To think it slightly strange that school is encouraging this

[AsIfIWish]

Just got a letter from our school (sent to all parents) about attendance, starting with congratulations for good attendance, but then going into more detail of what they actually want. One bit says:

"Sometimes your child may be too ill to attend; however they could go to school if they have one of the following symptoms:
• Headache
• Stomach ache
• Ear ache
• Cough
• Cold
• Sore throat

I don't expect my kids to be 'wimps' as my dad would say (and I only let mine stay at home if they seem to exhibit quite bad symptoms - e.g. my youngest sometimes mentions something mild and I encourage them to go and then they bounce out happily at the end of the day) but likewise I do find it a little odd to be seemingly encouraging kids to go to school when ill.

Maybe these things are aimed primarily at those parents who keep their child off for every little thing? What do you think and what are your schools' policies? This is a secondary school btw.

With appropriate medication mine would of gone in with those ailments

You’ve answered your own question by saying it’s because of the parents that keep their child off for nothing. Some parents are stupid enough that they need to be told that they don’t need to keep their child off any time they say they have a tummy ache or a headache.

With only one of those symptoms as stated, absolutely send them in.

Most children come into school with the occasional sniffle or cough.

I taught a young man who I never saw unless he was in absolute perfect health, as if he 'thought he had a sore throat' he was kept home.

That's fair enough....medication can manage those symptoms

Mine would be in with those minor symptoms. Otherwise they would barely be in.

It's a secondary school. Preparing pupils for the world of work.

Try telling your boss you've got a bit of a sore throat so you won't be in.

It is just trying to encourage a bit of resilience. If they are well enough to get there, give it a go.

Every term, our Local Authority sends a senior school " inspector " to each school to look at attendance. They look at individual cases, what attendance levels are, what has been done to improve them, what sanctions and support have been put in place. Schools then get a red/Amber/green rating for attendance. Those with red get additional monitoring visits, think of the Inquisition but tougher. It's no wonder schools are doing whatever they can to improve attendance!

There's headaches and there's headaches.

Most of those can be very mild and bearable, or they can be debilitating. Many of them aren't contagious either (tummy ache, headache).

But if everyone took time off school/work every time they had one of those ailments, the country would grind to a halt! Most people with a mild cough or cold can definitely go to work/school.

In a local Facebook group the other day there was a mum asking how other mums coped with their pre-school kids being off sick all the time... it transpired her 3 year old had only been to pre-school for about 2 weeks out of the whole of the autumn term because she thought you had to keep them at home for every little cough and sniffle!!!

Those are the sorts of parents who need to be told "actually, you can send your kid in with mild sniffles".

My dad was a teacher and I was sent in with everything, except actual vomiting. The number of times I was sent home was unbelievable. Mind you my reputation at work was that if I rang in sick I must have been really sick , noone questioned me if I did, rarely, pull a sickie.

Well it says "could" go in not "should", and severity of symptom is important. Tonsillitis where you can barely eat and swallowing is agony, is different to a mild sore throat.

I would not class that list really as 'ill' more a little under the weather.

Earache.... No chance, that and toothache are the two closest pains to labour!

Cough/cold... Yeah let's just pass the germs around 🙄

There has been a shift in attitudes to keeping kids off school since covid, both due to more general health anxiety, mixed messages about when to keep kids off and when to send them in, and also because parents who are still working at home find it easier to keep kids at home when historically they will have sent them in because they needed to go to the office.
All this has led to a fall in attendance across the country.
Schools are now trying to counter this and reminding parents of when it is okay to send kids in is one part of the solution.

The only time I was ever allowed a sick day as a child was things like chicken pox, or D&V. My dad was a doctor and was totally against sick days for any other reason lol.

A lot of this is due to COVID related isolation rules. I think parents still have the habit of thinking cold symptoms could be COVID.

If this is a secondary they'll be worried about their ofsted rating and results. If the last few years have taught us anything it's that it's not a good idea to send people who are unwell into environments where disease spreads like wildfire. I wonder if the school still opens windows as a matter of course? What's their policy on Strep A? That starts as a bit of a sore throat.

They say these things, then send our attendance letters out if they drop below about 90%
Seem to want it both ways. Do I send them in with a cold to reach the schools attendance targets? or do I keep them at home so they don't spread their viruses around?

Mine are on attendance warning for taking a week off with Strep A, but didn't want to risk speaking that around (on government advice as well), but if I keep them home for every cold they would never go in. D & V I keep them home for 48 hours, obviously kept them off with covid (though probably not now as we are no longer testing) and strep A but otherwise they have to go in.

My DCs have never had a stomach ache that hasn't lead to D&V so I do keep them off if I genuinely believe that they have an ache. I would hate to send them in only for them to get the runs in class.

I know a woman who keeps her kids off for every single teeny tiny thing.

I think she's insane. They miss at least one day a fortnight.

Her kids attendance is horrendous and yet she's always gobsmacked when she gets warning letters about poor attendance.

Some parents obviously need telling in simple terms.

My mum was a nurse and my dad was a doctor. If we said we were sick they whipped out the thermometer/stethoscope/torch to find evidence 😂. If no evidence and we weren't collapsed in a heap we had to go in

I mean they aren’t saying the kids must attend with these illnesses - just that they can. So if your child has a headache/cold etc you use your judgement and decide whether they’re able to attend with medicine or whether they are too unwell and should rest at home.

It does depend, ear-ache can be horrendous - the worst on that list in my experience.

Like anything parents can use their brains, the school is trying to suggest students don't need to stay off everytime they sneeze type thing

If I parent really thinks a child is that unwell to go to school they don't send them