to tell my DC good health is a gift, not an achievement?

[foolonthehill]

...and to get rid of the school attendance certificates they are given?

I am blessed with good health. So are my DC. They often get 100% attendance (and the certificate to prove it) ....DD3 is ill, proper vomiting ill...her first thought is "oh no I won't get 100%.

I am so fed up of school treating attendance like a competition. DS has been very ill in the past (you know...red letter ill, in hospital ill). First thing from school was a call to say he needed to look at his attendance...even though they knew he had been in hospital.

I am sure those with flakey attendance for spurious reasons aren't motivated by an almost unachievable 100% attendance certificate.

Pengggwn

Sorry I wasn't clear. I completely agree with certificate for attitude and efforts, it's the attendance certificate I completely disagree with.

You can judge a child timekeeping in school (arrives in class promptly after breaks, doesn't dash to the toilets at the last minute because he prefers playing and misses the first minutes of class), but I even think it's unfair to judge a Primary School lateness to arrive at school. It's up to his parents.

Not receiving a certificate really isn't a punishment

It is though. Didn't you RTFT.

I get where you are coming from, but there will be children in primary who deserve recognition for a great attitude

Then single out those few for a particular award. You don't set everyone a task that only some can achieve and then exclude the ones that can't. You don't tell the ill and disabled that they have failed. Unless you're an utter dick.

"I really hate the class awards. As well as being ill and enduring multiple hospital visits etc DCs also get to feel they are letting their class down. Starting early with the idea that people with illnesses and disabilities are a burden"

THIS, ABSOLUTELY!!"

Attendance certificates aren't a perfect system but they serve a purpose so I say crack on with it
And the stories of disabled and chronically ill children told on this thread are what? Not of interest to you? Because as long as you kid gets a reward for doing absolutely nothing, its all good?

Pengggwn

So, my ds is dyslexic and on the spectrum.
He wont get 100% attendance due to appointments.
Is that his fault, for being disabled???

He also wont get 100% arriving for school on time either, as he can have anxiety attacks about the colour of his socks, for eg, even though he has already spent 20 mins taking them on and off / changing them etc (and they are the right colour anyway).

Why can they not have a Certificate for EFFORT???

What we need to promote in our future workforce is RESILIENCE.
How to keep putting one foot in front of the other when times are tough.
Keep putting in the effort and your life will keep moving forward etc.

This Effort Certificate should come from a teacher who KNOWS that child.
Some Govt Wonk produced policy will never encourage my child as he will always fall through the gaps. And he tries harder than almost any kid I know.

Please ditch attendance certificates.

And, if you want to do something motivational and meaningful, use the freed up portion of the paper and ink budget to send children who are ill for a protracted period a card from their teacher and classmates.

Attendance certificates send a terrible message. How exactly does it work for children with limited life expectancy due to serious illness? Will they get a letter from the school about poor attendance while lying on their deathbed?

Op, YANBU

Pengggwn

I didn't claim you did say that. I was merely posting my thoughts.

But, rather than simply cry: 'don't be rude / I didn't say that' to other posts why not read them more carefully.

Do you really think that further 'othering' a child with health needs by them being UNABLE to 'achieve' a health based 'award' is good for that child OR (perhaps even more importantly) good for the rest of the community to see?

Silentpikebath

Well, it is what IS happening in the world of DLA / PIP benefits - people with terminal illnesses having benefits cut and stopped.
People getting official visitors in hospital when recovering from surgery.

The implication that those who do not maintain 100% 'attendance' in the useful workforce can never have a Certificate of acceptance.
Or worse, are to be viewed as a burden - see whole classes failing to get the party / treat due to attendance being pulled down by the disabled child.

It is just conditioning Society at a younger age.

It is vile.

My kids' primary school was brilliant with this. Both my two have medical conditions which mean they'll never get 100%. Their primary school is in a fairly deprived area where there are lots of social issues which mean that setting attendance awards/rewards at a yearly or even termly level would be pointless. They also have several learning support units on site and many children with disabilities/chronic conditions.

They do it weekly - every Friday the names of all the children who have been in all week go into a hat and three are drawn out and get some sort of prize - it's different every week.

Much more motivating - a reward for good attendance which is achievable and fun, and doesn't make you feel terrible for missing school to go to a medical appointment.

DS is in y7 now and was off four times last term - three of those times when school phoned me to get me to come and pick him up, reminding me of the 48hr rule as we left. We got the idiotic attendance letter at the end of term.

Most of his medical stuff is local now, apart from a yearly appointment three hours away which we generally manage to arrange for holidays. They're going to have an absolute field day with DD when she goes up - regular appointments two hours away - too many to just have in holidays, and at least half a day off each time.

They're currently asking for medical letters for any further absences for DS until he gets back up to 95%, otherwise they won't authorise the absence. They're not going to get them as I have no intention of going to the GP, taking up an appointment and spreading germs in the waiting room for a simple self limiting case of D&V.

Makes me even gladder I work full time to pay school fees as we avoid all this state school rubbish.

Pengggwn thank you for your good wishes.

Offering an award to ALL that some CANNOT achieve due to health issues is the very definition of othering.

I see we will have to agree to disagree.

Re the ice cream party. I'd keep my kid off that day and do something better still! Not like it's going to affect his attendance award is it? My DS has SN and I just don't care about this bullcrap any more.

Silent, my friends DS was given weeks to live. He had cancer. Attendance officers stuck to them like the proverbial. Harassing them during the worst ordeal of their lives. It's disgraceful.

DrCoconut That's absolutely awful - it's upsetting just to think about. Your poor friend and her DS. Any reasonable person with the slightest bit of empathy would understand that attending school, even if he had been physically capable of it, wouldn't be anywhere on their list of priorities, having such a short time left.

It really illustrates how schools have become faceless institutions with no regard for individuals or their circumstances. (Schools, not teachers, who are very often fighting against all this even if they can't say so to parents.) It's all utterly out of proportion. Missing a few days of school won't do any child any harm. Children with health issues have other things going on in their lives that they need to make time for, not just school. It's as if they've taken the idea 'attending school is a good thing' and pushed it to the point of utter absurdity.

user1484317265: Wow, are you always this rude?I have responded to the OP. You and I have a difference of opinion. Try not to get too wound up about that

Yes, to people who are justifying discrimination against my child and children like him. You should try doing it to my face, I'm far worse in person.

The implication that those who do not maintain 100% 'attendance' in the useful workforce can never have a Certificate of acceptance.

That's exactly the message. I'm self employed as my inability to be physically functional exceeds the acceptable limits set for employability, despite having a disability/reasonable adjustments.

Pengggwn Wed 25-Jan-17 08:58:30

"On the other, for some children their consistency and willingness to come in on time, every day, is something to be celebrated, particularly for those who have had issues with school - bullying, academic problems, anxiety, etc."

My son didn't get his certificate because of any willingness on his part: he was there, and on time, because I took him. I cannot for the life of me see why he needs rewarding for that. particularly as he never did a stroke of work if he could help it

After years of my ds being rewarded and dd being harangued by teachers, HT and EWO, ds was diagnosed with the same genetic disorder. Do you know what he said?

It was not: "how much pain will I be in?" Or: "will I ever be able to play football again?" Or: "will I have to use a wheelchair?"

He said: "will they be angry with me?"

That broke my heart.