100% attendance

[AgainstTheOddsNo2]

My daughter has just been sick and is currently devastated and not talking to me because I said she will have to stay home from school and lose her 100% attendance.


Fuck that prize!

[Trifleorbust]

RaspberryIce:

She isn't of primary age yet. I still can't imagine I will be that miffed. I am more likely to be miffed about selective education, teacher shortages, funding cuts, lack of proper SN provision etc.

[melj1213]

I'm guessing people with disabilities and who need appointments/ time off because of proccedures and symptoms and physical therapy and the like don't get 100% and don't get these prizes??

Depends on the schools - the school I used to work in had a certificate/awards for 100% attendance, but any authorised absences - eg for appointments - weren't counted towards that ... so a child who was always late and missed 10 days of school for no good reason would not get the award, but a child who missed 10 days of school because of hospital/doctors appointments and had told the school about it would get the award.

[RaspberryIce]

Being angry about what the government is doing to state schools doesn't mean you can't also disagree with how a particular thing is done at your child's school though. (And I'm pretty supportive of my children's schools/teachers and pretty angry about the government issues you mentioned.)

[Trifleorbust]

RaspberryIce:

Certainly. I only said I can't get worked up about it.

[tethersend]

YANBU.

Since parental income appears to have a much greater impact on educational outcomes, why not just go the whole hog and reward children whose parents earn over £40,000?

[UppityHumpty]

I had to tell my dd off for the same thing, needed to explain that the 100 percent attendance certificate was for children who can't get certificates for anything else. She's always getting awards, certificates etc for stuff that will actually benefit her in the future (academics, arts, sports).

[grannytomine]

Trifleorbust, when my second son was about 9 or 10 his teacher's little boy started in reception. My son came home one day and said he was worried about his teacher as she had been crying and was upset all day. I was quite friendly with her and when I next saw her I asked if she was OK and she said yes but why was I asking. I said my son thought she was upset at school the other day and she said she had been and couldn't believe how upset she was about something to do with her son. She said it was the sort of thing that she would have done with kids hundreds of times and not understood parents being annoyed. Then it happened to her son and she suddenly saw it quite differently.

[ChaiTeaTaiChi]

Certainly. I only said I can't get worked up about it

No, when its not your kid being discriminated against, I guess its hard to care. For some.

[MommaGee]

Trifle I agree there's issues. Your DC might disagree when the other kids in class are picking on her cost they didn't get the chocolate fountain because of her and now won't be her friend

[thefairyfellersmasterstroke]

Good grief, when my office started doing this I thought they were treating us like children somewhat - what grown-up wants a certificate to celebrate the good furtune of not falling ill? - but now that I've seen all these posts I know where they got the idea from!

I guess children are more likely to get upset about missing out on rewards than an adult is, but the whole thing is frankly nonsense, especially as illness is largely out of one's control. We even had a wooden plaque like a roll of honour with the names of those who had achieved 1000 days without absence. Pathetic.

[WomblingThree]

It isn't discrimination against disabled children. It is unfair on children who can't go to school for any reason. As I said before, there is no point trying to see discrimination where there isn't any.

[AgainstTheOddsNo2]

She was still periodically upset about it this evening. She hadn't left the sofa all day, nor has she eaten anything, but is insistent she could have gone in to keep her attendance.

[ToffeeCaramel]

Poor thing. I'd speak to the school about it.

[AgainstTheOddsNo2]

Everyone's child their own special delicate one aren't they. I don't want to be that mum who wants special treatment for their kid all the time. I just want a fairer system.

Having said that dd is worried that the treat for last terms attendance may have been today. If it was and she missed it is will point out that it is only fair she gets to go to the next 1.

[AgainstTheOddsNo2]

Schools seem to forget that primary aged kids largely lack the reasoning of a fully grown adult and they have such high expectations of their emotional maturity.

Ok now my dd may have aspergers (seems to be widely accepted despite the lack of formal diagnosis at this stage) but I know! She isn't alone at getting upset at this kind of thing. If she was it would be pointless running the bloody treats because they wouldn't give a toss anyway

[zoemaguire]

I agree, and some people on this thread also forget what it is like to be a small child at the sharp end of rank unfairness, totally powerless to do anything about it. When I was about 13 there was a school trip for the particular favourites of the teacher organising it. About 20 kids went and had an amazing time. I still remember the burning feeling of dismay that the world could possibly be so unfair. Sure, we can say 'oh it's our job to toughen up our kids for the real world'. Alternatively, we could say that the world is unfair enough as it is without finding extra stupid reasons to make kids unhappy. Taking children out for a special treat because they've avoided catching a stomach bug or having a chronic illness that term is so idiotic on every possible level that I can barely credit that it happens. I can't see any headteacher that enforces it as anything other than an ignorant fool who should not be in charge of the education of small children.

[zoemaguire]

It is also discriminatory against disabled children because it's quite possible that a healthy child may through blind luck make it through a term without needing a day off. But it is almost certain that a child with a chronic illness or disability will be automatically disqualified from getting an award, ever. If one group is disproportionately affected by a rule, that is the very definition of discrimination.

[ilovechoc1987]

This rule pisses me off!
My sisters son has 100% attendance most terms because she sends him in regardless of whether he has thrown up and diarrhoead everywhere, or whether he has a high temperature or is on deaths door, she works full time, so it's usually me that gets the talk from the teacher after school when I pick him up about bringing him in with diarrhoea.
Not fair that my daughter gets punished because I refuse to bring her in with sickness and then the school refuses to let her in due to the 48hour rule

[Huldra]

It is a stupid system.

Neither of my children could ever get one because they had regular appointments at the hospital eye clinic that only happened during school hours. I always aimed for the 8.30am slots but that would still make us late by an hour. I used to tell the school prior to the appointment and say why, when I signed them in I would put HOSPITAL in the book. Still I would have the odd comment from school reception that we should do "Opticians" appointments at weekends of after school Oh for FFS.

Yeah, then they had the odd normal illness, like a d&v. The school want to encourage me to send them in?? Oh FFS.

None of my kids cared too much and were happy to laugh at the randomness of it. The only time it got to one of them was when the 100 percenters got time off lesons to go to some event. Anyway just because my kids didn't care it's still a very stupid system and doesn't encourage children or parents because they know it's stupid.

[Huldra]

Which is what irritates me, it is completely out of the childs control.

OK some parents may keep them off when they're healthy because they can't be arsed or want to extend a holiday. Which is out of the childs control.
Some parents may send them in when they're sick. Which is out of the childs control.
Most parents are keeping them off because they are ill or have a medical appointment. Again out of the childs control.

Once the perfect attendance has been broken what incentive is there? Ok my child was ill, because y'know all humans get ill at some point, so OK now we may as well have that long weekend. Or go to Legoland mid week during term time. It makes no fecking sense.

[Trifleorbust]

grannytomine:

The last time I cried someone had died. I can't imagine I am going to cry because my DD doesn't get a certificate, however much I might believe it is unfair. I guess some people are just a bit delicate.

[skerrywind]

Well I must be a sensitive snowflake too then.

My DS rarely had above 80% attendance in the whole of primary school.
He had chronic health problems, involving a lot of treatment, hospital visits and surgery. A lot of the time he was dragging himself to school despite feeing quite unwell.

I watched him at assembly as a 6 year old while the school was handing out certificates and applauding for the kids who were lucky enough never to get sick.
I could see him biting his lip, tears in his eyes trying to be brave, but I could see how upset he was.

I didn't cry myself, but it took huge resolve not to.

I guess I must be a "bit delicate".

[aliceinwanderland]

Never heard of this policy - which seems frankly bizarre to me. And I can imagine pretty devastating for kids who miss out. Is this something that happens only in english schools?

[Trifleorbust]

skerrywind:

It sounds awful when I put it so baldly

But yes, I do think some people cry at the drop of a hat and make a big deal about things that, frankly, aren't worth getting that upset about. If my DD had chronic health problems and it meant she didn't get a certificate, I would probably buy her a little present to show how proud of her I am, then tell her the other children had been rewarded because, for some of them, coming to school every day isn't easy for different reasons. Obviously she can't help being ill but this is just one of those things. Then we would move on. I wouldn't be a sobbing mess over it.

[Caprianna]

I find it really odd that schools and teachers do this. They are supposed to care for the children and in my opinion this is bullying. I never send my child in when sick and I wish others didn't either!