School coming to home to view sick child - Normal?

[CandlelightGlow]

I'm feeling really sensitive right now due to work stress so please be kind.

My 5 year old is off with chicken pox right now. He got the spots on Sunday, he's been quite poorly with it Monday - Tuesday, very sleepy, then very uncomfortable Weds waiting for the scabs to form. He's just started to feel better today but the school have an INSET day tomorrow anyway.

We just had a knock at the door, and it was a teacher from DS's school! He was very reluctant to come downstairs because he's only in his pants and thought the teacher was there to take him to school. She was very nice and said it's sad that they have to do this in this day and age but it's completely normal and they do it for everyone who's been off this length of time.

He's been off for 4 days? His older sister is at school so we've still done the school run every day. To be fair as it's an inset day tomorrow it will be over a week by the time he goes back on Monday. But I've never had a teacher come unannounced to our house to check on our child. Can someone reassure me it is actually normal and they don't think something bad of us! My poor boy is just ill. I've called him in and updated, updated again this morning saying he would be back on Monday!

If I were a governor there, I would seriously question whether that is a sensible use of staff time - particularly as it potentially exposes staff to infection.

@Nanny0gg can you not see why they need to see the child? Do you think safeguarding has nothing to do with school? Do you realise how many comments will be on a child's record at school, little things teachers or other staff see, which on their own might not be a concern but could be part of a much bigger picture. I can pretty much guarantee that every child of a poster on here will have a 'safeguarding' comment on their record. Wonder how many posters will be outraged by that and say it is nothing to do with the school

WTF...I'd go bananas!

How dare she come marching to your home demanding to see your sick kid?

Schools have gotten ridiculous!

Honestly I'd tell the teacher to fuck off, what an absolute invasion of family life. Completely overstepping their boundaries.

If you were a governor you’d already know why the school had implemented that policy…

Schools can only refer a child for a safeguarding issue though, they cannot make a decision themselves on whether or not a child is in some sort of danger. Unless the teacher is a qualified clinician I cannot see why they would benefit from visiting the child at home. Really, if they have a safeguarding concern, it should be referred on to the relevant authorities who should then make arrangements to visit the child at home

It's safeguarding, I had the same several times when ds was off sick, they are terrified of missing a child being abused

You know when horrible things happen and there are shitloads of people saying “Why didn’t someone do something?” - for someone to do something things like this need to happen. People need to ask questions, schools need to refer comments children make.

yet every time a MNetter posts because a school has questioned something there’s outrage on here at nosiness and interference.

Theres no magic “they’re a on MNet so their kid is fine” formula for schools, social services or anyone else to follow.

I am wondering how schools have the money and manpower to visit every child that is off school 🤔

@Train007 they will have to have pulled someone off something else to do this. They won’t have someone sitting there doing nothing just waiting to see if they are needed to visit a family. Possibly would have been the SENDCO

I bet the posters raging about this will also be the first ones raging that the school should have done something when a child abuse case hits the headlines

I presume they only visit people who haven’t phoned?

People do love throwing the word safeguarding around. There is absolutely nothing ‘safeguarding’ about this blanketed weird policy and is a very poor use of any teacher’s time.

I can understand him being shy, but could he not have put a dressing gown on?

I've never heard of this happening though.

It's a safeguarding check, to make sure he is actually there and has not been trafficked. It is a check for a child who has been off longer than a week with some schools.

Completely OTT. Frightening! Why are teachers going round to children's houses to check if they are truly sick. FFS.

@Theluggage15 why is it not safeguarding?

Some schools may not have similar policies, but most definitely will have a protocol for an absent child with no notification from parent.

Some schools may only do home visits for persistent absenteeism or that might be done by the Education Welfare Officer.

As a school governor I would want to know what the school policy is for an absent child, which comes under safeguarding.

@Oblomov23 because OP hadn’t been in contact with the school. It is possible school are tightening up procedures as they have a high level of persistent absenteeism

Sending the teacher round to a child’s house with no previous safeguarding concerns (OP has not mentioned any) and her Son has an excellent attendance record is not proportionate or rational. All it is doing is taking resources away from the kids who really need help (that time could have been used to help families with actual concerns).

Our school doesn’t do this so are our kids at risk because the teacher doesn’t turn up when the kids have chicken pox or a bad virus? I dont know any friends whose school do this either.

Also, if this is an actual policy (and not just a bonkers policy for this school), my child will be 40 mins drive from their new school in September. Is the teacher going to take at least 2 hours out of the school day for a poorly child visit? I dont think so.

His dressing gown is fine and is the only thing he's been able to wear since Monday, but he's at the stage of blisters coming up and turning into scabs so he's very uncomfortable. I don't see why a 5 year old should be forced to dress to please a random visitor, happy to show him to them to satisfy them that he's safe but they'll have to deal with a 5 year old in his pants I'm afraid, I'm not going to further his discomfort in his own home!

The role of a education officer :

Responsible to: Assistant Headteacher
Job profile: Management of school attendance Key responsibilities:
 The management of attendance data across the school
 The link person between the school and LA with regard to attendance
 The link person between the school and students/parents with regard to
attendance
Responsibilities/tasks:
 Text parents via parent mail following up absences
 First day calling to students who have attendance concerns
 Produce statistics on a fortnightly basis of all students under 95% attendance
Years 7-11. Supply reason for absence of all students under 90% -
Information passed to SLO and Houses
 Fill out necessary paperwork and produce evidence of absences of Referrals
to EWO
 Home visits to students with particular attendance concerns
 Arrange meeting with students in school who have under 90% attendance
 Meet fortnightly with Heads of Year to discuss absences on the day and
highlight any concerns
 Update Diary of Events regarding attendance concerns – this information is
needed to support any referral to the SLO and substantiate evidence relating
to court action.
 Monitor lesson monitor throughout the day particularly lesson 1 and 5
 Input AM & PM paper registers
 Input paper lesson registers
 Represent the school at quarterly attendance meetings

 Produce paperwork and gather evidence for Penalty Notice fines
 Maintain Penalty Notice spread sheet
 Maintain Leave of Absence spread sheet
 Produce Head Teachers Certificates of students whose parents have refused
to pay fines
 Minute meetings held in school with parents who are at risk of referral due to
low attendance
 Inform both KCC Admissions and KCC Attendance of students either leaving
for Home Education, moving home or changing schools
 Respond by letter to Leave of Absence requests
 Send letters home to parents of students under 95% and 90% asking for
medical evidence where applicable
 E-mail staff and Line Manager regarding missing AM and PM registers, lesson
registers and any conflicting marks
 Input trip information onto sims
 Give support in the training of attendance on sims
 Follow up unauthorised absence where tutors have persistently not been
provided with a note to cover the absence
 Provide attendance data to prospective employers/Further/Higher Education
regarding attendance for pupils who have left school
 Where the input of the Attendance Officer is required attend and represent the
school at Case Conference meetings on individual pupils held at local
authority venues
 Liaise with AEN regarding students with attendance concerns
 Liaise with Cedars, Health Needs, NACRO, Imap regarding students
attendance who attend their establishments
 Do a late gate for a 15 minute period recording any students who are late into
school
 Produce statistics regarding Lates
 Set up user-defined groups to target groups with particular attendance.

There not pulling the teacher from maths / English class to visit homes and like with our school which has 350+ pupils I doubt their sat around doing nothing . Same with a primary one who’s covering a few schools . Now with government becoming concerned with school absences it will only become stricter I suspect.

Thats even more of a reason not to be sending teachers to houses of kids with an excellent attendance record and no previous concerns (plus Mum had rung in that week). As you say, lots of opportunities missed with that poor little boy - a totally different case to this family.

A quick phone call to the Mum to remind her to ring in every day and to see how the child was feeling is all it needed.

I think people who are getting worked up should reframe this that the school care enough for a child's welfare to do this check.

There have been plenty of stories in recent years where children have been seriously harmed and people say why was nothing done, didn't school notice anything? So schools can't win.

Yes it's intrusive but the welfare of the child is at the heart of this.

I think most people would be very shocked in your place OP.

I would have found it very intrusive and would not be the least impressed.

It really should be clearly communicated as school policy so that parents are not caught on the hop like that.

Chicken pox can be a miserable dose, it certainly was here.