to think thats schools should not give free trips away for 100% attendance

[RosesandRugby]

Just cross really that my DS was off school following an accident at school where he lost several days off due to concussion. Before this he had always had 100% attendance (4 whole years) and they previously just gave out certificates at the end of term with a badge. This year the school have paid for a day trip (theme park) complete with meal out for those with 100% attendance but they wont be able to do it next year because it was only due to a large donation by a local business that has allowed them to do it this time.

OK so im cross that my child has missed out but still, a day trip ! And before anyone goes on about rewarding good attendance etc as an adult you would just get paid your normal salary which would be reduced if you took time off......you wouldn't get extra for turning up to work 100% of the time !

stomps off to hide somewhere cool

I agree with icanseethesun.
First job i did you got a bonus for good attendance.

It's a bit mad as it increases the push to send kids to school calpoled

Iown, EXACTLY! Then you get more infection. It is a joke.

The school has acted very stupidly, because it is laying itself wide open to a disability discrimination claim to which it would have no defence. If there is any likelihood of them repeating this exercise I would suggest that you point that out to them.

Where I used to work, if you had 100% attendance, you'd get an extra day's annual leave added on to the next year.

Yanbu about the trip though, very unfair.

it's really unfair isn't it - all three of my kids have various medical things they have to attend - getting them ALL outside of school hours isn't possible - so they had between 96 and 98% attendance - it's like punishing them for needing help from CAMHs or having a medical condition

Yanbu. I really am dreading DD going through the English school system. It's so different to what I did and tbh I hate this attendance crap.

Totally unfair of the school to do this and I would worry about the type of HT who thinks this is a good idea

What a crappy way to use the money, there were loads of other, better things they could have done with it. YABU.

I'm not sure how I feel about this...I can see how it's an incentive later on at high school (maybe?) where truanting is a problem but not convinced it serves a purpose before that.

My son actually won a bike in Year 9 for 100% attendance. He's a bit vague at the best of times and had no idea there was such an incentive for going to school every day...he just did it because it wouldn't occur to him not to!

It's an awful way to carry on. My son would NEVER have got anything as he was always at the/or in hospital due to a medical condition.

YANBU - it really doesn't make sense for schools to provide awards for 100% attendance, on one hand they are saying you should be in school every day and on the other they are saying stay off for 48 hours if you have been sick. Awarding 100% attendance could just encourage children to come into school and spread germs.

Some companies might award 100% attendance but where I work my manager would rather stay at home than spread my germs to everyone else.

A bike?! I think that is dreadful. I don't think certificates and prizes are an effective way to deal with truanting. Surely that stems from entrenched difficulties that are not easily solved?

ours just got certs. dd hasnt even missed a day other than for hospital appointments. I am ok with it because tbf she generally achieves well and gets certs for lots of other more meaningful things...but it is utterly ridiculous to reward kids for the luck of perfect health!

It really depends on the school intake. In schools where I have worked, and attendance has been less than 80%, then incentives have been key in raising it. In schools where nearly everyone is 95% or above, less so. It's not about YOU or YOUR child. The school needs to raise levels for everyone. I have one ds who is in all the time, 100%. Another with asthma who is not. I accept the attendence letters with good grace, and he accepts that attendance is not his "thing". He gets recognised in other ways. But for some children, that's their only "thing". They might never get a prize any other way. They can't get a prize for maths but they can get one for being in every bloody day. And for others, aiming at that to improve attainment would be enormously important. So I accept that. Because school isn't just about my child.

DS2 got a certificate and a £5 voucher. It's the first year we've not had regular rounds of puke in the family, (we've actually got on top of DS1's abdominal migraines, but DS2 often ended up ill afterwards, probably from being puked on in the middle of the night) so I'm taking it as a mark of my relief that that particular era's over and done with.

He's had quite a few lates, over the year, but they're generally directly or indirectly related to his disability (eg we can't persuade him to wear at coat, at the moment and it was persisting down, to the point that a walk to the garage gave you a soaking, unprotected, so I called in and said we'd have to wait until it eased off a bit, meaning he was half an hour late. Other times, he's done a stinking of a nappy at about 8:40, which has had to be dealt with before we can leave the house, making us 10 minutes or so late. Then there's the mornings when he's refused to walk, or walked backwards....). Those lates have been disregarded, though. I know a lot of schools would have marked him absent for the more extreme late mornings.

Schools are expected to show they are doing something to increase attendance - it is another stick they are hit with by the great OFSTED.

If people want to complain to schools it might be worth proposing a solution as well - my school does the awards each half term - so you only need to get 100% per half term - so if you have had a stomach bug in January you are not penalised in June again. It also gives students an incentive to keep trying rather than if someone is ill in September and thats it for the year.

Also (although this is secondary) the form with the best overall attendance gets some kind of reward each half term - two I know of is a Pizza party at lunctime which Yr 10's get, or Yr 7's get the last day of the half term as non uniform.

Just some ideas which might be worth suggesting - unfortunately schools are being judged on this so need to be 'doing something'

arguably getting tummy bugs is often the child's fault for not washing their hands after going to the toilet (ducks for flaming)

phlebas that is utter shit. You're ok with your DC having a medical condition and accepting he wont ever receive an attendance award because of that? Fuck me, in the most PC country I've ever lived...this just makes me want to shake my head and say oookaaay.

What is with the utter obsession with institutionlised education in this country. It's not going to make you have an easier/richer/more MC life.

Why do so many people think the Government are actually doing what's in the best interest of the people? Oh it's been made a law so let's just abide by it and not question it...

YABU. It's a good way of encouraging school refusers to attend. Try not to take everything personally.

I don't object to awarding certificates generally.

But to some children it's unreachable.

I know the school have got to be seen as improving attendance, so why not come from the parent side rather than the children side.

possum although it's not right I kind of feel like that with dd. But she has lots of talent in other areas. So another child may never win a cross country race for example? Being in school 100% of the time - isn't that worth some recognition?

There is a thread about this in chat at the moment in which posters state that the E qualities and human Rights Commission say schools that give attendance awards need to have a second register for students with chronic illness or disability. Phlebas.

The English seem complete obsessed with school attendance. Wonder if it has improved educational outcomes.

I know it's not a popular view up I think 100% attendance should be acknowledged and celebrated.

I could start a thread about school sports days saying they we shouldn't have winners, because my children always come last in races, they are just not athletic, that's just the way it is. I don't think this means the children who are good at those things shouldn't get prizes given that much of the reason they are good might just be down to the fact they're tall.

One other thing I think is that it might be disappointing for children who don't win things but learning to deal with disappointment is actually a useful life skill. I don't think we should be sheltering them from the harshness of life too much.

I don't agree with certificates for this TBH in the first place for reasons others have given around chronic conditions / children going in sick, but a trip is ridiculous.

It's not going to help attendance as some have argued as the size of the "prize" has obviously only just been announced, and it's not going to be repeated next year.

It's out of line to award trips out to little children presumably announce they've won BUT their parents have to go too and it's £££ so parents who can't really afford it are going to have to scrimp or worse explain to the child that yes they won and got the prize but no they can't go because it's too expensive for mummy/daddy to come.