To think there is far to much emphasis on school attendance

[Starwisher]

My dd1 is in year 1. I got a letter telling me off the other day as her attendance has only been 92% when it should be 95% to date. Apparently the educational welfare officer will be keeping a close eye on us...

For goodness sake, dd has been ill! They know this, yet I still get the letter.

Im sick of parents smugly telling me how they just "bung a bit of calpol in the kid and chuck them in school" so they dont need to miss out on the gym or shopping.

They are the one's getting everyone else ill and causing more problems so they can avoid a sick child, yet get rewarded with attendance certificates.

I try and do the right thing and stop dd spreading bugs and getting better at home- and get in trouble.

What is with OFSTED threatening to drop a schools rating if attendance is below some target figure? What if a particular nasty bug is doing the rounds- why should a school be penalised? (Another reason why OFSTED means nothing)

Im not saying attendance is not important but its becoming ridiculous!

I think one day off in 12 days is quite a lot (if my mathes is correct!)

But if the school is aware of special circumstances then they should use their discretion more liberally.

I don't think there is a link to any study that shows children of parents who didn't take them out for school holidays have better careers [huh] But it would make sense as a theory I suppose.

Let's all just do what we think is right with our own kids.

'Would people keep children home willy-nilly if they had to pay for it, as 3rd world countries often have to, and make a choice which child they can afford to educate, and for how long because they will be needed to go to work and earn?'

Not true. I sent my DCs to a private, fee-paying school in the US. The parents of children who are paying fees resent their child picking up nits or a tummy bug that someone else's child brought to school. And thanks to the fees, the parents had to work to afford it. But the school insisted that you kept your child home if they were sick. You needed a doctor's cert to get back after nits.

195 academic school days = 39 full school weeks.

99% attendance = 1% non attendance from 195 = 1.95 days (so thats 2 days really)
98% - 2% = 3.9 days (so thats 4 days)
97% - 3% = 5.85 days (so already a week and a day)
96% - 4% = 7.8 days (so over a week and a half)
95% - 5% = 9.75 days (2 weeks)

94% - 6% = 11.7 days
93% - 7% = 13.65 days
92% - 8% = 15.6 days (already upto 3 weeks off)
91% - 9% = 17.55 days
90% - 10% = 19.5 days (4 weeksoff now )

85% - 15% =29.25 days (6 weeks now)

80% - 20% = 39 days ( just shy of 2 months)

So to put that in perspective, 93% attendance is a day off every 3 weeks, 90% is a day off every 1.5 weeks, 80% is a day off every week.

Heswall said So Angeleena What about all the children that attend regularly and haven't got good careers where do they fit into your scientific study ?

Yes, good point Heswall. Still think that setting a benchmark of, say, always going to school, always handing in homework etc sets a habit for them to follow into adult hood...... some people didn't follow that and I couldn't see what benefit that was for their kids but I am very old-fashoined.

..and my doctor sincerely didn't want to know about children with nits either, clogging up the waiting room, nor did the office want to see anyone who had a stomach bug unless diarrhoea lasted longer than it should or there were signs of dehydration. They can't do anything for a virus except waste time diagnosing it.

My doctor had a fleet of excellent nurses who would advise you over the phone and if you thought a child really needed to be seen you would have to make a pretty good case. They would always see the DCs if I said I thought they had strep as it turned out I was always right, and same for ear infections. And they saw DD3 when she needed a nebuliser after I described her breathing. But otherwise, it was up to me to decide to keep them home or send them to school.

The school had guidelines about returning to school -- 24 hours after diarrhoea or vomiting, 24 hours after a high fever, three days after beginning a course of ABs for anything, no return to school for the afternoon after a morning dental procedure other than teeth cleaning or adjusting braces. School also had a policy of sending homework and necessary books if you requested it while your child was absent. A neighbour or sibling would bring it home for you, so while the child recuperated he or she could catch up.

Well, afaik (went to a talk by an ex-ofsted Head of Governors the other day which covered this) as long as the school is logging attendance correctly, ie clocking in all the "allowed" absences and making sure a child who is sick is recorded as such, that should not affect the Ofsted attendance numbers, or their report on the school.

There is (statistically) a link between attendance and performance, but I think it's as much about the group as the individual: if your school has high attendance, then most of the class has done the work that is a prerequisite for each lesson and it's easier to teach that lesson and easier to spend time helping the kids with genuine medical absence catch up. Hence Ofstead is going to measure attendance, because they think there's a link between attendance now and attainment later.

The suggestion where you have high levels of medical absence, or individual students with prolonged absence, is to write up a case study explaining how that absence came about for that child and then re-running the statistics with those kids taken out of the data. Ofsted will accept that if there is backing evidence.

I can't comment on the automated letters, or on how far they are a product of the Local Authority and how far they are a product of an individual school being, frankly, rubbish. But the system isn't rigged to punish kids who have to be out of school.

Without wanting to sound insensitive; I am struggling to understand why these letters would cause stress to an ill child with poor attendance; why would the parents of the ill child even tell them about the letter?- surely it is between the parents and the teachers/inspectors to sort out?

The letters don't casue stress to the child, they cause stress to the parents, the children get wrapped up in it by schools having competitions and reward systems for 100% attenders.

well we have never had a letter, but i have been visited by the ewo at home when dd was long term ill. then i had a meeting with the ewo a term later (she was meant to get back to me after two weeks to see how dd was but never did)

the impact of this meeting with the head saying 'so piratemother what are you going to DO about it' (and he's a lovely ) man had such an impact on me, that this has prob, in my case impacted on to dd. You have to say things like 'well I know you are ill, i can see how ill you are, but school is important' and my stressing has deffo made my dd feel bad or stressed for being ill. In MY feelings of stress, i have tended to get upset when she's running a fever, and looks like shit, and i have become impatient. Only because i don't want to let the school down or look bad. When you have been harrassed, you do repeatedly ask your dc, so 'how ill are you compared to the other time, does it feel worse than so an so time'.'Is it this pain, or your tonsills,' etc.. it puts stress on a kid who gets forced into school who is really ill. they feel ill, then they feel bad for feeling ill.

it's rubbish. really rubbish. i would do anything for a robust child.

Ah sorry I was working it out on 190 days a year. But still, given that they will also be ill on non school days I still observe that it is quite a lot of time for a child to be sick

sparkle a number of posters have said that the letters caused stress and suicidal thoughts in the children

but if your child is genuinely ill pirate why stress about it at all?

The EWO was obviously satisfied that you wre genuine and never contacted you again

It would be neglectful IMO if they hadnt contacted/visited you- You know you are genuine, but that doesnt mean the school/authority should trust your word-its responsible to check you out

For all the reasons discussed earlier in the thread

They have to balance the stress caused to parents vs protecting the childrens education AND welfare

Why do the children even know the letter has arrived? They are addressed to the parent.

In fact,I dont know if they should/do consider the stress caused to parents. You cant pussy about when it comes to protecting children can you

Of course getting letters and much more so visits from people concerned about your child's welfare/ educational development can be stressful for parents - especially when it comes on top of a child's on-going or serious episode of illness.

If parents are able to show evidence of illness that should be enough - maybe doctors should more routinely provide a note for children who have been to see them for the school ?

sparkle a number of posters have said that the letters caused stress and suicidal thoughts in the children

Sorry but as Seeker says how do the children know? It's an issue for adults to deal with, not be divulged to children.

And as it's pretty clear these letters are sent regardless of reason how exactly is there stress on a genuine parents part? If you can't cope with a letter being sent as part of an effectively automated system then how in the hell do you get through life's more pressing issues without crumbling!?

YANBU, all schools care about is where they are on the performance charts not the children

maybe some of us are struggling with major stresses, and my meeting with the EWO at my home was fine.

She was meant to call me back to ask how dd was doing. I kept asking school for work, wanting to keep on top of dd's education.

At that point i felt i had been heard. This is just my experience btw.

One summer holiday, and two weeks later, i got a shirty letter from the EWO, 'please come in to see me at the school'. I'd heard nothing since our first meeting, and the school had said 'oh don't worry about dd she will be fine, she's bright etc, we wont' burden her with work'

Then they launched their attack on me. I think the ewo hadn't done her follow up, and that the head was wrong to not give me work.

So, from my exp i never know whether i'm coming or bloody going.

The head, a few weeks later saw me, and apologised it was handled so badly.

I have had alot of life problems, and deal with them well, but my priority is my dd, and feeling like they think she isn't sucks at my confidence as a mother.

We have an attendance problem at our school. We have a significant numbernof families who live in a very chaotic way- a high level of social deprivation and other indicators of potential low achievement. It is particularly important that these children come to school. We also have a pretty high % of unauthorised holidays. We send out pro forma letters once attendance hits an agreed level to everyone. It's not appropriate to do any sifting at this stage- if only because parents do compare notes- and it would be counter productive for one parent to get a letter and another not. All the letter asks for is some more information. If a child has had a run of illnesses or something like that, then all the parent has to do is explain. If the child is being kept off for with no good reason, then the letter acts as a reminder, and sometimes it's all that's needed to get the attendance up again.

I honestly don't understand why anyone would be stressed by it. And CERTAINLY why a child should be.

YUNBU. My dc was off school for a total of three days during one term. One was due to bereavement in the family and the other two vomiting. Although it was only a 24hr bug I still kept dc off for another day adhering to the school rules.I was sooo angry when i received one of those STUPID attendance letters. Especially the insensitive and infuriating line about the welfare officer keeping an eye on attendance etc. You're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't.

Recently there has been an outbreak of chicken pox in my dc class, this horrible illness has affected more than 50 percent of the children in class. (Including my poor DC) It will be interesting to see whether we receive any letters. If we do then believe me I along with the other parents will make our views heard!

like i said, i have never had a letter. my exp is how i feel about the way it was handled. my daughter was in hospital for a week and they couldn't find out what was wrong with her. this began a stressful series of events whereby all it felt like was criticism and nothing productive for anyone.

So just send a brief lettr back saying why your child was off. Sorted. Why get angry?

I'm really depressed by this thread - most of you are missing the point entirely - attendance rules are there to protect children; if they get your back up then too bad.

This smacks of the whole call social services nothing to fear nothing to hide to hell with the upset it causes to parents threads that so often pop up.

The point is the children know the school excepts 100% attendance because they are told about the rewards they will be given if they achieve this. You then get 5 year olds having a melt down because they are ill and nasty mummy won't take them to school when they are ill.
My 11 year old has sobbed on the doorstep at 6.30am because she wants me to leave for school 15 mins up the road rather than risk being late, it's been discussed the day before at school and now she is in bits at the thought of arriving lat even though she never has.

I really wish the schools would think things through before they tar everyone with the same brush and basically assume all parents are dickheads, which is how it feels.