To think school should tell me asap if DC is unexpectedly absent?

[Londonmummy66]

I received an email mid morning today to say that DC2 was not at school yesterday and that this was an unauthorised absence. I'm pretty sure this is an admin cock up as there was plenty of homework last night. However, it made me think - surely if the school think the child is absent without permission they should be contacting the parent asap not halfway through the following morning. Surely this isn't normal practice?

I forgot to inform the school that my DS was poorly recently. We got an email that morning saying he was absent and asking for further information about it. Ie. Reason.

Getting an email the next day is poor form.

When I forgot to tell school that dd was absent for the third day that week, having told them for the first two...I had 4 texts and 2 emails by 9:30. Dh had 3 texts and 3 emails. I felt this was overkill especially when I got 2 further texts and 1 further email after I'd phoned in to apologise.

Schools are in loco parentis but not before the child actually gets to school. Getting the child to school is the parents’ responsibility. It does make sense for the school to inform you of an absence but I don’t think you can expect this to be the first thing they tackle every day.

But looking again, mid morning on the following day isn’t great.

Did you get to the bottom of it?

As a teacher, YANBU. This would be considered a massive safeguarding failure in any school I've worked in - in my last school contact to parents was automatic if the child hadn't been marked in by 9.30, which occasionally caused havoc if the teacher for the first lesson forgot to do the register at the beginning.

However, as you said you think it's an admin cock up, do you think the same cock up might be responsible for the delayed email? If I were you I'd give the school a ring and clarify why they think he was absent, then depending on what they say you can politely query why you were told so late.

I'm pretty sure this is an admin cock up

It may well be. It could be a follow up email to the (wrong parent) in response to a note sent in with the absent child today or following a text message or phone call to the parent yesterday.

Our school (& school friends teens go to) texts parents at 9:30 to say your child wasn’t in registration if you haven’t phoned in in time.

Apologies if I’ve missed this but I wondered if it could be the job of one person and they were off ill.

I have been notified at lunch time for my "absent" son. Except he wasn't as on this occasion l dropped him at school and watched him go in. Usually he walks.

My concern was that he has absconded previously from school (autistic) and in those "missing" hours where l was technically unaware he could be anywhere..... on this occasion it was just an admin error

Update - heard back from school office that DC was at school but in a rehearsal so one registration was missed (as teacher doing rehearsal failed to complete online register). I think I'm going to say something though as the email (which looks very much like a standard one) said that they "were not in school yesterday" which sounded to me like all day. I think that this needs to be better worded and I'll ask what would happen if DC isn't at school when expected in the morning.