To tell the school to get lost

[Maisemoo]

So had 4 missed calls from DS10 school today while I was in a meeting so I returned the call as soon as I saw this. Lady on reception told me I had to come in for a meeting regarding sons attendance as is 89.9% which is below the 90% threshold! I explained since Sept son had E. coli (for which hospital letter was shown), D&V and covid, he also finishes 20 mins early every 3rd Wednesday to attend CAHMs due to his ASD and anxiety- again school have the paperwork for this. Receptionist kept telling me I wasn’t in trouble and not going to be told off- to which I replied I am an adult so was not in fear of being ‘told off’. Receptionist said I had to attend Monday at 10.00- I start a new job Monday so told here I won’t be attending- all the absences were genuine and I had no interest in a pointless meeting. Receptionist rang 3 more times with different days and times before getting the hint I was not interested- AIBU to refuse this or should I just of sucked it up and gone

You are not being unreasonable at all not to attend a meeting with them. We just get a letter if attendance falls below 90%. Meetings would be for much lower than 89.9%. However, some people don’t seem to get that:

1. this initiative is not driven by teachers
2. this does form part of safeguarding and ofsted requirements. Clearly, you had excellent reasons for your ds not being in school, but many parents don’t. If schools don’t follow up on absence and it turns out the child is being mistreated or neglected in some way, people would be quick to blame the school/teachers. As would ofsted. They have to choose a cut-off point.
3. one of the reasons teachers are on strike is the ever-increasing demands on schools (such as these pointless meeting and multiple phone calls) and diminishing funding (including funding for paying teachers).

Realistically in your case they could have used some discretion, as you’ve provided evidence.

They don’t count towards attendance figures

2 years of Covid shutdown? How do you work that out?

OP, YANBU at all to be pissed off about this but do bear in mind that this is coming from the DfE, not individual schools.

I made the awful mistake of panicking about one of these interventions and a school contract in my early twenties with my eldest DD I sat there completely mythed as they pointed out the absences that the school had actually sent her home for?!

I had to laugh and then I left…..no op you shouldn’t attend!

Little fleas have big fleas upon their backs to bite 'em
And big fleas have yet bigger fleas and so ad infinitum.

They are biting you with this crap because they have a bigger flea on their backs which has a bigger one on theirs.

School attendance has not picked up to pre-covid levels and the government and OfSted are twitchy about this.

Stick to your guns - the absences were legitimate - you have told them this. End of.

How many strike days have we had now? It is totally fine for kids to miss school when teachers are protesting their current salary, but god forbid kids miss school due to illness or injury.

Just want to add that I filly support the teachers' strikes, but it has led to a lot of unfairness and double standards when it comes to attendance at the minute.

Ofer a Teams meeting?

That didn't take long.
We're striking- and going without pay- for better conditions and funding in schools, and yes for better pay.
I was talking to a trainee solicitor in London today on my strike day. She's 24, earning £50k. I'm in my 40s, earning about my age. It says a lot about this country we don't fund schools and teachers can only hope to earn at the end of our careers what a solicitor would during training.

Or Google classroom 🤣

4 weeks off is a lot

And? OP can't go back in time and make her child not be unwell. She also can't predict the future and make sure he's not ill then either.

YANBU OP.

I don’t understand the argument that says as schools were forced to close due to Covid measures as strike days, there shouldn’t be any concern for my child to miss even more school. Surely that is all the more reason for attendance to be monitored closely.

OP - just say thanks but you don’t think the meeting will be of any use in your circumstances. Then forget about it.

89.9% is classed as persistent absence no matter what the reason. As others have said, that is a lot of school to miss and could very well affect your dc's outcomes. It is the school's responsibility to intervene at this percentage to see what support can be given to raise children's attendance. This guidance comes from the government and must be followed by all schools. Ultimately, the research is there that children who dip below 90% are most at risk of having their futures impacted by poor results. It is great that you provide evidence for each absence and this means that you will not be a major concern to the school as you are engaging with the process. However, refusing to attend a meeting intended to offer support is not helpful. The handing in of evidence means less if a child is at say 70% because the attendance is very poor and there are likely to be underlying issues that need addressing. No amount of evidence is going to make the school leave this alone.

In September there is new guidance coming in which is less punitive on parents and more supportive which is a good change due to the many issues that have arisen since Covid etc. No school aims to punish parents but still needs to adhere to government guidance. There is no intention to catch parents out but only to offer help to ensure that their children can be as successful as possible. I would imagine this is what you want too.

At school we watched an OFSTED webinar recently about how attendance in general has gone down nationwide since the pandemic. Lots of possible reasons given, including things like people being more protective of children's health so keeping them off for minor things like a cough, general increased anxiety on part of parents and children, seeing the fact they had lots of time off during the pandemic as meaning it doesn't matter as much etc. So they are pushing for schools to improve it even more than before, which puts pressure on the headteachers.

I agree it is not fair where children have genuine illnesses but I personally know of cases where kids have feigned things like a sore ankle to avoid school (obviously reasons for this need addressing) or parents can't be bothered to bring a child to school when their sibling is ill.

At this stage in the year, it's around 3.5 weeks.

The main difference between absences for illness vs those for strikes is that a strike closure means no one is in class. If one child is off ill, they fall behind the other kids, as the lesson carries on without them.

@pleasehelpwi3

No one is saying they don't support strikes. But it is going to raise eyebrows when schools hound parents for their kids being absent with medical reasons while at the same time closing the school to kids several times a year in order to strike. Teachers have genuine reason to strike. Parents like OP have genuine reasons to keep their kids off with evidence to prove this.

This is where schools should have some balls when dealing with Ofsted. If Ofsted thinks a meeting with OP would resolve the issues, it needs to explain exactly how. Is OP supposed to give some sort of solemn promise that her son won't contract any more E Coli, Covid, or any other bug which, let's face it, he's probably picking up in school? Or is she supposed to undertake to cure his autism like magic?

don't be ridiculous, the teachers are not losing a day pay to go on a jolly, they are trying to raise the alarm about the current shit show which is only getting worst.

It's not the class teacher who is making decision about kids absence!

Ah, but it's not the schools hounding the parent. The school is just the messenger, delivering government policy. If the school doesn't do what the government tells it to, we are in deep shit.
As a class teacher, I have as much control over what the school office phoning parents to explain absences as you do- less if you happen to be the Tory education secretary on here for shits and giggles.

I agree it does sound like the OP has absolutely valid reasons for the child's absences- and her frustration at being asked to explain it. But the best approach would have been to humour the receptionist- she was just doing her job.
There is no link at all except in the right wing press about teachers striking due to the dire state of funding of schools (trust me, worst I've seen in my teaching career) and the school office following government policy- let me repeat that: GOVERNMENT policy on absent kids.

The school have to ask for a meeting below a certain attendance figure and you have dropped in to that bracket. I'm sure if you give them a time you can do it will all be done in 10 mins instead of giving them the run around. And perhaps treat the poor receptionist with more respect and give them availability. They can't just pick and choose who they invite in for meeting, that would be unfair. And your child has missed school so there may be something to discuss.
As PP said, the school will agree to meet with you even if they think the reason is irrelevant (and believe me that happens so so much)

Depending on your working hours, could you offer them a Teams call or pre-booked telephone call to discuss. Teachers are often in school from before 8am so a 15 minute call then or after the end of their teaching time, when they are still in school marking or doing lesson planning may work.

@Quiverer meetings are offered at this level of attendance because often there are underlying reasons for this amount of absence (not counting Covid or injury in this of course). Some children are absent with colds or upset stomachs which can actually mask anxiety, bullying, friendship issues or unmet need. A meeting, including the child, can be useful in getting to the bottom of what is going on. Of course there may be nothing going on but the questions need asking.

Heads are shit scared of Ofsted, as we too tragically seen recently. They aren't going to be picking a fight with them over government policy.
That's for the voters to do at the next election (by kicking out the Tories and electing a government who will stand up to Ofsted.)

Give over 🙄

My son’s attendance is apparently of concern as he has 95%! Some of which is school trips he went on, with school and recorded as educational visits which they have included as authorised absences even though he was at a school trip!! Baffles me!
Dont worry about it. The have to tick boxes. It’s stipid!