To think the whole attendance thing at school has gone too far?

[storminabuttercup]

I maybe am, but parents at DS's school seem so bothered about the attendance mark that they are sending kids into school ill, straight after D&V, with all sorts of bugs etc. School actively encourage this, I mentioned that DS had D&V, was a Friday so hopefully if it stopped that day he would return on Monday after the 48 hour period, I was told 'oh we don't worry about that sort of thing they are fine to come back' this is probably why the school is rife with bugs. Just before Xmas lots of the kids came down with a stomach bug, school didn't mention anything but one kid has head lice and we get strongly worded messages.
I know kids need to be in school, I get that, but surely we want them to be healthy too.
Are other schools like this? I may be venting as DS was ill again last week, mentioned it to another mum who said her child had been throwing up and had diarrhoea the night before but 'school would phone if he wasn't right'

[LurcioAgain]

I've had the whole nasty letter threatening me with the educational welfare officer thing for DS's low attendance and demanding doctor's letters. So much so that I am now sending him in so they can actually see how ill he is and get me to take him home. Only yesterday, they came up with a new wheeze - phoned me up at lunchtime to say "can you come and administer calpol?" Well, yes I can, once I've cycled half an hour back from work, collected the calpol, then cycled up to the school.

When I got there DS was practically in tears and all flushed and miserable - I brought him home. Of course, the school has now played a blinder, because on the records it's now my choice to take him out of school not their decision to send him home.

Guess I'd better start tidying the house so it looks all respectable for the welfare officer.

[insan1tyscartching]

Dd had two days off with the most horrendous period. She was in bed on maximum painkillers and still in pain. I sent the necessary text and emailed the SENCo in good time so that her assigned TA could be reassigned elsewhere. I got an email back asking whether it was really necessary for her to be absent.
Dd has very painful and heavy periods anyway but she still has attended every other time needing regular painkillers to get through. That particular occasion was far worse and she wasn't absent unnecessarily.
It was probably not my finest hour when I offered to bring the contents of my linen basket for inspection so that they could verify that dd was genuinely unable to attend.
Dd's attendance was up until that point perfect so it's not as if she was regularly absent anyway.

[RufusTheReindeer]

bird

My sons 6th form seems very good and allows them to leave if they feel ill and decide for themselves

It is linked to a school which doesnt seem to have the same draconian views on absence as the senior school my other children attend

[CrystalQueen]

I'm glad this hasn't reached Scotland yet (sure it's only a matter of time). My DH was taken very ill a couple of weeks ago so my parents were looking after DD (P3) - but they don't live close enough to take her to school (they live about an hour away). The last thing I would have needed while going back and forth to the hospital to the cardiac ward was the school on my back!

[tinyterrors]

Our school are militant about the 48 hour rule. I've known parents be turned away at the gate for trying to bring them back before the 48 hours.

It can be hard to judge how bad kids are though. Mine have all had coughs and a cold for the past week, the cough sounds awful but they're well in themselves, no fever and running round like normal in the playground. They've been at school every day. I can't keep them off for every cough and cold or they'd be off from October to March.

I send my kids in when they're not 100% if it's something minor like coughs and colds but if they have a fever, are sleepy or not fit enough then they stay home and I don't care what school thinks.

Attendance crackdowns have gone way too far and as pp have pointed out won't mean a thing to those few parents who don't give a damn while putting those who do under pressure to send kids in that should be at home. It should be up to parents whether their child is fit enough for school not stupid government targets.

[ATruthUniversallyAcknowledged]

Zombie alert!!!!!!

Op, why have you bumped all these old threads? Just start your own.