That the Academ Attendence rules are naff?

[pumpkinsweetieMasPudding]

My dcs infants & juniors has just lately turned into an Academy.

My dd 4 had One day of school last year due to having the winter vomiting virus: I phoned in on this day and explained she was extremely sick. The secretary said it would go done as Unauthorised under their new policy unless i provided a sick note by the Gp.
Of course i didn't take her to Gps & infect the whole surgery fgs.

Well we are now in january and i have had a patronising letter back, saying that my daughter had 2 days off last year bla bla, days off are bad for chidren's emotional wellbeing and to sign underneath to note my child was not authorised to have the day(s) off.

I went into the school office and said, what do you mean Two days off and i was told One day now counts as Two!!!

Today i found out they are fining parents for 5 days abscences, so basically 2.5 days off in reality means a fine of £35

Can they do this without drafting the policy to us first?

Just worried as my dd only needs 1.5 more days off to make me a fine candidate

I'm seething, because if she catches a bug, chicken pox, another norovirus, chest infection etc then i'm basically stuffed.
I cannot afford to pay this sort of money to the school, so i have no other choice to send them in whether sick or not

The only other option i've been given is to provide a docs note for each absence!
Bear in mind my docs charge £10 each note and aren't happy about providing them for children unless there is a long term illness.

Aibu to think these 'rules' are absurd???

They'll struggle to charge you even a penny

Also wondering whether it's actually legal, considering my dd is 4, under the age of compulsory age which is 5?

Ds goes to an academy - there are no such rules.

They cannot fine you - just tell them no. They won't take you to court, it's scare tactics and utter bollox

i think the secretary / letter must mean 2 registrations?? morning and afternoon??

not sure they can fine you etc, have you signed anything about sickness rules etc??

I bet their fines are as enforceable as NCP fines

Thats the other thing Lavender, they also count being late as a whole day unauthorised, even if just a few mins

And half a day absent counts as a whole day

I was told by a friend at the school to obtain their school attendence policy, as they have to state it in there.
The school cannot refuse me the information, so i'm guessing if this nonsense isn't stated in it, they cannot possibly get away with fining me.

surely it's in their best interests to authorise sick days and to sign a child as being there for the day if they are late?

but they cant count half a day as a whole day as your child was in school - also if they are late but marked as absent what happens in the event of a fire??

very iffy

They can't fine you.

They'll soon change their minds when they've had to clean up after the poor bairns who are dragged to school with D+V because their parents couldn't possibly afford a fine or a doctor's note and are too frightened to keep them at home.

I would be looking for a new school tbh.

One whole day is two sessions, so that bit is pretty standard.

I suggest you write to them, stating your DD had norovirus, and were following official NHS advice not/not to take the child to the surgery. Furthermore, the NHS does not/not issue sick notes for absences of less than 5 full days. Ask for explicit explanation of what you should have done broken: NHS guidelines and posed an infection risk to all patients a the surgery? (If so, grateful for written DoH policy advice which over-rules that out out by NHS). Or written confirmation that the school no longer has a 48-hour D&V exclusion policy, and that vomiting children should be brought into school?

No suprise. Academies can do what the hell they want. Pay teachers what they want, open as many hours as they want, teach what they want and let in who they want. Parents walk bkindly into academies and then realise they are not such a good idea. Note to parents, if your school wants to become and academy, beware, and FIGHT!!

They have no power to fine you. I suggest that you tell them that if they want a doctor's note, they must pay for it.

I don't think it's as easy as that glamourous, my understanding is that in my LA all schools will eventually have to become acadamies as there won't be any staff left at the LA to run them This may not be true but it certainly is the perception of parents I've spoken to.

Maybe, OP, the school is just flexing it's muscles and will back down when you ask for the written policy.

The school has been a lovely school for 6 years. My eldest went there, and my 2 dds go there now. All was well and good until they decided to turn it into a bloody academy, and then it all turned sour.
The principle is useless, a bloke who cba to deal with important matters.
The attendence rules are OTT, and in affect penalize decent parents.
Everything with the academy is cheap, but there isn't any schools nearby taking on new pupils and they have waiting list as long as my leg.
There has been a handful of incidences I haven' t agreed with this term so far and tbh I'm really upset I ever chose to send them there

You may ahve a fight on your hands op. Look through the various threads on here about academies and the dip shit ideas they have, it only gets worse once they get to secondary.
Ours was converted into an academy and have had a complete change in the top layer of teachers (head,deputy etc) 3 times until they have found someone as equally pie in the sky as they are.

The registration times have been changed 3 times since September and in November they decide all the kids were too thick to do gcses so switched them all onto btechs without consulting a single parent until the deed was done. Lateness now involves a 2 hour detention during lesson time even for students in their exam years. They have a no physical contact policy and students have been sent home for jostling each other...no surprise its overcrowded and there are bottle necks everywhere. Add to that they have to fast walk between lessons (no kidding). This is their solution to not allowing any time to get between lessons. The uniform has been changed or added to twice in the last 18 months, its beyond ridiculous.

Academies are all style and no substance. They don't care if your child learns a damn thing, they are not bound by any inclusion policies so any children with additional needs are left to rot and encouraged to leave. They just care about what looks good in the promotional material they dish out.

Crap not cheap, stupid phone

Just ignore their snotty letters. Likewise if they try to fine you tell them to take you to court.

Just one question, if they took me to court, would it cost me anything? Or would the costs be entirely incurred by the academy?

Hopefully, someone who knows what they are talking about will answer your question, pumpkin, but in the meantime ...

Surely they would have to prove that you had agreed to pay a fine if your child was off due to sickness.

Or they would have to prove that they had lost money, i.e. the amount they were fining you.

They wouldn't take you to court though. Too much money and hassle.

whats going on with this fine??
can you post in legal for advice. i'd be amazed if they could enforce it - and horrified. this needs stamping on imo

They haven't fined me yet but they can if her absences total to 5days off.
Their 5 days off =2.5 in real days iyswim. My dd 4yo has already had 1.5 days of which one she had norovirus & the 0.5 because THEY sent her home as they 'thought' she was ill. So with their double day crap that =3.
If she gets ill again i run the risk of being fined and that worries me & upsets me as i do the upmost to get all my dc to school.