to think the Education Welfare Officer asking for an GP appoinment card every time dd has a virus is unrealistic, when GP has just said I am wasting their time.

[piratecat]

Where do I go from here.

The EWO has to do their job, i have to prove dd was unwell so as not to get an unauthorised absence mark.

Yes dd has had alot of other health issues, hospital appointments etc, which are easy to 'prove' as such. Yet the EWO as i said wants a copy of an appointment card, for any time off.

I took dd to gp today, as today is the day dd is ill. Lucky i got an appointment, but the GP on duty is now going to speak to my actual gp, to sort this out. I have also requested for a phone call from our gp when she does her phonecalls tomorrow afternoon.

Last time i spoke to my actual gp, she said they can't write notes for kids, fair enough, totally correct when it comes to bugs.

Duty doctor said i was wasting his time bringing dd in, just to say look she has a virus.
I agree, and would not have bothered him today.
I feel torn really, and the system is just not working.

rant rant rant.

There are strict rules about what workplaces can / cannot require of employees in terms of sick notes, eg they cannot require a sick note for fewer than a certain number of days absence. To avoid wasting GPs' time when there is high demand for primary care.

Don't similar rules apply to requests of GPs from schools, local authorities and so on? Or is it seen as a child protection thing, eg to make parents who aren't trusted see GP frequently?

surprised that busy GP surgeries/commissioners put up with it (what were PCTs, commissioning groups or something?

Yes, can't GPs charge for this kind of thing?

Or is it seen as a child protection thing, eg to make parents who aren't trusted see GP frequently?
no it is not it is to comply with edicts from on high

It is totally crazy. Last term DS1 was sent home with chest pain. I was recommended to take him to A+E which I did. It turned out that he had a nasty chest infection and needed rest etc. we were relieved that it was nothing more serious and went home. The next day I kept him off school and rang them to say what had happened. That was Friday. Monday I got a stroppy letter saying that DS had an unauthorised absence for the Friday and they needed proof that he had attended A+E and needed to be off. He has on going issues with attendance anyway due to his ASD problems, so I realise he is " in the system" as it were but it is such a nuisance. a+E said they will not reveal medical details and they could only do a letter saying he had been there not why. We took that in the end but it was a few days before we were free to go and collect it and the school were on our case constantly, as if we have nothing to do other than filling in their silly paper work.

I am going to be in the system soon. We have a big family birthday in a few weeks. We have had a crap year so it will be good not to have a funeral.

School would not authorise the day off so we could travel 300 miles to get there. So I told them we are going anyway and will get some education in a London museum for a few hours. I am a teacher and sometimes I think he learns more from me anyway given his teacher's spelling and grammar mistakes

1 day is not going to hurt. I have worked in schools where children go to Pakistan for 8 weeks. Where pupils have 50% attendance records. DS is a very good attender and we support school a lot. It's not like we are going for a cheap 2 week holiday.

the more i read the crazier it becomes.
i am going to leave the thread now to concentrate on some sleep. very comforted by the thought that ianbu. i am exhausted and dd is still not asleep.
i will get back to yet if i get a call from my gp.

thanks for today and strength to you all. x

We are in Scotland. My 3 children have all have good school attendance but, if I choose to keep them off, no questions are ever asked. Ds's 1&2 have only ever been off when ill (ds2 for 2 weeks on two occasions) or to perform in music festivals or orchestral concerts. Ds3 (7) was off for an afternoon for a family wedding and an afternoon to attend one of his brothers concerts. We could have left after school but I didn't want to drive in the dark.

All three have also had hospital appointments over the years. I have never been asked for an appointment card. I phone on the first day of absence and follow up with a note on their return. For appointments I send a note the day before.

Common sense has been lost somewhere.

Agree with oneineight the sheer hypocrisy around school absences is ludicrous. School were happy for my child to miss over 200 half day sessions in a year because they couldn't meet his needs. If I had done this I would have been up in court with a heavy fine. They did however record all the absences as 'educated elsewhere' presumably so they wouldn't get pulled up on it .

this sounds a nightmare what happened to the oldf ashioned sending a note in after they are ill, not all illnesses need to be seen at the drs kids get bug and viruses , I would speak to the education authority about this it is ridiculous

It is for the LEA to prove in court beyond all reasonable doubt that your DC was not unwell.You do not have to prove anything.THey are blowing hot air.IGNORE!

I live in Yorkshire. We had children who asked for days off to attend the Yorkshire show. No problem with that as it was educational. Schools can go on a day trip with school to a museum. So if school get arsey with me, I'll ask them what the difference is between a parent taking a child on an educational visit and school takng a child on an educational visit?

My own Gp is happy to give me a phonecall if my dd is ill but not ill enough to warrant an visit, and will arrange a note for me to pick up.

Should she be on duty if dd is ill, and she feels after the phone call that dd needs to be examined she said she is happy to see her.
I said, it didn't seem much help should i go in after the event either, in case she wasn't on duty, but she said, she often sees adults who go in after about of illness to get a sick note.

As she said, she can't give sick notes in advance.
Was very helpful, and said it was a difficult situation i have been put in.

I feel relieved, and thanked her about 10 times.

coco44, i am starting to feel that way--ignore!

or at least, don't let them rattle me.

They are asking for proof of apt. That's all. Just ask for an appointment card when you take her. No big deal. They don't require a doctors note but they do require proof to avoid the fines.

Tbf your child must have had a fair bit of time off to warrant this.

have you read the thread?

my point was the gp not wanting to see my dd if she had a virus, therefore i wouldn't be able to get an appointment.

Which i agreed with, that it was a waste of an appt.

I have said, yes she has had alot of time off, all documented, two actual ongoing illnesses.

cheers.

If an illness isn't severe enough for a doctors appointment then surely she should be at school?
Unless she has a diagnosed immune deficiency then she is just getting colds etc.

I don't mean to sound harsh but I work in a school, the amount of kids that are kept off with a 'virus' is staggering.
If she is perm entry I'll then you should see the gp
If not send her to school. The ewo does not get involved unless absence is concerning.

So you'd take a kid with a temperature and a virus, who simply needs bed rest and calpol, to the doctor unnecessarily, Maddy? Really?

Ever had a really nasty cold or the flu? No point in going to the doctor but there is no way you could manage work/school.

If the EWO didn't believe the child was ill she could have made a very quick home visit to check.

Our health service is stretched enough without people being forced to see a doctor.

Maddy my daughter is upstairs asleep she has a cold. If left to sleep today she will fight it off quickly if disturbed to be sent either to school or the doctors she will take much longer to recover. If she had d&v would you state she should either be at school or doctors.

By the way her school is perfectly happy and not demanding a note.

maddy Viral infections can be as serious, if not more serious in some cases, than bacterial infections. A child with a viral chest infection may be coughing, have a temperature, feeling shakey, achey and weak. I bet you'd be the first to complain if a child that ill was sent in!

maddy68 there are loads of self-limiting illlness, flu, colds, D and V which are really unpleasant and may even put you out of action for a few days but which do not require a doctors visit- indeed going to the doctors is overall very bad for public health in general as these are spread by contact and so allow older and vulnerable patients at the surgery to contract them but no prospect of treatment as they are self-limiting.

If you are working, you can self-certify for a week for this reason and doctors surgeries are desperate for people not to go in for D and V and winter viruses but you can hardly be suggesting people go into school with diarrhea or a racking cough to spread to everyone else, can you?

It's not that hard to understand- teachers are off sick all the time, and they don't all get doctors notes if it is for less than a week, do they?

I wouldn't personally take my children necessarily to the gp every time. But if they were so frequently ill to warrant being monitored by the ewo then something is wrong and that should be seen by the gp
In addition to be , under the watch of the authority she probably has had unnecessary time off previously

Her attendance is clearly an issue which needs addressing.. The child is either

1. really poorly that needs medical intervention (perhaps a suppressed immune system.)
2. mum is being over protective at times and allowing the child unnecessary time off

OP had already said that her child has/had some other health problems.

I too wouldn't take my dc to the doctors every time. A couple of years ago 1/4 of DD1's year group were out with a virus, I'm sure the GP wouldn't have wanted all those kids sitting in the waiting room passing it on to everyone else (it spread round the 2 classes in that year within a day or 2).

Did you even read the OP at all?

Of course I did, therefore the if she has ongoing medical issues then the gp should see her
Any ewo, if a child had ongoing medical issues would not prosecute, that's what I'm trying to say, the gp needs to treat her properly. You need to get your gp to write to the ewo to explain these issues. And any gp will do that, if the gp doesn't think it's an ongoing issue then they won't justify her absence......... Therefore perhaps the amount absence is unnecessary?
She could be absolutely right in keeping her child off but this needs to be accountable
It's the new laws in schools, it's not the schools it's the authority They do need proof for prolonged absence
It doesn't have to be the gp, if she has prolonged illnesses then social services etc will be involved. As long as a healthcare professional writes to the ewo then it will be fine