To hate (with a passion) 100% attendance awards?

[SteadyEddie]

DD's school have an award ceremony where everyone who has had 100% attendance for that academic year gets a certificate, and then get to go and watch a film as a 'reward'.

I know they want to encourage 100% attendance, but AIBU to hate this idea? DD has an eye condition which means attending hospital appointments every 6 weeks, which are run in the daytime, so she has had 5 afternoon sessions missed this year, and another tomorrow, so she wont be allowed to the special event.

I know that we have to teach our children that life isn't fair, but really, at 5, especially when its through no fault of her own? She already hated her eye condition as it is.

Why do you get credit for a child being lucky enough not to be ill?

DD1's school doesn't count authorised attendance in the stats. So if your child is ill and you follow notification procedures, it won't be held against you. If your child is ill a lot, you will be queried, but they tend to be very reasonable - DD1 has a boy in her class who has had 3 episodes of leukaemia, his immune system is frail and so he is off a lot. It just isn't an issue.

They're also sensible about authorising holidays for exceptional circumstances and they only do awards for effort, achievement and commitment so everyone gets a shot (except the ones who really don't give a stuff and refuse to do any work).

100% attendees don't necessarily put others at risk. Parents who send their kids into school with d and v bugs do I feel.

through genetics/luck/good hygiene practices/good diet/whatever (why do people who manage not to be ill never get any credit for at least partially contributing to it?)

well because my ds has had bad luck, dodgy genetics, learning disabilities which means he would struggle with the hygiene and a limited diet...but non of that is really his fault!

I hate hate hate this kind of crap.
Recently sat through dds last school day ever and one girl got a bouquet for 100% attendance for her whole school carreer.
Well, well done you for never having had
The flu
A bereavement
Having to care for a parent
A rotten tooth
A broken arm
A family wedding
Diabetes
A disability

Gold fucking star

After years of hating them, it turns out it is disability discrimination to disallow time off due to chronic illness. Bit late for us now.

I did challenge this 2 years ago, DS only had time off for medical appointments.

I said to the HT that it wasn't fair that DS, who would have had 100% attendance if he didn't have these appointments didn't get the same as everyone else.

Since then she does take appointments into account.

I KNOW my kids have a baseline of lucky.....

but I do expect my kids to eat well (to help maintain their immune system), and not to eat or touch their mouth/nose/eyes without washing their hands, to keep their hands to themselves, don't keep touching "stuff" etc etc....

some kids are not able to do this, but that does not therefore mean other kids are purely lucky either...

perhaps they would have had no illnesses despite it, but I refuse to believe that all those past efforts must count for nowt.....

(and I haven't taken the kids to Typhoid zones or been thick enough to take my kids to a chicken pox party either)

They do count for nowt
My DD died of cancer.

If things like prom tickets or permission to go on trips are witheld for absence then where is there to go for bad behaviour?

And on same note imagine working hard all year to be good and behave in class only to loose out anyway over a frickin stomach bug

I expect that from DS. Strangely that doesn't repair the damage to his lungs though.

You can't punish children for something out of their control

This is one of these things I decided to relax over ages ago, I realised that along with walk to school week (when my children and myself would have been late every day had we walked) that these things are bonkers. I also discussed them with the children and thought about why they are unfair. Now I feel more chilled out over it- if child is sick in the night, they are away, if a drs or dentist appointment comes up in school time, we take it (dentist in particular has no out of school appointments for months at a time), if child really unwell, I keep them home. They have good attendance, but not perfect. That's fine by me.

I think it is important to just resist this crap really- good on the people who have challenged it. I haven't seen any sign of attendance certificates at their current school so perhaps they have decided to swerve the madness.

I have to admit I used to be a bit proud of my kids never getting ill. Until they did and I realised I had no control over it.
So I am sorry if I was harsh.

YANBU

I hate these awards too.

I think certificates are OK, expensive awards are not.

My child is 'lucky' in that she has general good health, and does get attendance certificates sometimes.
But she also goes in to school with mild headaches or tummy aches, and doesn't muck about in the mornings making us late.

However:

• she is towards the bottom of her class academically
• is below average at art (and has to put up with other children saying her drawings are rubbish)
• is not particularly musical
• has poor coordination so not good at sport (and has to put up with other children playing games she can't join in at break time e.g. skipping or gymnastics)
• has poor speech so doesn't get good roles in plays or assemblies

She has also had to put up with other children disappearing off in term time to go to Disneyland etc, and then come back telling/boasting of how wonderful it was.

I'm sorry, but I do not begrudge her getting to go to the front in assembly once a term and be given an attendance certificate.

DS's attendance is low, probably under 95%, but he has SN and various medical conditions. Luckily his school doesnt have a scheme like this.

I think I will take it up with the HT. It is unfair. Its bad enough that DD has to wear massive glasses, or a patch, without singling her out even more, for something she has no control over.

Devere - so sorry for your loss. you certainly weren't harsh in your post. I cannot understand how no one has challenged these awards under the disability discrimination act yet. reward kids for good behaviour, good work, progress made, trying hard, being kind and all those other things that are under their control but not this. why do the schools pander the govt. do they have to offer these rewards by law? if not then it is the schools discretion and we need to make more of a fuss to governors.

YANBU
My son missed the last day of school so was unable to collect his 100% attendance certificate at assembly. How we laughed.

These certificates achieve nothing more than rewarding children for being healthy enough to be sent to school all year.

YANBU Our school gave away a kindle to the child with the highest attendance last year. DD demanded to go in to school - with a temperature of 41C, all because she desperately wanted to win. I refused to let her go in as she was so ill. Stupid scheme.

I doubt DS will ever get 100% attendance, he has 3 conditions which are monitored by the hospital. At the moment we can book most appointments for a Friday (he only goes to nursery mid week) or after school, but come September he will have to have a few sessions off a term just for those, before you count bugs that keep them off.

Luckily our school seems to have seen the error of their ways and has opted not to do the scheme this year. They have now swapped to a class trophy which is given to the class with the over all best attendance. So it is based on a whole class achieving the highest attendance of that week. They do certificates for so many other areas, good homework, good effort in class etc.
Then prizes for "Spotted doing something great", where children who do something nice for another child (helping a classmate) without being asked to by the teacher gets their name put in the pot to win the prize.
Then there are merits for doing good homework, and every so many merits (I think it is every 100) they get an award certificate - like bronze, Silver and gold award. This is based on the children doing their best in class and in their homework.

i prefer a focus on punctuality (authorised lateness for appts ok!), attitude, behaviour, effort, helpfulness. I'd rather people kept their kids home when pestillent, but also when their illness just means they need to rest. It isnt fair to drag them to school!

The only use for an attendance award is if you work on the assumption that children are only off school for spurious reasons. This patently is not the case so all you are doing is rewarding luck.

DD is 4 and won the class award with a certificate. When I congratulated her and asked her what she'd done to win it, she sighed, then told me
"Oh Mummy - everyone has a turn!"

They're not daft :)

YANBU. Due to hospital appointments caused by a genetic condition, a broken finger and ample speech therapy, DD has never been in 100% for a term for one reason or another!

The DC in their school have a paper certificate signed by the head. Whoopty-do

In my friends DD's school, all those with 100% attendance go on a trip to the local petting farm on the last day of term paid for by the PTA fund the rest of the pupils have to sit in the hall for the day. Utterly fucking ridiculous.