Am I being unreasonable about this letter from school re: attendance?

[HuckleberryGin]

For background- I used to be a teacher until last year, in the same trust of schools that my children attend. So I know that the Trust have been warned and under scrutiny for their attendance figures from LA and Ofsted.

Received a letter today from attendance manager with the usual "attendance is important for performance" stuff. At the end of the letter it then said that "children should not be kept off school for minor illnesses and that if parents are in doubt to send the children to school and let the school decide"

AIBU to think this is a daft policy? As it happens I do send my kids to school with straight forward colds etc. But I have also had them catch impetigo, hand, foot and mouth, D&V etc where perhaps other children aren't being kept off. Also school aren't medical professionals!

I'm contemplating an email, but need to see if IBU first!

I had this with my DS's school. I told the head in no uncertain terms that the policy as is discriminates against kids with chronic health conditions. I was not the first parent to tell him this (another i know has a child with diabetes who misses a lot of school for appointments). DS picks up every bug going and has had rota virus more than once and every time a parent sends their kids in ill health gets it - even when he's already had it. Sometimes one illness will be going round class and he'll get it 2 times or more!

He said it was aimed at the parents who keep kids off for very minor things, even just not being bothered to bring them in because of stupid things like stubbed toes FFS! Some have attendance rates in the low 70s, for all his issues DS is still in the high 90s.

We left it with me asking head to look into reasonable adjustments under the equalities act for children with documented medical conditions. Which he has done AND his attendance rates have gone up. Win win!

Op, YANBU but if you are concerned, a quick friendly email or a chat never hurts. :)

I know I am incredibly lucky that my children are extremely healthy and not accident prone but the reasons people kids off sometimes are a complete nonsense e.g. the stubbed toe/being tired because they were kept up too late etc.

DS1 is almost 16 and has had 4 days absence from school in his life - all for vomiting things.

Ds2 is almost 15 and has had 5 days absence - for the same reasons mainly plus an extra day for a strep throat.

neither have been off at all in High School. the majority of those days off were when they were very young. They were always unlucky enough to be ill at the weekend/holiday.

As a child I can remember my mum giving me the odd day off and taking me to the beach as I was never off sick and she worked so just felt like spending the day with me if she had a day off. I suppose it didn't do me any harm as those days were probably the only ones I was ever absent.

The one area where I feel that the schools must urgently tackle better is high absence levels for children with serious and ongoing health conditions. There is thread after thread on here from parents of those children who have been upset by letters that ignore their particular circumstances or unkind treatment from the school.

Maybe there could be a means of taking those children out of the attendance figures so the schools would calm down and stop harrying their parents.

Attendance is part of my job, and we don't challenge children with medical conditions which are causing the absence, unless there is no evidence to support the illness/parent is taking the mick! I suppose the grey area is mental illness, especially as it is so hard for parents to get support from cahms etc. The families hit hardest are those who are disengaged with the school, never provide reason, who don't attend meetings or respond to letters.

Attendance is a big thing at my daughter's school at the moment. She was sent home on Tuesday after being sick. The conversation went like this

"Hi. It's x school. You daughter has been complaining of a headache today and has been sick twice at lunch. She said her headache is much worse since.
"Ok. I will come and get her"
"Can you pick her up in a hour? We will leave her in the quiet room and she will get her pm registration mark then"

I got her straight away. Her attendance is fine and leaving her alone in a room waiting another hour for some painkillers seem farcical...

No school can insist your child goes in at age 3 or 4 as schooling isn't compulsory until they are 5, or in some places the term after they are 5.
Source - attendance officer at a primary