AIBU to ask school if being late just this one time could be changed on the register?

[Kimmykimkim36]

My son (7) has always had 100% attendance and punctuality at school. He also knows that at the end of term he gets a gold 100% badge and a certificate. He loves this!
I've been sick for the past 2 days and a lovely parent from school offered to bring him in, except on one of those days they got in around 5-10 mins late due to being stuck in traffic. AIBU to ask if this one episode of lateness could be changed on the register? He was so excited to be nearing the end of term, knowing he had been in on time everyday, but this one day of being late changes everything.

There’s a strange anomaly from when DD was at school

We collected her glasses and she was late by 10 mins - and lost her attendance certificate, had she arrived after half 9 she would’ve been noted as in school and not late so she would’ve got her certificate.

I remember looking into it and late is between 9 and half past - seemed odd at the time.

Attendance awards are stupid, so unfair for a child undergoing a series of hospital treatment.*

Likewise behaviour awards overlook the polite always well behaved child. Mine used to come home disappointed once again that they'd given up breaktime to tidy up for the teacher and sharpened all the pencils - yet no mention, the badly behaved child who had a good week always got a reward card. Indeed mine often threatened to behave badly for a week in order to obtain a behaviour award (never got one)

(* Saying that my DD never had a single day off from reception to 6th form - but she never got any comment/gold star/award She is almost never ill other than holiday time).

that's terrible @LuckySeventhWave - really poor duty of care on the part of the school to have that much of a reward scheme for attendance that a child's health and wellbeing was damaged. I think you need to make a formal complaint - not that he isn't getting the reward but that they created a culture so focused on attendance that they sacrifice their actual duty of care. that's not on.

Ask, the most that can happen is they say no. Explain how important it is to your son.

I feel like being precious enough to contest one late record would probably tempt fate enough to guarantee that my child would be struck down by absence requiring illness next week.

Attendance awards are given out annually here. It's only December... don't count your chickens before they hatch.

My primary aged child has a condition requiring fairly regular time off school so we are generally ruled out of these things within the first few weeks of the academic year. Saves this sort of nonsense I suppose.

Schools are as I understand obliged to record attendance in a standard way.

You could use this in a positive way, for your child to become aware that sometimes things are beyond anyone's control, and that life can sometimes seem or be unfair. Developing an ability to cope with minor setbacks will come in useful later on in childhood and beyond.

I would suggest not contesting it but explaining to your child now and not waiting for the end of term, so he is prepared for not receiving a certificate.

If you are to contact the school, perhaps suggest that termly awards are replaced by annual ones, and a threshold is not 100% but a small amount lower.

I’ve just found out our school officially shuts registers at 9.10 even though they’re taken at 8.50. So even though your son would have been signed in through the office, he might not have got a late mark. You can ask them.

They can't change the register. They could still allow him the award, but frankly, better for him to learn that sometimes you're just unlucky. After all, he probably has friends who won't get it because they were unlucky enough to be ill.

(If he were a child who had had bad health and this was the first time he was in the running for one, then it might seem reasonable to ask them to overlook the single late.)

Nope!
I have managed to get unauthorised absences changed to authorised as school had got it wrong for whatever reason - and a couple of absences put back to attendances as DCs had been in a school club/meeting but that’s it.
You can’t change fact though.

I’ve just found out our school officially shuts registers at 9.10 even though they’re taken at 8.50. So even though your son would have been signed in through the office, he might not have got a late mark. You can ask them.

Our school timings are: up to 8.50, normal mark, between 8.50 and 9.10 - late mark, after 9.10 - U mark, meaning the child is in school but has arrived during lesson time. This counts as an unauthorised absence. This is set by the local authority, not the school.

If there’s a medical reason for the absence it’s authorised, but if it’s something like picking up glasses, that would be marked unauthorised or late, depending on what time the child comes in.

I've not read the whole thread but quite a lot.

Surely she isn't asking them to change the whole record, she is only asking that they give him the internal school reward. Here we get a paper certificate which says 100% with some balloons around it kind of this. Not legal just nice for the child.

Yes it's fine to ask them to give this sort of thing to him. He is 7. It's not like she is asking them to falsify his GCSE legal results certificate or anything.

@ColdCottage why shouldn't all the kids get the award then? Why should he get the award when he was late and another child not get it because they got tonsillitis?

I’ve just found out our school officially shuts registers at 9.10 even though they’re taken at 8.50.

We shut our registers at 9.20. This means arrivals after 9.20 are marked with a U code (late after registers closed) and is actually a form of absence as far the data is concerned. Arrivals between 8.50 and 9.20 are marked as L (late before registers closed) so doesn't affect attendance percentage.

Meh. Shit happens. If he gets really upset about that gold badge, just buy him an ice-cream.

Well there’s a first for everything, he won’t get a certificate this time, so what. You’re putting too much emphasis on this - what happens some day he’s too ill for school and is upset because he’ll miss the award.

I’m sure there are several children who were out ill at some stage and so won’t get one either - should their parentS - write in and say, poor Johnny, not their fault they were ill - register him as being in please.

What an about the child that would love to get such an award but their parents don’t get them to school on time.

To be honest I wouldn't be happy with an award for attendance or being on time. A child has no control over this. If my child is late that's my responsibility not thiers

Yes it's fine to ask them to give this sort of thing to him.

No, it's not fine. It's ridiculous.

What about all the other kids who are late because a parent is ill or the traffic is bad, they forgot something and had to go back etc. I've never heard such nonsense. 7 year olds also have to learn that sometimes things don't work out quite as they would like. Even the OPs 7 year old.

He was late. So has a late mark. Let him learn how to deal with it now today, rather than holding to bend rules as an adult, you need to group up for him now.

Grow up for him now

I hate unfair "awards" which are beyond the control of the child - and lateness is one of them.

I used to be a childminder in a town, and did a school run to a local village with children from several families. The school offered rewards for children who walked to school, which my minded children couldn't do. The suggestion was made that I should park further away, and walk the children to school. However, I also had babies or toddlers, who would need to be put into buggies or walk as well, it was a logistical nightmare. And I often had to leave promptly to be home for other children arriving - I didn't have time to be walking another half mile back to my car once the children were in school.

I also wasn't allowed to let the children walk unattended. I was usually able to park near the school gates, and see the children into the school. So they all ended up being penalised for having parents who didn't live in the village, and who needed a childminder as they worked.

We made a bit of a joke about the unfairness of it all, but it was still unfair. Yes, life is unfair but it isn't nice to learn that lesson when you are only 6 or 7.