To be angry at Children Sick Notes

[Manclife]

DC school has a new head teacher who is laying down the law. Amongst other things they're insisting parents get medical evidence when children are off sick. A quick search online shows most Drs either won't do it or charge for the letter. Also most minor children's ailments don't require medical intervention in the first place so there would be no record. AIBU to be angry that just to appease a head teacher I've got to tie up NHS resources? Has anyone challenged this successfully?

Perhaps ask the head if he/she thinks parents are deceitful and lying? This is outrageous - and a total waste of everyone's time, not the least the overstretched GP's. Has this decision gone before the school governors,? Is it new LEA policy? I don't think head teachers can just make new rules and impose them - is there a parent governor in the playground at any time, for you to ask?

I know this is going to sound weird but at work you 'self certify' ?4 the first 5 days anyway and they'd probably view this as similar. Fair enough if child is off for a long time. Fair enough if child has an appointment where they get time off for it and you need hospital letter or dentist appointment card or doctors appointment card. Not fair enough if child has a cold and the child needs to be off cos they just need to test and you wouldn't need to go to a doctor anyway. Or d&v / other short term illness.

Rest not test*

More and more heads stamping their tiny feet and trying to treat parents like first years.
Not that the head at DS's school would pull crap like this, but if they did, I'd be straight onto the council for a place at a school that treated me like an adult.
I had a head of a nursery give me a telling off for being late paying - he didn't go back. If the head is that disrespectful, I don't want my kids being taught to speak to people like that.

We got the lead gp to write a letter that states that the NHS does not have the resources to waste on a head teachers power trip and the last thing our other patients need is a parade of children with d & v spreading their germs in the surgery for no good reason.

Excellent policy.

My second thought was she knows this and probably is trying to put parents off taking there kids every other week of school off.

Pf course, you could always send your highly-contagious (or nit-infested - whatever is the difficulty) child into school, and have them ALL off with tummy bugs, sore throats or infestations of vermin.

That is also reasonable.

I'd send a photo of vomit 🤢 if it was D&V keeping DS off school 😂. I have a sick sense of humour though.

Short term absences don't seem worth the hassle. Longer term stuff I can understand wanting some evidence like work would but a random consultant letter etc with confidential bits blacked out would be all they'd get from me!

Talk about a waste of NHS resources. I'm sure local GP's will be delighted to see lots of kids for bugs that could be sorted at home with Calpol & cuddles. Perhaps parents could all chip in for a doctors letter to the Head telling them what a div they're being.

our school only asks for them if the child is in 5th 6th yr as it affects their EMA payment after 5 days off sick

Obviously wouldn't put my kids through it , but would be so tempted to take them to school to throw up!

We all have busy lives, and as much as we love them don't particularly need out children at our feet all day to the detriment of their education, so why would you lie!

Photo of throwing up would only work if child actually in the photo as well and an action shot - video?

Anything over seven days, yes. Anything else definitely not. Unless she means you need to write a note? My dd school used to accept call if a day or two, anything more needed a written note. You do need some evidence why the kid is off school.

Our school requests medical evidence for absences to be authorised if attendance has dropped below a certain point, but this isn't necessarily a sick note (stamped attendance card, appointment card, copy of prescription or medicine bottle etc). Interestingly my real life experience doesn't reflect the comments on here. Only had one GP say we needed to pay (£75) and when we responded highlighting the safeguarding concerns they retracted and provided for free. Otherwise parents are really good as supplying some kind of evidence for some of the absences and it really doesn't seem to be a big issue. We explain it as not needing evidence for every absence (wouldn't expect a child to go to docs for d&s! Although this is hands down the most common excuse when they are actually on holiday..) but as supporting evidence for at least some, and to prevent it dropping to penalty notice criteria level.

It does reduce the amount of duvet days and regular Fridays/Mondays/PE days. It's all well and good if you only keep your child off when they are genuinely unwell, but this really isn't the case for a lot of families!

It is ridiculous for medical evidence being required for all, and should only be used when attendance is a concern.

Schools are under so much pressure to reduce absence. Id much rather be able to ignore the 90%+ and focus on those persistent absentees, but we simply can't, and it's not just a case of opting out of that part of our job.

Maybe this head is trying to stop the 'mum I have a stomach ache' avoiding school tactic by child. But it wouldn't work round here. Getting an appointment with GP is nigh on impossible. Phones always engaged. Have to physically walk down there to get anywhere. Me, Recently with appendicitis. Which one GP had diagnosed over the phone as menopause. Luckily another one actually saw me. Result, appendix out. And I'm alive!

I wouldn't worry about it. Just say you treated the bug at home and didn't require a doctor therefore don't have a doctor's note. If it goes down as unautherised, so what. But that's the worst you can do. I can't imagine they will kick up a fuss TBH, I can see this being in place to deter those parents that let their child stay home for no reason (I've had kids from my class stay home because they played xbox till 3am so were too tired and because it was their birthday!)

My GP just tells me that the school office is welcome to call in to verify the appointment if they do wish as she is busy with more important issues!
I have passed her message onto the school and guess what the have never called the surgery.
Haha! Clever doctor. 👨‍⚕️

not permit use of crutches inside the school corridors

WTH?? I have never seen any issues arising from the use of crutches inside a school or corridor. But I can see plenty arising from trying to ban them. Do they discriminate against people who need to use wheelchairs or other medical aids too?

I had to use crutches for 6 months during my first year of high school after having an operation on my leg, then a cast fitted. What would be the alternative in the backwards school that implemented the idiotic 'no crutches' rule? Crawl? Hop? Stay home?

They won't mark it down as unauthorised as that will make their figures look really bad. Does the school have poor attendance? She's maybe trying to put people off from being off for something that they don't need to be (as my school do) but she's bu and ridiculous. A note from parents should be enough unless it's a longer absence! If enough parents complain she'll get it. Also maybe a note from the doctors (ironically!) to say they don't provide notes for a 24 hr sickness bug! And neither do they want a vomiting child sat in the surgery when all they need is bed and rest! Ok maybe not a note but may be worth mentioning to gp next time you're there

They won't mark it down as unauthorised as that will make their figures look really bad.
Doesn't make any odds if it is authorised or unauthorised, it's still an absence and makes the figures look bad. Which is ridiculous!

FOR things like stomach bugs, chicken pox etc you wouldn't have even need to have taken them to the drs so pointless!

Dear Headteacher:

You require that I supply evidence of a doctor's appointment for my child's short absences due to minor illnesses.

You are not entitled to make or enforce such a requirement which is, in any case, boneheaded and fatuous. For me to comply with it would involve a criminal waste of NHS time and money which I defy you to justify.

I will not comply with this policy under any circumstances.

Yours etc.,

Copies to [name of local newspaper]
[BBC local radio station]

What "law" is this then? I'm not aware of any actual law that says you have to do this. Even at work you don't need a medical cert for the first 5 days of being unwell and off work.

Send her a bucket of sick.

I've namechanged for this.

For schools to insist on this for all sickness absences is, indeed, a waste of everybody's time BUT it probably isn't even the school who want it. I work in a school office and the Educational Welfare Officer and our Governors do ask us to take this action in some cases. E.g. a child who has D&V most Fridays and Mondays and then comes to school on Tuesday telling the class about her weekend at Nanny's caravan. Ofsted look very closely at our attendance records if a child is recorded as ill they expect to see a note stating the nature of the illness "Mum said child unwell" is not good enough, we are expected to put more detail than that. Also we have to do a weekly health report giving the numbers of various illnesses we have had in school each week.

Unfortunately some parents DO lie. One of our children did not return to school in September last year. On the second day of absence the mother responded to our phone messages saying her daughter had a serious "notifiable" illness. I asked her if this had been confirmed by a doctor and she said yes; I told her I would have to report it due to,the nature of the disease.

There was concern when I reported it as no report had been received from a GP so the LEA nursing team investigated. Child did not have the serious disease but was on holiday in Spain with grandparents!

Refer head to the DoE school attendance guidance published in 2016 School Attendance

Particularly page 11:

Code I: Illness (not medical or dental appointments)
Schools should advise parents to notify them on the first day the child is unable to attend due to illness. Schools should authorise absences due to illness unless they have genuine cause for concern about the veracity of an illness. If the authenticity of illness is in doubt, schools can request parents to provide medical evidence to support illness. Schools can record the absence as unauthorised if not satisfied of the authenticity of the illness but should advise parents of their intention. Schools are advised not to request medical evidence unnecessarily. Medical evidence can take the form of prescriptions, appointment cards, etc. rather than doctors’ notes.