To take this further with the school...

[Emilybyrd]

My eldest daughter is in year 8 of secondary school. In January this year (when she was still in year 7), she had Covid at the time when you weren't allowed to return to school if still testing positive even if there were not symptoms. This meant she had 6 days off school when she was absolutely fine, but testing positive.

In February she then had an odd sickness bug where she was very sick overnight, then once again in the morning had 2 days off school (following the rule of not returning within 48 hours after sickness/diarrhoea). Then exactly a week later she was very sick again, repeatedly for a whole day and had terrible diarrhoea for 3 days. After this she was really weak (barely ate for 3 days) so had another day off (which was a Friday) to recover some strength - also hadn't even been 24 hours clear of the tummy upset. During the second sickness bug I texted a GP friend to check we were doing all the right things- plus asking if we should give her some rehydration drinks. This friend has always made it very clear that she doesn't mind being asked medical questions by friends, and I wouldn't have used up a doctor's appointment for this as I know how under pressure GPs are.

I emailed the school absence email every day during the illness to keep them updated as per the policy. On the final day of absence (4th day), had a very shirty email from an 'attendance officer' to say that it would be an unauthorised absence because we hadn't provided a doctor's note. I immediately wrote back to say that of course we couldn't provide a doctor's note for a sickness bug, and I wouldn't want to put more pressure on the NHS to get a doctor's note for such a thing. I asked how I could appeal the unauthorised absence as I didn't want it on her record, but she ignored the email. My friend (the GP) offered to write a note for me to say that I had spoken to her, but out of principle I didn't want her to have to waste her own time on this. Asked for an update on how to appeal, never heard anything back.

Fast forward to October this year (now in year 8). We took a term-time holiday tagged onto the October half term. I have never before taken our kids out for a term-time holiday, and therefore we have only had 1 holiday abroad in the past 10 years because my husband and I haven't been able to afford it. The reason for the timing of this holiday is that one of my best friends recently moved to Malaysia, and we went out to visit her for the October half term (and taking the girls out of school for 5 days before this.) I know term time holidays aren't allowed, I knew they wouldn't be able to give permission and that we may get a fine. I think that the opportunity to visit Malaysia was once-in-a-lifetime for my daughters and they experienced so much while we were away I don't in any way feel that they missed out on anything that they couldn't catch up on. I emailed the school well in advance to let them know the dates we would be away. I also didn't lie and say it was sickness, I was completely honest.

Obvs. I knew we would eventually hear from the school(s), although I received no acknowledgement at all of my email sent before the holiday. They have written now, but the bit that concerns me reads:

'due to the number of unauthorised absences now incurred as a result of the holiday, in order for the school to authorise any further absence from school due to illness, medical evidence will be required. This may be in the form of an appointment card, a prescription, medical certificate, or a prescriptive label from medication.'

So if my daughter has another sickness bug, or a bad cold, we HAVE to waste a doctor's time? and surely in that circumstance a doctor would be relying on us to tell them over the phone of the illness, and surely we can't expect them to produce a note for a cold (and as before, I feel very strongly that a GP should not have to waste time on this.)

Basically the school are saying that now they cannot trust our word or ability to self-certify if our child is ill, when actually we have been entirely honest.

I really want to fight this part- I don't want to feel pressured to send my daughter to school if she is poorly because I am worried about being given another unauthorised absence which might lead to further action- but no way am I going to a doctor for a 1 or 2 day absence.

Has anyone dealt with the scenario before? I'm not sure HOW to fight this- the absence lady is following the Academy policy, should I take it up with them? Should I take it up with my MP?

I know we are technically in the wrong for taking the holiday but both my girls are achieving well at school, getting good results and reports, we aren't 'problem parents', we have never taken them out for a holiday before, and won't again...

If anyone has any experience or words of advice I'd love to hear them! Thank-you!

I'd take child and sick bucket to school, go into the office and ask if the head teacher would like to personally assess their fitness for school.

Just ignore it. School have to follow policy. Its paperwork.

Is this school in a trust that has the word Red in it? I recognise that letter wording.

Just ignore. Schools don't really even agree with their own attendance policies, but they have to toe the line. It's a record-keeping paper trail set up to appease the Ofsted gods, not a value judgement.

I once emailed my son's school a video of him throwing up in a bowl when they asked for medical evidence. But grim, but did the trick.
Mind you, this was the same school that wouldn't authorise a few days when my son was suicidal and CAHMS were involved. I had doctors letters as proof aswell. Apparently, wanting to die wasn't a good enough reason to miss school.
Thankfully, he has moved school and his new one is amazing and uses common sense.

Heaven forbid, anyone cares enough about your child to check up on them...

I wouldn't bother. You'd look a bit silly.

Anyway, the attendance officer would make the decision.

I can't remeber the exact wording on a sick note but the doctor signs that "I have seen the patient". One of our GPs will see you for your first sick note then do a phone consult for the next, the other GP inststs on F2F for all sick notes, both make exceptions for very long term sick/terminal patients.

There's nothing you can do about it, your daughter has poor attendance due to ill health and then you took her out for an unauthorised holiday. You're lucky you haven't been fined for that.
It's standard procedure for all schools to send letters out of this nature and it happens automatically when you drop below a certain level.

You could have provided a sick note, as offered by your friend, but you chose not to. You then took your daughter on an unauthorized holiday. If course they are following up on this. This is happening because of your decisions. YABU.

So you were offered a sick note but declined it to prove a point? You also took a holiday in term time? Sorry, some people are just desperate to fight a cause of their own making. They are ignoring your emails because it's just a waste of everyone's time.

There are 13 weeks of school holidays per year. Ample time to go abroad. Teachers get so fed up of parents presuming that the week their kid spent sightseeing taught them so much more than the 25 hours of planned lessons they missed in that time. It is really hard to make up lost learning as lessons are sequenced and built on what’s gone before.

Illness can’t be helped. Holidays can. If you’d not taken the holiday, you wouldn’t have got the snotty letter.

YANBU
School have emailed today to say all children are watching World Cup this afternoon
So keeping child off due to illness : send a snotty letter
Going away on much needed holiday: send snotty letter
Watching World Cup (DD2 taking GCCES in May ), totally fine

I have no problem with this, it's a couple of hours and loads of fun, a bit of patriotism, plus encouraging interest in sport. I hope the kids have a great time and totally support the Head in their decision.

Come on England. (Im not a footie fan either unless it's a big game)

What would I do? OP, I’d just shrug and nice on. Cross the ‘medical evidence’ bridge if and when you come to it. Don’t take it personally.

I don't know if you remember the case some years ago when a child was snatched on his way to school after being dropped off almost but not quite at the school gates? After this all schools tightened up procedures to check children were where they thought they were, and chasing attendance is part of this.

Yes, you feel you had reasons but there are parents who don't support children going to school,unacknowledged young carers who get kept off school with frequent 'viruses' who are actually supporting parents, teenagers who are being groomed by gangs so don't turn up for afternoon school and a myriad of other reasons for schools to check.

I get it's annoying, but first of all bear in mind they're trying to safeguard your child and secondly there is nothing they can do to enforce their demands. Schools are actually not very powerful in the tools they have to enforce attendance which is why it's tough for them to be held to account for it. They're blamed for low attendance by OFSTED and the LA, even if they were to accept what you say.

Schools have zero power to authorise term time holiday for example, but because we used to be able to do this back in the day, parents often think we're being unreasonable to leave it as unauthorised.

If I were you I'd just supply evidence as others have suggested through a note or record of phone call perhaps to help them with the paper trail. All the dramatic suggestions of bringing in sick children are unnecessary. If a school or trust has a bad policy (and some do) by all means complain but whatever they threaten will have no teeth to it.

I'm smiling at your notion that going to Malaysia was a "once in a lifetime holiday".

You took them abroad in school time when you could have used the long summer break, or Easter or Xmas. Schools are obliged to ask for evidence where a child has repeated absences, ESPECIALLY when some of this is term time holidays.

Suck it up.

I was with you until the holiday.
If you google the bma has a letter that they have written to schools advising them that they don't do sick notes for school children.

You’d be wasting an MPs time with this, never mind a Dr’s. You’re at fault, not the school, they’ve acted entirely in accordance with policy whereas you did something you knew you could get fined for.

Once there has been a decent period of time without you taking her on a term time holiday then normal rules will apply again.

The school have an obligation to ensure children attend school, and don't fall through the gaps.

You took an unauthorised term time holiday and the consequence is that the school are now looking closely at your child's attendance.

I got a letter like that last year after various illnesses.

Came in handy for writing my shopping list on the back as I'd ran out of note paper!

just ignore it.