Unauthorised absences wtf are we supposed to do!

[dreamingbohemian]

Surely everyone knows that it's nearly impossible to get GP appointments these days. And surely everyone understands that sometimes your DC are too unwell to go to school but not unwell enough to get an emergency appointment.

But my DC's school are now saying any absence that doesn't have medical evidence will be unauthorised. They will only accept things you can get from a GP, like an appointment card or prescription.

So what are we meant to do??? We are finishing the year being this close to persistent absence, which doesn't seem fair. We can't help it if DC was ill a lot this year, but with routine bugs that a GP would never see him for or prescribe anything (including norovirus -- are we meant to send him in and spread it then?)

AIBU to think this makes no sense?

(not school bashing here, they say they are just following policy)

PS I don’t have to answer any question you demand of me.

And if it isn’t going hand-in-hand with any other safeguarding issues schools just need to accept that some kids just get sick a lot, and that it’s perfectly reasonable to keep them off school when they’re ill

What would you suggest they do for persistent absence beyond advising they seek medical attention? Which is effectively what they’ve done. This approach achieves 1/2 things. Gets kids access to medical support or forces parents to buck up.

You think it’s typical for kids to miss a month of school being ill a year?

Not all children do. My DS has two long term health conditions and no plans from the school whatsoever.

And, as others have noted, parents of children with disabilities and conditions are being told they must provide evidence routinely.

Yes please do this. My friend is a GP and after a flood of requests from parents, the practice took up the case directly with the school involved and the policy was changed. GPs are already under a lot of strain without this unnecessary extra workload.

No one has said that re a child with absences due to long term conditions. Are you children frequently absent or requiring support within school?

and again - this isn’t relevant because it isn’t the case with the OP.

If my DC was missing huge chunks of school, with no parental communication, failing all their classes and showing other signs of concern, then yes, I would hope the school would step in.

As it is, we tell the school when he's absent and why, he's doing very well in all his classes and there are zero concerns about anything. We did submit medical evidence on the one occasion we were able to get it, when he had a chest infection and got antibiotics, so clearly we do follow the rules when we can.

So in an ideal world I would like the school to use their common sense and see this all as the non-problem it actually is.

They do use common sense, which is why these things are only flagged when it becomes persistent absence. A child missing over 10% of schooling is an issue. Whether you accept it or not.

It may not be typical but it happens, and if it's not actually causing any issues, then what is the big deal?

My son is not failing his classes. He is not bothering the teachers for help because everything is online. At parents evening they all said he was doing great, not a single teacher mentioned his absences. If the teachers don't see a problem, why is it a problem?

I do feel bad for schools and teachers who are being forced to deal with all this, I know it's not their fault directly.

They ask for evidence when the child has persistent absence with no real explanation.
**
they don’t ask when there is an explanation.

@JenWillsiam

I appreciate that the op’s child doesn’t have an illness, but it’s this assertion that I’m picking up on.

It simply isn’t true.

Of course it’s causing issues. Do you really think when kids are absent they walk in the next day without requiring any support to catch up on what they’ve missed? And if he is at secondary and missing this much then actually he should be seeing a doctor because that’s excessive. We aren’t talking about a normal amount of sickness. That’s the key thing here.

yes it is. Because if your child is off due to an ongoing condition you have evidence. You have letters. You don’t need anything from the GP. They ask for evidence and you produce the diagnosis and the accompanying information.

Disclaimer - neuro disabilities are not long term chronic conditions that cause absence. If you’re going to keep saying kids can have conditions that cause absence AND school expect evidence at least give an example or state the condition your talking about.

It doesn’t achieve either of those things. No amount of the school asking for gp letters for d&v, cold, ear ache, chicken pox etc is going to mean that the gp starts giving them (and neither should they).

And if you think sending a letter saying ‘btw your kid has been off a lot’ to parents who don’t care or aren’t able to change things then you are living in cloud cuckoo land.

neuro disabilities are not long term chronic conditions that cause absence.

@JenWillsiam wow. Your abalism and ignorance is incredible.

As is your insistence that you know the behaviour of every school in the country.

Personally I would just fine them.

sigh. Read the previous comments. I’m well aware of the complexities but they aren’t the same as conditions such as arthritis.

No idea why you think you know our situation better than we do!

As I said earlier in the thread, my son's school puts literally everything online. If he misses class, he can go online and read the material and watch videos explaining it, so then he can do the homework for that topic. We help with anything he doesn't understand. If he goes to class and doesn't understand something, he doesn't bother the teacher, he comes home and figures it out for himself first.

So no, he is not causing issues in school. He works very hard at home to make up what he misses. He's in secondary school, he's not 6. He has excellent grades and teachers have no complaints, so what is the issue exactly?

He’s missing 10% of schooling. That is an issue. This idea that it isn’t is absurd.

You assertion they aren’t chronic (ie ongoing- life long) conditions, and that they don’t cause absence from school is there in black and white, back peddling and claiming to understand ‘the complexities’ after your ignorance has been commented on just makes you look silly.

No one thinks autism and arthritis are the same thing.

It’s clear that you have very little understanding of what you are talking about. I’d suggest you go and educate yourself, but frankly I don’t think you are capable.

Why is it an issue? I mean specifically, in my case, where my son is excelling in school and teachers have no complaints. What is the specific issue?

It's not 10%, it's 8%. And the school are demanding medical evidence from everyone, not just those with low attendance.

You could perhaps as the gp to put in writing that you called to ask for an apt but you weren't allowed one and use this as evidence.

I am not back pedalling. Read my previous comments.

Autism. Adhd. Provide the right support and those children can access school. You cannot medically evidence what’s going on.

Arthritis. Asthma. Diabetes. Etc. no matter what the school does those children will miss school and it’s medically evidenced.

They are not the same thing.

I suggest you also look up what a chronic medical condition is. A chronic medical condition is a medical condition that always requires treatment. Again, that is not autism or adhd. Suggest you read here. I have already said this.

@JenWillsiam 😂😂😂

Im disabled with a list of chronic conditions and illnesses as long as my arm. I’ve been navigating the education system as the child of a disabled and chronically ill parent, as a chronically ill pupil and now with a chronically ill disabled child.

I also have a degree, a masters, and a professional qualification in a relevant/related field.

And you assume I have none of those things or experiences? You’re now going off on a tangent and completely ignoring the point.