Fucking BIKES for 100% attendance?? Has the world gone mad??

[FizzyCherry]

I know this is the whole 100% attendance thing again, but I have literally seen it all now.
Not one but TWO people on my FB time line have posted pics of their kids with brand new bikes awarded for 100% attendance. AIBU to think that's taking the piss now?

The weird thing is, it's not the same school, not even the same county - they don't know each other, one parent is an old school friend in the South West, the other a former colleague in the north.

In each case, every child with 100% attendance was given a raffle ticket, the prize was a new bike. Only one prize, apparently, so none of this whole class goes to the zoo thing.
Both are primary school age, one Yr 2, the other Y4.
So these are two that I know of, how many other children are being given something that some of their peers is can only dream of, just for turning up?

My school dropped attendance certificates this year as they were felt to be divisive. How divisive is spending £100 on just one kid?

Am I missing something here, or what?

Where are the schools getting the money to buy these ridiculous rewards? I'm led to believe that schools are cash strapped and always raising funds for school items.

I wondered this. I work in a school and can't imagine ever spending that much money on one child (unless for specific specialist equipment for use in school, say).
If they were somehow donated, that surely can't be sustainable every year.

Wait why shouldn't the kids who go into school everyday be rewarded? Yeah if there's illness, family stuff that shouldn't be included but maybe the skivers wouldn't skive that way.

Oh and with trade discounts and store discounts I doubt they spend 100 per prize

My school did this once. We'd just been taken over by an academy who were splashing the cash.

As it happens it all fell through and the school is now drowning in debt. Yay.

Flowery but illness etc counts against you. I had to publicly display that one of my tutees had attendance in the "red" zone. He had CFS ffs.

I'm not saying they shouldn't. I don't agree with it personally, one of the problems we had is that turning up was enough to get you a prize, even if when you were there you didn't do enough work, or spent half your life in detention for picking fights, whereas the most diligent, well behaved child who maybe missed a day through illness or something equally not their fault, got nothing. A child in my class last year had a minor accident on the way to school, had to be checked out, missed one morning, got no certificate. But that's by the by.

In this case, it's not all children who attend every day. It's one child out of however many hundred.

Sorry it's maybe different in my area, long term illness never counts.

I remember when I was younger there being a few articles about pupils who had never missed a day throughout school (primary and secondary). How this has helped them in life I'm not sure? A bike for basically turning up to where you are legally obliged to and effectively having a strong immune system? In a word, ludicrous

Tomorrow will mark 7 consecutative years of 100% attendance for my son. He will leave Year 6 having never been absent, ever, during full time education.

It is likely to go largely unnoticed, aside from the certificate he'll get, like every year.

Bloody hell. I despise those 100% attendance awards anyway but that is a new level of ridiculous.

Bloody hell FATEdestiny he must have the immune system of some supernatural warrior!

If he has 7 certificates then it's hardly gone unnoticed

Yes, I think you're right, the world has gone officially mad.
And one of the ways it's gone mad is, parents are no longer the ones to make decisions about important things like their children's health.
Bribe /reward children for turning up at school- regardless of whether that was a good decision.
So that DC 'want' to go. Demand to go, even if they're I'll, and it would be wrong and antisocial to allow them to.

More than once I've had one one DC telling me they're too ill for school. My response- " No, you've got no temperature, no tummy upset, you're reluctant, but you're going" .At same time, to different DC" Yes, I know you want to go, but you've got a temperature/been sick, so you have to stay home today".
I thought that was responsible parenting.
Turns out I was wrong.
I should have just allowed them to go, and compete for a bike.

Two of my three have never missed a day, ever, (just lucky enough to enjoy good health), and it's never even been remarked upon.
A bike?? Why??

It seems odd to hand out bikes though. Bizarre if kid already has a bike.

They surely won't have been bought retail price.

utter complete bollocks, it's a disgusting offensive and discriminatory system. It honestly drives me mad.

In Primary, attendance - and timekeeping - has nothing to do with the kids, it's up to the parents to bring them and on time.

I don't even want my own kids to be rewarded for turning up, I want them to be rewarded to actually do something, and to encourage effort.
Some kids won't be sick, won't throw up, won't break their arm falling off a tree, won't lose a grand parent. Good for them, but why punishing the ones who had shit happening to them? Why encouraging children to show up and infect the whole class, and give a bug to someone who is less strong, and will have to lay in bed for a couple of days for the same thing?

Bloody Ofsted, so focused on attendance, because apparently that's the most important thing.

Skivers don't give a crap, and families who decide to take their kids away on holiday during term time won't give a crap either. We couldn't design a more unfair system if we tried.

I hate the attendance bullshit, a child cannot help being ill, school would go mental if you sent them in puking because little bob wants a bike, life isn't fair but it's shite, one child I know had 100% attendance from 4+ to leaving juniors that child needs testing, surely that's not normal??? Lol x

Could it be an area of extreme deprivation where they struggle to get the kids to go to school?

Bloody hell FATEdestiny he must have the immune system of some supernatural warrior!

My just-finding-Y2 son also has never had an absence, ever.

My just-finishing-Y7 daughter has had 1.5 days off (1 full day and one seperate half day) in her entire school career.

Healthy family?
Strong work ethic?
Emphasising the value on good attendance?

A bit of all of the above, I'd say.

In my school the prize for 100% attendance is £100 cash! Names get put into a hat and a winner is drawn in assembly. It's far too much imo.

£100 . This is yet another reason why I love my DD's school. They get a certificate and possibly a pencil or similar. That's it. Not mentioned again. Not made a big deal (although I would rather no certificates at all). Other awards and achievements considered much more important by the school.

Crazy!

I agree it's ridiculous. One of my boys won £50 today for 100% attendance. He was off on Tuesday

I don't mind awards - our school is genuinely great and the PTA fund a lot of trips and subsidise treats for discos and stuff - but £50?! Come on.

I would much rather he have won an award for hardest worker or kindest or something.

A bike? Jeez, that's definitely OTT!! My youngest has come away from school today with a Gold Certificate for 100% attendance this year and they get a small gift voucher too.
Eldest would have too but had a couple of days off sick at the beginning of the year.
Bike is completely OTT.

It's completely mad and unfair to kids. At my daughter's school apparently there was a boy who achieved fame by never missing school all through primary - but I have heard that he was sent in even when sick....