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.

But reindeer, children who have long-term illnesses are not going to achieve as much as the next child are they? So they'll still miss out.

so shall we just not bother sending them to school at all - how insulting is your statement.

thats aimed at dancergirl and is her statement above

The thing your gain for not having had to miss a day of school is not having miss any school - that is a prize in its self. We are lucky in this country that an education is a right and doesn't have to be paid for. Being able to attend school therefore should be its own reward

When DD's asthma is under control she competes at a national level for her sport, when it isn't she doesn't.

Then my son must have good genes then as the only time he missed school is from representing the school in a high contact sport and ending up in hospital with concussion.

See what I'm saying about luck?

For the love of god people! If all children only took time off of school when they were really sick then the rewards wouldn't exist!!!!

but pickyourbrains why penalise the children who have time off through no fault of their own.

"Children who miss a lot of school, for whatever reason, may find it hard to keep up with the work and hence achieve less. But it depends how you define achievement."

Is that even true? The people I know who have had a lot of time off school for medical reasons have been singularly academic.

Of course sick and disabled children can't be good at anything else... I mean it's not like my daughter doesn't win achievement awards or in dance and cheer clubs.

dancergirl - have you actually read some of your posts? can you not see how insulting they are?

most children will not be good at everything but have something they are good at, however i think that primary school attendance is not something the child actually has much any control over and as such why reward any child for 100% attendance. Other areas of school rewards/awards can be made more inclusive so attainable to all.

Economic background has far more influence on a child's achievement than attendance.

So why not reward children for their parent's earnings? Then the children will nag their parents to earn more money.

Because that's how it works, right?

You can't have it both ways.
If the certificates are built up as something worthwhile (which they need to be if they are to play an effective part in getting absence rates down), then you can't say they are important for some children, they should feel proud, it's something they can achieve if they don't excel etc etc, then you can't then turn round and say 'ill and disabled children shouldn't care if they don't get them'. It either matters fo all children, or it doesn't.

The ONLY time DS exclaimed 'I wish I wasn't disabled' was when he realised that his many half day absences for essential appointments were preventing higetting one of these bloody certificates and a prize in assembly.

However, being his class rep on the school council he challenged it, and appointments for permanent serious conditions / disability related are now not counted against them.

Personally I think the whole thing is a load of bollocks anyway. Fatuous and recurring absence with no good reason should be addressed, sick and infectious children should stay at home, and Awards should be for something a child has control over.

Oh, and my child is doing very nicely indeed, thank you, for thjose assuming he is on the scrap heap and will only attain low achievement anyway.

Some of the stuff on this thread is really crass.

Confuddled: Top marks to your dd for getting on with it and not complaining -in the end because the world is unfair, they have to be strong enough to deal with that - she sounds great. But that doesn't mean that people should defend this unfair nonsense!

I love the awards my brother's school used to give out. He was in a special school and they used to have a weekly assembly to give out awards and some were so sweet. Wearing their glasses all week, not scratching their eczema...

Actually my mainstream school nephew gets awards for not taking his glasses off (they keep mysteriously going missing).

I like personal achievements being awarded as well as academic and sporting achievements. Personal achievements reward children who don't win in anything else, those for who not taking their glasses off for the whole week is a big achievement. I'm sure if we got together we could think of a list of things that we could award children for that they have no control over - tethersend has started us off with parents earnings.

I think a certificate is fine, it's just a piece of paper that recognises what they have done. If it was sweets or money or something, that would be unreasonable.

Chidren should be rewarded for their own achievements and efforts, and this should be individually appropriate.
Dd1 is very healthy - she should not be rewarded for this
Dd1 is very good at literacy - this should be rewarded if she does a piece of work requiring extended effort
Dd1 is hopeless at sport and maths - this should be rewarded if she exceeds her usual levels.
She may get an award for a piece of writing, expected level age 11ish
She may get an award for learning to catch, expected level age 5ish
She may get an award for reciting her 5 times table, even though the rest of the class are learning their 8s.
She is 9

Teaches aren't stupid, they know when a child has tried especially hard, and this is what they should be motivating children towards. They don't need charts etc to do this, they know if a child has impressed them with their effort during the week.

I never won anything in sports either. This is because I usually came in last due to not trying very hard. I never had childhood asthma or any other condition or disability. I did miss the odd half day for dental appointments. My dentist worked normal business hours. The cheek of him.

Thank you Blu. Isn't it funny how it's certificates that get our long term sick children upset? Everything else they go through they handle, but certificates... My daughter doesn't tell us when she's in pain, we have to guess what's going on with her quite a lot. We have to keep telling her about exams she needs to tell the doctor when they hurt her because otherwise she just lies there letting them prod her thinking she's fine.

DancerGirl - what is your role in your school?

My dd not at school yet but once she starts, if they arrange a walk to school week, I will say we will do it when all of the teachers who work there walk their children to school before getting to their jobs. However as it will be an independent school and kids will attend from all over the area it's unlikely they could sensibly arrange it.

None of this nonsense when I was at school. Just worked hard and got rewarded accordingly.

The children are all different, they have different ways in which they can acheive. Its the same when youre an adult. I get pretty annoyed when my collegues hold meetings after office hours because I can't stay late as have to fetch the kids... I dont stamp my feet and cry about it.

This obsession with not allowing children to ever realise that life is unfair is baffling.

It's quite possible that chronically sick and / or disabled children need no effort to be mad in 'allowing the to realise that life is unfair'.

Perhaps the children waving their gold embossed certificates with glee having been lucky enough to not get norovirus or a bad cold should also be 'allowed' to contemplate that their victory is not part of a fair world?

Pick - my DS only has time off when crucial. He still can't get his attendance up to 90%. That is unfair and it is discriminating against children with disabilities. Hence my annoyance at this stupid and pointless award. It doesn't meant children with 100% attendance have done well - they have just been lucky enough not to be ill - that should be a reward in itself.

"But reindeer, children who have long-term illnesses are not going to achieve as much as the next child are they? So they'll still miss out."

This is derogatory and fairly self explanatory, which I why I responded to in the manner I did. I want all children to be recognised for the achievements or improvements they have made in subjects. That doesn't mean my DS will automatically come home with awards, but he will understand (as will the others) that hard work reaps real rewards.

I am bowing out of this now, but I will say to those genuinely think these awards are 'real' achievements - can't you just be pleased that you have a wonderfully healthy child instead of trying to belittle my son for not having good health.

Do you not think our lives with serious medical conditions are hard enough, and we constantly have to 'prove' to authorities the poor health of our children to get the help we need, without the further recognition by the school that our child cannot keep the same attendance requirements as healthy children.

My child has already learnt the very harsh lesson that life is unfair by the gruelling medical treatments he has to endure on a daily basis - so why the fuck should he be punished further?

Why not banish the award and teach children with good health to be sympathetic and helpful to those who are not so fortunate - or would that not be 'fair' to your healthy children?

Let's hope DancerGirl isn't the SENCO for her school. It's not about shielding them from life being unfair, it's about teaching them they don't get rewarded for behaving the way that they should ie going to school.

Or in the case of long-term illnesses not piling extra pressure on the children who already have enough on their plate. I only experienced an ill child for a short period of time and that was enough for me, having to explain why he had to stay in his chair when he thought he felt fine and when he wanted to play football with his mates. I can't begin to imagine how awful that would be permanently, why not give them a break?

But there are hardly any chronically ill or disabled children at most schools... and where there are, the other children know all about it and as you say, I'm sure both sides aware of the fact that life isnt fair.

My DD is amazing at sports, but she's never allowed to win a race at sports day. She trys really hard and is mega proud of herself but is just brushed aside and hushed if she trys to celebrate it. She goes in every single day whether she has a cold or is really tired or has a bit of a tummy ache. Lots of the other kids take holidays in term time and stay off school with a snivvle and they make no effort with sports etc.. Why shouldnt she be rewarded?