with you that she should be acknowledged for sporting achievements, beause it is an achievement, and dependent on a mixture of natural ability, hard work, determination and motivation. I fully support credit for sporting triumph, whether or not my DS with a dodgy leg can ever compete at that level (he can't, but still enjoys the process of taking part, as it happens, which is great).

Totally different from attendance awards where kids like mine and Confuddle's show incredible effort, committment, hard work etc in battling to school, but can never have that acknowledged due to circumstances out of their control (consultants appts) and intrinsic to the condition which gives rise to a degree of battling to attend that other children never come close to.

But I see you have given some flexibility to your thought, anyway. Which is cool.

There is a difference n degree of control between a child not winning a race because he can't run fast enough, and a child who never gets an award because adults tell him he has to attend hospital appointments. The slow runner does at least have the chance to practise harder, the child with the hospital appointments is just being obedient to the people in charge.

Would you like to be the parent who has to drag your child to tiring and painful physio once a week when he knows that means he will not only have to spend his weekend catching up, but also miss out on the award, get a moralising talk from the head and possibly lose his table points?

A child with a painful disability is likely to be working much harder and showing more commitment for their 66% attendendance than a healthy child for their 100%, but that never gets recognised.

My son has an on-going medical condition which involves hospital appointments every two weeks. He has never received an attendance award. It breaks my heart in assembly as everyone else goes up and he stays seated on the floor. As if being ill wasn't bad enough.

A few people have mentioned that sick days related to the child's illness shouldn't be counted and I think someone said their school doesn't? I just wonder how it would work for my daughter though. Her sick days are never the same, she goes through a round of tonsillitis, ear infections, "tiredness" etc as it's all to do with prematurity and her immature system making her slightly more vulnerable. Actually I guess when you look at it it comes under two headings - asthma and ENT, three if you count her bowels but even when we were doing a clear out with the Movicol she went into school and just took three pairs of pants in her bag - so whilst it's coming under that she'd be OK.

Sigh

It's a tough life, it hurts me to watch her going through it, I don't know how she does it and keeps her smile, cheerful, happy little girl who loves to help (I wonder how long she'll be proud of her title "Grandad's Little Hindrance" for!) even when she's ill. Contemplating going through all this again with the next baby, although I've already had the full course of steroids so hopefully it shouldn't be too bad.