Threatening letter from school regarding DD's attendance

[Sofi88]

We received a letter from DD's school yesterday saying DD's attendance is below average, and hence not good enough and had to be improved. The letter was threatening, and the words "Be Careful!" was highlighted in huge letters. The letter goes on to say that we have to make sure DD is in school every day from now on, so that her attendance improves. It also states they may contact the Education Welfare Officer if it does not improve.

Thing is though, DD has been off sick ONE day in the period this letter refers to, and I have picked her up early to go to medical appointments three times. One of these times I picked her up at 12 (only available appointment), but the other two I picked her up at 3:20 - ten minutes before I was due to pick her up anyway.

DD has a medical condition, which she has so far been treated for by her GP and a specialist nurse. She has actually had less appointments than normal this term, due to her now being transferred to a specialist paediatrician at the hospital. Our first appointment there is in December, so her GP and the nurse have told us to simply wait for that appointment unless there are any concerns in between. The school knows about her condition.

And also, she had one day off due to illness, where we phoned in and explained she was too ill to go in, which they said they were fine with. DH then went in at 3:30 to pick up her homework. Apart from this one day and the three times I've had to pick her up early due to medical appointments, she has had no absence!

Doesn't my child have a right to get treated for her condition, as well as a basic right to stay home when she is too ill to go in? Apart from this letter, we haven't received anything else - like them asking for medical evidence, doctor's notes etc. We have simply got the impression everything has been done right. The teacher has not mentioned anything when I've picked her up early for a GP appointment. You'd think they ask for medical evidence before sending out a threatening letter like this? A note from her GP would be no problem at all to provide. Would be a lot nicer to have them ask for that, rather than this threatening letter!

Does anyone know anything about this?

This seems to happen every year at this time of the year.
I really wish all the school can be more sympathetic like my child's school.
I did panic when we received the letter first time, but it came with the hand written note saying it was just generic letter that they have to send, and there's nothing to worry about it. And my dc's attendance at the time was something around 85+%. Never over 90% first 3 years of primary. Never had any problem with school for whole of primary years.

Things I made sure was that for hospital apps, we always made the copy of the letter and handed in when he had apps, and if he was admitted, handed in the copies of discharge letters, etc.
Building up the good communication and mutual trust with school will help you a lot.

This really pisses me off!

Your daughter isn't legally required to be in education until the term AFTER the term in which she turns 5 (so in other words not until she starts Y1). Therefore they cannot issue a fine despite the threat.

As a summer born you have the right to defer entry & new rules means she could start in F2 (reception) as she turns 5 and remain with that cohort throughout her entire schooling (previously she'd have had to have "caught up" a year at some point).

You know your daughter & you will know what's best for her, trust your instincts!

Throw it in the bin, your daughter isn't even compulsory school age. They can threaten all they like but she doesn't have to be at school at all yet. We had exactly the same with my then four year old, it showed to me how school treated genuinely ill kids so we took her out and home educated her. Box ticking nonsense.

It's good to know there are schools like hazyjane's, that doesn't send letters at all. Mine was good enough to let us know just to ignore with personal note. Hope if any head teachers are reading this thread, consider it too at their school. Having ill children is tough enough. We don't need added stress to that.

The thing is with this factory attitude filters through everything .

We all know the kids who are off for a sniffle , we also know there are kids that pick up everything, kids that have lots of health issues

As someone pointed out it would be far better to go early get them into school.

I returned my child to school for last lesson I- I drive boast the school . They seemed suprised I bought him back . I think the whole attendance figures seems to almost suggest it is pointless to return if it doesn’t increase attendance where actually it is a whole lesson he has had the chance to learn from.

Don't worry about it, they send these letters out automatically. I just ignore them. My DS has epilepsy and has had time off for MRI, EEG and to see his Dr and nurse. Fuck them.

You'll probably find the letter was sent as standard by the admin team who send a generic letter to all parents with children who have absences

Just because something is generic doesn't make it acceptable.

Our school have been very good about our DD1(10)'s situation. She's always had a lot of hospital appointments because she has hearing aids and a very weak right eye which needed patching. Now she simply has strong glasses. She also had 10 sessions of therapy for her adoption issues last school year and she's due to have more this year. The school have been wonderful about it.

I'm sad to hear how difficult other schools are about this. Parents of children with health problems have enough going on in their lives without their children's school adding to their stress.

Just because something is generic doesn't make it acceptable.

This.

It's ridiculous. It's doing something in order to be seen to be doing something, regardless of whether it actually helps or not.

I can only imagine the letters received if a child happens to get chicken pox in September.

Saying ignore it is all well and good but if everyone ignores them, it seems pointless sending them in the first place.

I feel like I've been reading threads like this for years, so does the data support this method of dealing with attendance issues? Is this helping children and families who have poor attendance? It's not helping those who have poor attendance for health reasons and for whom these letters cause unnecessary worry and stress, so who is it helping?

I disagree with these automatically generated letters regarding absence for all of the reasons others have already given.

Far too many schools just don't seem able to exercise common sense when sending them out.

In this case, school are aware of the child's medical condition and the appointments required as and when they occur. On one day she was also ill.

You've done nothing wrong, OP. I might just question why they seem to have recorded absences of more than the day and a half that you have had her out of school (which they were aware of the reasons for anyway) and then tell them that you are disappointed at being unfairly targeted here. You hope/trust that it won't continue to happen.

@Sofi88 just about medical evidence - some schools are largely not bothered unless there's ongoing attendance issues, but the policy at our school is asking for letters/appointment cards for all appointments, and prolonged or frequent absences. In reality I don't think they're chased up unless there is a lot of absence.

The problem is that some children are called in sick when it's actually that they're on holiday etc which means those whose children are genuinely unwell have to put up with the letters and requests for evidence.

I disagree with these automatically generated letters regarding absence for all of the reasons others have already given

Given that Ofsted will want to see evidence that persistent absence has been followed up, what do you suggest school's do? Particularly consider your response in relation to reduced budgets and reduced staffing and recognise that increasingly, it will be teachers that have to do this work. First stage: Letter is produced. Copy to file. Done

It is admin staff who do this work, such as school secretaries and/or receptionists.

I would suggest either not sending the letters at all to people like the OP, or if they really must be sent then, as others have already described, add a note explaining why the letter has been produced and explaining that there is no problem, with no action required.

It is possible, with a little bit of thought, to explain that it is just a ridiculous box ticking exercise so that unnecessary offence is not caused.

The problem is that like a lot of things in today's world you cannot be seen to be picking on people you cannot just pick and choose who you send it to so it needs to go on something more arbitrary and easy to measure so if attendance drops below.

Then below that you need to have stages it needs to follow - as I said with DS we have been through 2 stage letters but expect to be taken off. The next stage would be a meeting with the EWO not sure beyond that I assume intervention.

But if there are medical reasons/diagnosis then adding to the file removes the need for all of that - it was my fault a little for not adding in it before it was too late

Like a lot of systems it isnt perfect and it will get a lot of parents who dont need to be monitored. Sadly though I suspect they do indeed get those who do

It just seems like a waste of paper tick box exercise. Will people who genuinely let their kids skive and don't care really be bothered by this letter?

It is admin staff who do this work, such as school secretaries and/or receptionists

Might be in your school, certainly osn’t In mine.

I would suggest either not sending the letters at all to people like the OP, or if they really must be sent then, as others have already described, add a note explaining why the letter has been produced and explaining that there is no problem, with no action required

The letter needs to be sent. What is the point of a note if attendance has fallen to the point where some level of intervention is required?

I get that such letters cause distress and upset, particularly where there is very genuine reason for being off school. But the school also has an obligation so what then?

Will people who genuinely let their kids skive and don't care really be bothered by this letter?

Probably not. But it is a warning and a process will need to be followed. If you warn at the point attendance falls below a certain point, there is evidence for educational welfare, the courts, and anyone else who needs to see that attempts have been made by the school to get the situation back on track. If you take it to court and the judge asks, what has happened to get it to this point and the school say, child not in for months and mum says she’s had cancer and needed child to help, the judge will be looking back at the school to see what they did to help....it’s a paper trail, nothing more, nothing less. If the OP is worried, speak to the school and take it from there. More than likely they will reassure it’s procedure and not to worry.

@snuggybuggy no of course they won’t but like everything you need to prove that you have made attempts to engage

Sotiredofthislife the issue is not so much that the letters are sent, it is the tone, and the way that they are used as such a blunt instrument when parents like the OP are trying to manage their DC's medical conditions.

I work in a school where the attendance letters are generated by an admin person who has a reputation for knowing it all. She loves to be all heavy-handed with things like this and would no doubt lecture the OP and thoroughly enjoy the power she thinks it brings her.

However, when she tried it on with my own DD who was in year 12, had a perfect attendance record for at least 4 of the previous years but then contracted shingles, she ran up against the might of the Malbec clan. The head of 6th form was very sympathetic when I explained that DD would need some time off (with work to do) and when she was in, the doctor said she had to wear tops without seams so as not to aggravate the spots so her school shirt was out of the question. Drama Llama attendance lady was in her element, demanding a doctor's letter about it. DD was incensed so phoned home and asked DH (who has a PhD but is nothing like a medic) to write a letter about it. We took great pleasure in composing it over dinner. DH signed it and it went in to school. Nothing more was ever said about it, other than me making a complaint about her attitude.

This woman has sent out another load of bollocks today about my tutor group and how many minutes of lessons some kids have missed. One had concussion caused by bloody rugby FFS. Yet more work for me having to trawl through emails and shit to give her the answers she needs. I might just make it all up and see if she notices....

The trouble is that, for every parent here who has a child who was genuinely reenacting the scene from The Exorcist or has weekly/monthly appointments for serious medical conditions, there are parents who obviously don't post here will wake up ten minutes' late and call the kid in sick, will look out of the window, see a few spits of rain and phone in sick, who will have a 4.35pm appointment at the GP, but will take the entire day or afternoon off and possibly fit in the GP appointment if they can be bothered after a lovely day out in termtime.

I've seen messages saying that Child is off today because they 'got back late from a party on Saturday and say they're tired', they 'didn't have a dry pair of socks', 'it's their birthday and they're being taken out for the day', 'they saw something on TV last night that's upset them' or, my personal favourite 'they did a lot of colouring in last night and their hand hurts'. And, of course, there will be ones who are saying 'she was sick' when it's actually to give bruising a chance of fading, for child or parent.

It's the ridiculous pisstakers and abusers in families that have led to everybody being sent letters when their child has actually been genuinely unwell.

And recording attendance/reasons for absence can be very useful for noticing patterns - somebody always has period pains on the morning of tests in a particular subject/always vomits the night before x class and x child is there/ is always unwell on the same day as a boy three years above and the message sounds like an adult female, but not necessarily one old enough to be the mother / is always absent for four days after a big England match and the father has come across as slightly 'off' at Parents' Evenings - that kind of thing.

Monitoring attendance is basic safeguarding. From the moment 'Send' is clicked on the absences or a letter is sent regarding repeated unsubstantiated 'doctor's appointments' on a Monday morning/rainy days, you never know what reply you'll get.

I wouldn't worry, my child suffers with a serious medical health issues from birth so always get these letters from reception to y5 and just this term alone he's had missed 2 full days due to travelling to a different city for appts and 2 sessions for 2 different appts near home. School understand and just say they have to send it and just ignore it. If he didn't go to his appts then he missed alot more as he would end up being admitted seriously poorly.

No one is saying attendance shouldn’t be monitored . Just use a common sense approach.

Someone who has come back with chicken pox . It is obvious if they had chicken pox or a week in Benidorm.

Someone who has hospital letters so obvious appointments .

Call the parent of the child with aching arm from colouring . This isn’t a reason to come to school . Surely that is a better use of resources than to send out a generic letter.

Same with latenesses. My Ds has got to tear 8 without a Kate mark . He has ADHD so we have had meltdowns before school , sat on the pavement refusing bro move but left extra time because I know this can happen . That said for some people there are specific difficulties in some households , addressing these issues , addressing the people who are late day after day not just someone who overslept

It is obvious if they had chicken pox or a week in Benidorm. If they're white and don't use sunblock, perhaps. And as long as they've had blisters on their face or hand, as it's not exactly feasible (or probably legal) to demand a child's clothing is removed to show the evidence.

It's remarkable the number of people who can't produce appointment letters or reminder texts/screenshots/photos of the letters when asked politely to do so. Very able to use their phones to express their outrage at being bothered/politely asked to provide that evidence, though.

I hate this. I get letters complaining because my childminder has on two occasions in the past six months collected my daughter late from school.

It's minor lateness, its obviously not deliberate and the school has a clear line of contact both to the childminder and to myself. I'm a single mother who works full time. What can they be hoping to achieve by this other than to make people who are obviously working hard and in stressful situations feel even worse about themselves.