Attendance, school and threatened with prosecution!

[user15262093]

Im so angry at DC school. Basically, my dd has had a few sick days off school. She has sen and a lot of sensory issues and communication issues and can't always tell me if theres something wrong. She will sometimes be sick and I'm not sure if its a bug or if its sensory related and maybe 2/3 times have kept her home because of this. Also earlier in the year she was supposed to be transported to and from her sen school, but due to budget cuts this was stopped (and then reinstated due to the impact it was having on my dd and the fact there was no other physical way to get her there!) During this time her attendance suffered and i had a meeting with a truancy offer (her attendance at the time was 94%) and i explained the reasons etc and the women was a bit stuck up but said thats fine, any further absences need to be documented. Anyway, fast forward to now and due to having a couple of stomach bugs her attendance dropped down to 91%. I have been sent a letter stating they are referring me to an attendance board and could be prosecuted!!! Her attendance isn't even below 90%! I am aware 91% is far from ideal but if you take out the absences from the beginning of the year due to the transport her attendance would be around 96%! I am so angry and I'm going to write a letter to this lady explaining all of this but just feel so angry and upset and stressed over the whole situation. I value my childs education deeply hence me fighting for 8 months for her to get a placement in this school, and every single report from specialists and the school itself praise me as an involved and supportive parent who only wants the best for her childs education! I cannot afford to get any sort of criminal conviction in my line of work and feel so angry, iv never been fined, or taken my child out for a holiday or anything like that! i don't know what else to do but I'm so stressed and worried and i can't even speak to anyone as its the easter holidays!

Hi OP. You have my sympathies. Im no expert on school attendance rules in England, however it sounds to me like the school could be treating you more sympathetically. You sound like a busy, caring hardworking mum who could do without the extra stress. Even if the school must send you a letter it could be amended to your circs or followed up by a quick call from them to explain why they have sent it. In my opinion you have had a few mean posters on here who would do well to show a bit more understanding to fellow mums. Its not a crime not to know how the system vis a vis warning letters goes. (The 'rude much' comment up thread is completely stupid. How on earth were you being rude?!)

It's irresponsible to send such a letter in these circumstances. OP I can almost guarantee nothing will ever come of it, but it's clearly utterly inappropriate to add more stress to a situation like this one - you are totally within your rights to be angry and upset. But seriously they don't have a leg to stand on and if you let them know how much anxiety this has caused I'm sure they will be apologetic!!

Ps - you sound like you're doing an incredible job of looking after and fighting for your dd!

Sorry to ask this, and I'm sure there is a reason....You say she is collected by bus currently, but couldn't go in a taxi.....Could she go in a normal car? Do you drive? Is it just buses she is comfortable with?

Well done to the school for stepping up and helping your daughter get to school temporarily, even if they sent out the standard scary letter. The transport system can be really iffy at times. Sorry you've had this experience- please don't automatically assume the worst

Don't worry I have received many and haven't been prosecuted (touch wood). Dd's attendance last year was 68% so pretty bad but I was doing all I could and she was escaping the second I got her to school or just flatly refused.

Thanks for your replies everyone! Her class and her teacher are fantastic, and her teacher was so supportive when she couldn't get to school via her school transport. Mumzypop she cannot go on public transport and i do not drive, although i am learning! so hopefully will make the situation a lot easier, luckily most things are online but my mum can usually take me if not or my friend but my friend has to drop her own children to school in the morning and my mum has work so it was just becoming a nightmare. I tried picking her up early/late so i could get a lift and the school weren't happy with that solution - understandably as it was disruptive to her learning and thats how come we ended up getting the transport reinstated as there was no way the teacher could keep doing that every day. Desperateforsleep, what happened with regards to your daughters attendance? did you have a meeting or anything? as i say her attendance is 91% so isn't to bad, its just stressful.

Try not to worry op. My ds's attendance is 91% too. We've had the same letter as you but nothing else. My Ds has asthma and reflux so he often pukes when he coughs. School won't let him come back until 48 hours after each puking incident.

Thanks elliejjtiny, the tone of the letter was just quite threatening, rather than the letter itself, feel a bit more reassured after this thread so thank you.

I didn't want to read and run, could you try contacting the truancy officer you dealt with before? Would she be available when school is closed?
Failing that try citizens advice, a quick Google showed they have a section on school education, even if they can just give you advice on what to prepare for, if anything after getting the letter and what to expect given your circumstances.
Might help relieve some stress in the holidays while school is shut so you can relax a bit until you speak to them.
I hope as pp's have said it comes to nothing, you sound like you are doing everything you can and like a great mum, good luck

Nothing happened at all the letters just became more threatening. School said they appreciated that I did try so they didn't prosecute me! Dd is in a special school now and her attendance is 92% she just struggled a lot at mainstream.