School attendance

[Fantasia99]

I understand schools have to reach certain attendance %s, however in my son's school, the children who come first every week get to pick a new book for their classroom, and are 'celebrated' in assembly. My son's class is never first, despite him getting 100% attendance, and it feels like the children being punished for either their classmates being unwell, or their parents not bringing them to school. They're the only class not to have ever got a new book. He's come home today saying what's the point in going if other people don't turn up and he doesn't get a new book because of them. It's disheartening. Does anyone else have similar or am I just being soft?

Ah life's not fair unfortunately.

It's a ridiculous policy and I'd speak to the school.

I'd also tell your son, it's a ridiculous policy and not to worry about it. Presumably you have books at home?

It has also lead to some of the kids saying unkind things about the children who have time off school which again, seems inevitable.

Yes loads!

You can raise it with the school but they are unlikely to change.

Teach your child that going to school is important for learning and friendships but health comes first. Have a chat about how fortunate he is to be well but that other kids aren’t so fortunate. Tell him that schools aren’t always right.

I see both sides as I have always hated attendance rewards for these exact reasons. However, I’ve also worked in a school penalised for lack of attendance. Some of that was illness but a lot was term time holidays.

I’d contact school and say what you’ve said here. It’s not encouraging them to embrace children with disabilities, health issues, difficult social situations..it creates a why do we have to have ‘Katie’ in our class she’s always off ostracising the child.

Yes I'd be taking it to the school and then the governors.

Unfortunately schools are under a lot of pressure from local authorities to raise attendance.

So they try and have incentives to encourage high attendance.

They’re stuck between a rock and hard place but I too feel it’s unfair to children who have medical conditions.

Worth speaking to the school about the unkind things aka bullying or harassment which are resulting. Whilst a useful lesson for children to learn that life is not always fair, not the best way to start.

Ableist presenteeism that's all it is.

Speak to the school.

Speak to the school, but ultimately the school has attendance used as a measure by government when in reality there is little the school can actually do to deal with parents who just don't care

Yet another reason why any child with a disability or health issue might get picked on by classmates as they are seen to be stopping the class getting a book. Attendance should be personal not class based, I have a child with health concerns, they will never attain 100%, it’s not realistic for them, so in your situation the whole class misses out. Dreadful policy

What's really not fair is the medical treatments some of our children miss school for, the neglect some children experience and low attendance at school being part & parcel of that.
School attendance awards & certificates should be abolished, especially if they are now being used as a reason for kids to pick on their already less fortunate peers 😡
Please teach your children 100% attendance is down to luck, nothing else!

I think you're taking an odd perspective on this. Instead of thinking it's a stupid policy and unfair on the children who are ill or can't attend for whatever reason that they're even put in this position, you're feeling bad that your son has PERFECT attendance but is brought down by the other kids. Well lucky for your sun that he's healthy

All attendance policies are ridiculous and extremely unfair to children with medical issues and SEND. Not to mention those who happen to catch a sickness bug or a nasty cold.

Precisely. And the ones who aren't bothered about getting their child to school are hardly going to care if the class gets a new book.

You're being soft imo.

I'd just say son, that's the way the cookie crumbles and you've got tons of books at home anyway"

Really wish schools wouldn’t use attendance as a reward or punishment.

I complained when our school introduced attendance rewards. It is ableist and encourages bullying and othering instead of inclusivity. You need to encourage your child to put himself in the position of the kids that don't get 100%. Unfortunate enough to have health problems, catch a bug or have parents that don't get them to school for whatever reason. A real opportunity to foster empathy and inclusion here. And offer firm but ultra polite feedback to the school.

The point of going to school is because education is a basic human right. Would he prefer to leave school at 16 without qualifications and go into manual labour? Just because other parents are failing their children doesn't mean you should.

This.

One of the nastiest things about British schools in the 21st century is the way children who have been ill are publicly humiliated, and even punished, by the adults who are supposed to be caring for them. Meanwhile children whose parents send them in sick to infect everyone get celebrated.

Attendance fines and prizes/certificates are a relatively new thing that didn’t exist when I was at school. It’s a nasty policy introduced by fools with zero empathy.

My son has medical issues and so I well remember the pain of cuddling a sobbing four year old at the school gate while all his classmates walked off with attendance prizes and he was the only child not to get one. It happens hundreds of times all over the country, every term, because a couple of idiots in Westminster went on a power trip. As I cuddled that shaking four year old, I was blunt with him. This is about your headteacher caring more about getting a pay rise than she cares about children, I explained to him. This is about her career. She is trying to impress Ofsted (and avoid getting fired for her appalling mismanagement of the school).

He lost all respect for his headteacher that day.

Then I bought him a cake. Those other children don’t have a cake, I told him, just bits of paper from a selfish woman. And every time school sends home attendance information I buy him another cake.

Now he’s older, school seems puzzled that he doesn’t give a shit about awards or certificates 🤷‍♀️ as far as I’m concerned that is entirely their fault.

This is a ridiculous policy and children shouldn't be punished for what is essentially bad luck. My son has a chronic condition which means even when he's well, he has to have time off every 4 weeks to attend appointments. Add to that his autism assessment, and general check ups for his condition, he only managed 2 full weeks last half term which no doubt brought down the school average

I persistently raised this with my school and got a change of practice.

YANBU, it's a bullshit policy/approach and should be called out.