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?

I think these awards are horrible. And I'm gobsmacked at the bike! I'm so glad they don't do them in dds school. We also have "a strong work ethic" in my family but dd has had the odd day off. Seeing as she has a medical condition although not often (reflex anoxic seizures), for which school called an ambulance a couple of years ago and both my stepdad and uncle died this year. And of course if dd has nose bleeds or vomits etc she has a seizure. Then of course there was the bullying a few years ago causing serious anxiety. Dd took the odd morning off for that until she calmed down.

I HATE these awards - but to get a ticket and only one person to get such a large reward is worse imo.

In year 7 my ds had terrible attendance due to his needs not being met (asd) and poor mental health making him ill.

New school this year and he's missed 1 session. Not a day just 1 hour late due to an appointment related to his needs.

He has a neuro appointment first day back so end of day 1 will have 50% attendance!!!

I much prefer awards for determination, resilience and effort and attainment than for being lucky enough to be born without a long term health condition or disability.

Unfortunately though this is a joke Britain attitude as we become more and more a nanny state. Even those on disability benefits have to jump through hoops every through months to prove that "no, my lifelong disability hasn't suddenly be cured".

100% Attendance awards congratulate those who go into school with sick bugs and penalise those with medical problems. I hate them and gladly my kids schools don't do this anymore.

Eh it's the product of the OFSTED system. If you've ever looked up school ratings in buying a house then you have indirectly told the head teachers this is what they should do. Complaining to them that they shouldn't discriminate or whatever else is pointless. A massive attendance rod has been placed on their back. So they do what anyone else with KPIs does- they do what they can to manipulate the data...

OFSTED is a total load of bollocks and has absolutely no bearing on if a school is actually good? Who woulda known...and all this because there are some families with persistently bad attendance that genuinely impacts on their children's education, but because it's too hard to deal with them we can bully those who want to take their kids for holidays. Yay- more KPIs and we have very public action that makes it look like we're doing something. Oh wait just adding another layer of burden on the lower and middle classes...

It's classic British bureaucracy: unable to deal with the actual problem they invent a straw man problem and take draconian measures against that in order to appear useful but actually avoiding any useful work. It's enough to make you want to homeschool.

My kids go to school every day, I never have to nag them or persuade them, not one day have they said they are not going, they are wonderful. The only time off in the last year was a sickness bug for my DS. The school doesn't give certificates or prizes or recognition, they don't need it. I don't think children who don't want to go will be persuaded by a certificate or a chance for a prize, it's the most ridiculous idea. Children don't chose to be sick, why punish them? Take away the whole stupid system.

And this is why kids get sent in sick...

I used to get so disappointed when mine were ill as they didn't get a certificate for going in every day. Now I feel what an idiot. It means nothing.

We don't get the money from fines.

Ofsted are hammering schools over attendance. We are expected to have 96% across the whole school. It's impossible. And we know rewards make very little difference but we have to try everything.

All 3 out of 60 of my lot with 100% got an ice cream. Bless 'em, they enjoyed it

I would love to see if there were any changes in attendance when your children's school stopped giving out these awards, MrsJamin.

I did have a lovely experience when I handed a couple of the automated letters to the paediatrician who was putting DS forward for assessment. Her words were 'Pay no attention to this bullshit'.

The whole thing is an absolute joke to professionals who care for children with SN's.

Not sure why you seek to vilify me/my children because of this. School won't be recognising my sons 7 consecutive years of 100% attendance. I think it makes him kinda special and it should be noticed.

Urgh

Maybe the prize was donated or maybe they felt it was worth the cost if children were attending more to gain the maximum education. Lots of parents think School is optional.

pigeondujour totally agree to the above
I'm 100% certain my kids are special too but unfortunately for them they picked up a tummy bug. Doesn't now make them not special!

Fantastic. So the people who send their DCs in to school during a bout of D&V to spread it around get credit for attendance but my DCs don't because I keep them off for 48 hours? World gone mad.

One of our local school sponsors is an independent bike shop. They pay for football kits etc in return for the advertising. They donate bikes. Costs them nothing as its written off in their tax, it ups their profile, more advertising and the children have something to aim for.

I'm not seeing the issue that for once, a school sponsor is giving something to children personally?

I just mentioned this to my son, confident that our school doesn't take part in this nonsense only to find that it does. A boy in his class got a MACBOOK Ffs.

The issue is that rewarding one child (especially for something they have little control over) is unrewarding for the rest of the school. I would be interested to know what effect such reward schemes have on overall school attendance the following year.

ridiculous. I know that some schools have issues with attendance but if your child e.g. has chicken pox and needs to stay off, why should they get punished?

Also, both if mine have SN - hospital appointments are usually during school hours. We never get it get the 100% award (which is only a certificate in our school) which I don't think is fair.

but I have decided to not get bothered about it.

and the bikes OP mentioned are probably cheap Halfords bikes which are a nightmare to ride in any case

Our school had attendance awards for about seven kids. They put a picture of them on Twitter. One of them had been in Sweden half the year, then came back, so no way she had anywhere near 100%. My son on the other hand had 97%, because he needed three teeth treating this year under anaesthetic and the local dental hospital likes to do these at 9am in the morning so we were scuppered....no award for us, but one for a child who is out the country half a year. I'd prefer my son to have good teeth over a certificate any day.

Rewarding someone for being lucky enough to never be ill is ridiculous.

Our school for do individual attendance but I think if a class has full attendance they get a party - I would know as 2 of my 3 children have kids in thier class with severe health problems.
DS1 had to have a month off school due to a ruptured appendix, this was ordered by his surgeon. Not his fault in any shape or form so donthink it's unfair to have that count against him, likewise when he was younger he has physio/hydrotherapy/speech therapy/consultant appts - all of which I had no control over the timings.

DS2 also has health problems - and the ENT clinic is only on a Thursday and you have to wait months for appts. Again not DSs fault that he has to have hearing tests etc in a regular basis.

DD is relatively robust but even she has had a day off here and there with sickness. Once she was travel sick and threw up in the school car park, she was fine but the school insisted she have 2 days off!!!

I think the whole attendance thing is wrong an unfair towards children with disabilities and sen.

Every kid gets sick sometimes.families send them in sick and then are being rewarded for infecting other students and teachers and wasting school budget on supply teachers

Ridiculous this gives me the rage as well.

And it's not just about puking and runs, and long term illness. What about mental health? One of my DDs seriously struggled with school mid primary for a year or so, it took a huge amount of effort on her part and mine to get her there every day, and we weren't always successful as I considered her mental health to be more important than school at the time. Cx

And how how nice to have to sit next to sit next to someowho has a a streaming nose and hacking cough all day!

I think 100% attendance is a sort of cool, end-of-term side note. I remember being quite fascinated by it when I was at school.

Kids at our school used to get a certificate in the final year-group assembly.

I never got one, but I never begrudged those who did, or felt bad for not getting one.

It's a bit like, I don't know, rolling a six five times in a row, or getting cards of only one suit in your hand. Worthy of a quick 'Wow, amazing!' But not worthy of a bike for goodness' sake!

A certificate and a 'jolly good' is perfectly sufficient. Prizes are madness and changes the whole feeling from being 'wow kid, look what you did' to being 'wow other kids, look what you didn't do'.