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?

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

seriously?

My eldest had 100% attendance for his entire time at secondary school. Just pure luck he never got anything worse than a cold during his time there.

His brothers haven't been so lucky. They have good attendance, but there's been sickness bugs. I don't keep them off for anything, but obviously bugs go around (we all got one last year, so no 100% for DS1 in 6th form!)

Ds1 got an award for his attendance. I did find it a bit unfair - it wasn't like he put any effort into being healthy, it was just luck.

The school my youngest went to did a raffle for a bike recently. They've also done cinema trips, bouncy castle, trips to the adventure playground etc.

It's just so unfair on those kids (and especially siblings!) who are ill. And it does absolutely nothing to persuade those families with persistent absence to improve.

It's utterly ridiculous. My DD's had two days off because she had chickenpox - would they rather she'd gone in and infected everyone?

Where the hell are they getting the money for bikes?

My secondary school did 'improved attendance' awards as well as 100%, so those who had medical issues or whatever got entered into a raffle if they managed more days than they had the previous term, and those with 100% had a separate raffle, prizes were a WHsmiths voucher (I think £5) donated by the PTA, and 5 runners up from each got £1 each to spend in the tuck shop, it was enough to improve attendance without making anyone who had genuine reasons for being off feel bad.

As a teacher I hate these rewards too, usually the 100% warriors are the ones who come into school after a night puking, or come into school with throats infections etc. This then spreads to other children who do end up taking the time off.

Going into school when ill should not be encouraged this way, we are not teaching children to be sensible with their health and the health of those around them. Instead, we are teaching them the opposite - that all that matters is the prize at the end, at whatever cost. It's a terrible lesson to learn and even worse for the poor child who has been honest and taken the obligatory 48hrs away after a sick bug.

It reminds me of the threads where the parent is asking if they're being unreasonable taking their chicken poxy child out in public areas even though they haven't scabbed over yet. Selfish. But now schools are actively encouraging this.

There are positive and cheap means of encouraging good attendance which are part of a sensible plan and there are courses of action which tend far more towards unacceptable. Draws for a new bike I think sits in the later category.
If the school spent as much time and effort in increasing the attendance of those whose attendance is less than 90%, then they might well get a better return for their perseverance. It would certainly be better received by Ofsted than spending valuable funding on bikes.

By kids school did this last year, every kid with 100% attendance got a ticket then one winner from each year group, reception and year 1 and got scooters 2 and 3 got bikes 4 and 5 tablets and year 6 was a smart phone.

FATEdestiny I was with you until the "strong work ethic" shite. Our family have a very strong work ethic but it didn't really help when my kids caught chicken pox, or when my father in law died.

I'd much rather have a child who grows into an adult who focus on doing a great job than a sheep who is turning up in the office every day to do menial task.

Mine have missed time over the year with chicken pox/ appendicitis/broken arm/ broken leg (not same kid, not same year!). No-one will make them feel bad about it. I'd rather take them away on holiday the first week of the school year to remove any unnecessary stress about attendance. (I don't, but I don't need to!)

£100 price! How ridiculous. If one of mine was winning that, I think I would make him give it with as much fuss as possible to a charity. What's next? kids worry to play rugby in case they hurt themselves and miss schools, kids worry to go swimming in case they catch a cold, kids refusing to visit a friend in hospital for fear of catching bugs?

YANBU. Who gets a reward just for showing up/not being ill?

Ridiculous.

This 100% attendance thing is v odd. They don't seem to do it at DD's primary. She's finishing reception tomorrow and hasn't missed a day since she started at the nursery. Surely that just means she's got a decent immune system/ we've been lucky. I don't see why a reward would be at all appropriate let alone something as costly as a bike which lots of kids would already have anyway! I'm suddenly feeling v grateful for our sensible headteacher.

I dont like the level of how attendence is rewarded/focused on now more than ability in my sons school atm they had silver gold and trophies! for attendance! Theyre were no most improved. Most helpful best in maths etc its shameful its more about shaming the parents than rewarding the kids imo and rewards the turds who bring clearly ill children into school to infect everyone else! Cheers Mate 👍

Those of you with kids with 100% attendance: have your kids never puked or had the runs? Do they schedule this for Friday evening's or holidays only? Do you abide by the 48 hour rule? Are you just incredibly lucky?

My son has been sent home twice this year for puking at school - that's automatic loss of three days each time: one day for the day he puked then two more for the 48 hours. I suspect in both cases it was due to running wild in the playground after lunch as he seemed fine from the moment he was collected.

I find it astounding that this is celebrated, particularly in primary school. Whoop de do that you havent got ill, that you have parents to get you to school, that no-one in your family dies.

Duck - just v lucky thus far. TOUCHES MUCH WOOD!

Just another way to guilt kids and parents, and make kids who have additional needs feel less worthy than other kids. Same shit, different day. I would certainly complain about this if it happened at my school.

Encouraging children who are ill to attend school is wrong.

effectively punishing kids for being ill is wrong.

When will schools learn that these nasty little messages they send are harmful, not helpful!

Totally ridiculous imo. My daughter (year 3) had 99.68% attendance this year. She missed precisely 1 hour of school, but missed morning registration because I took her to the GP for something pretty damn urgent (not something she needed to miss any school for, but she needed to see a GP) and a morning appointment was what I could get. I informed her school. The irony is, if I'd got her an appointment at say, 11 am, she'd have had 100% attendance because she'd have gone in for morning registration and been back in time for afternoon registration. she's also had 0 late marks.

Luckily her school don't make a big deal out of 100% attendance.

Madness. Primary school age children largely don't have a say in whether they go to school. Their parents/guardians get them there, there parents/guardians decide to keep them off. The child had very little to do with it.

And I'm always up for a new bike!

You should be thankful to be so lucky rather than smug, Fate.

Yep the world's gone mad. Well madder.

The bikes were probably paid for with the fines they give to parents.
Of sick, school phobic, or school refuser children.
They must think people are fuckin stupid.
As my nan used to say. The names Croft. Not soft.

My dcs are now 21 and 18 and have never been sick or had diahorrea ever. They are ridiculously healthy apart from the odd cold or sore throat.
I am too.

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

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

I wouldn't.

It is probably healthy family and Luck.

I doubt my work ethic would have been admired if I had sent my son into school with whooping cough (yes he did have all his vacs and yes it was bloody difficult to manage the time off for me - still less him) or my dd the day after she had her appendix out (she had it out on a Sunday so not even a school day)? This work ethic and values stuff is ridiculous in this context. It is pure luck that a child has 100 percent attendance. It may well be work ethic and values if a child has very low attendance rate but that is not what we are talking about her - we are talking about prizes for 100 percent attendance.

One of my 4 is just finishing year 10 (15 next week) and has never had a day off since starting reception 6 weeks after turning 4. She's got 100% attendance certificates for each term in secondary school and one for each primary year but that's all she's ever had.
She's not bothered, being a typical teenager now. She loves the social side of school. Her siblings have not been so lucky but they're not bothered either. If they're ill then I keep them off school.

Oh, aside from the drs appointment we have just been incredibly lucky (touch wood) with no illness with both kids this academic year. I think it is purely luck though!

Fatedestiny - have you ever sent your child in to school less than 48 hours since they last vomited?
Because it's a bit weird that none of them have ever been sick outside of school holiday for years and years.