Just received a letter informing (threatening?) possibility of referral to educational welfare service re: attendance - AIBU?

[iscott17]

Just received a letter informing (threatening) 'possible referral to educational welfare service' - DS attendance was '94.39' - 'below school attendance target of 96+%' (Sept til now).

Part of this was due to SCHOOL sending him home for mandatory 48 hours absence when he puked in lunch room.

Have requested a meeting with headteacher - tempted to go in all guns blazing, esp when checking school attendance policy on the school website which says 'letters will be sent to parents when attendance falls below 90%'. AIBU? Any suggestions/recommendations on how to deal with this (short of ripping headteacher's head off!)

Automatically generated under 94%. Schools have to be seen to be doing something about poor attendance or they are shafted by Ofsted. Calm down.

I agree about the automatically generated aspect. But being told to calm down is patronising and irrelevant to the situation. There's a fear and shame about being 'referred' and when you're doing your best and at an all time low because you feel you're failing as a parent and letting your child down somehow it's horrible. Also however understanding schools are in theory, they are run by humans who eventually get sick of your problems and lose patience. I speak from experience. The sigh as they realise who is on the phone, the comment that your child will have to repeat a year and 'that would just be embarrassing wouldn't it' take their toll in your heightened state of fear shame and guilt. And when someone is kind which many are, you're so vulnerable that that frequently is the final straw that breaks you and causes you to break down. No one asks for this- child or adult.

I keep having to tell ds school he’s been there! When I check SIMs he’s marked as absent for so many PM sessions because he has interventions during tutor. His attendance goes up dramatically when it’s rectified

Ok op being abit ott but I am also uncomfortable with aggressive letters being sent to parents who are utterly blameless and the school know full well the valid reasons for the absence.

"Automatically generated" is no excuse

Onus shouldn't be on parents to have to ignore these letters. As an over conscientious rule following family I would be pretty cross if we got one after keeping a child off for illness.

You kinda lost me at 'ripping the head's head off'.....why oh why is it ok to even think that about anyone and teachers seem to be fair game fir these sort of 'threats' (I'm sure you don't mean it but it's just so horrible). I'd hate that anyone thought that about my husband/wife/son/daughter.

youarenotkiddingme
That's awful and also a safeguarding issue. If students are doing interventions over am/pm registration then school should have a system in place.
E.g. my tutees see me before going so I can give them their mark / over pm registration the member of staff doing intervention tells the office who is with them so our attendanve officer can put the mark in

You kinda lost me at 'ripping the head's head off'.....why oh why is it ok to even think that about anyone and teachers seem to be fair game fir these sort of 'threats'
Because that's genuinely what a small group of parents are like.
They get a reputation in school and it means staff are unwilling to do any more than the professional basics for them (the same staff who go over and above regularly for other parents and children).

I know Maisy.
I’m not entirely sure why he gets marked in some days and not others! He does the intervention 4 times a week at same time!
I have to send on his hospital letter for his appointment he’s had so I’ll just ‘mention it’ in the covering letter I pop in.

We had a letter about one of my DC in Year 13 about attendance, saying that pupils needed to be above whatever attendance percentage to be entered for public examinations (mine was about to do A-levels). Mine had absences due to regular hospital outpatients appointments and illnesses that were linked to the appointments, all of which the school was informed about. Cue a few appalled thoughts that they wouldn't be allowed to sit their A-levels! But a quick phone call sorted it all out.

That’s awful Daisy