Unfair Attendance Reward Scheme at School

[AttendanceRewardConcern]

My kids school has low attendance statistics and the school have decided to start a new scheme to try to improve attendance (or to demonstrate to Ofsted that they are taking action). Children with 100% attendance for the entire half term will get to have a non-uniform day on a day of their choosing. I have 2 children at the school. 1 child has no health issues and was given the reward. The other child has a medical condition that meant they missed 3 days of school due to an exacerbation. The school are aware of the condition and have been provided with evidence from the child's health professional to explain the absence. However, the school have said they can't make any allowances whatsoever when applying the reward (including for children with severe disabilities). I think the scheme needs to be drastically changed and have written to the school explaining my concerns. After initially dismissing my concerns, they have now decided to refer to the LA's legal team. AIBU to think they either need to make an allowance for absences related to medical conditions and disabilities or to entirely scrap the reward scheme? Not to mention how this is encouraging children to come to school sick and focusing entirely on presenteeism above all else.

Because in general primary school kids don’t decide. The parent does.

So the parent can decide to take them for another day out just for fun, to even things out. Or buy a consolation prize if this is causing such a massive upset.
I have done this in similar situations.

I work in a school and I think is very unfair. We don't do no uniform days as it just makes the kids who don't have the latest clobber/trainers feel shit and embarrassed.

We don't do no uniform days as it just makes the kids who don't have the latest clobber/trainers feel shit and embarrassed.

Awful practice. I think if school uniforms didn't exist, the show off circus would die down.

That’s interesting. Ours have rules about what they can wear - so no football colours is one important thing.

Most of the kids at our school don’t have loads of expensive stuff though.

I did give my Dd (then 7) a cheap medal for “beating covid” when he missed sports day (and therefore a cheap medal for taking part) when he missed it due to Covid

Logically I think you are right. Life isn’t fair at all from our genetics to our upbringing. Yet, there will always be sports competitions and academic competitions and showing up competitions and those who are ill or not good academically or in sports usually have a harder time in life/work.

Yes, it's horrible. My DD (11) at the time broke her full year attendance by one day as she had first period pains. She missed her award.

I don't think they even thought about whether it was proportional or not. The surprise when I voiced my concerns led me to believe they hadn't even realised the effect it would have on children with disabilities

Yes, exactly this @AttendanceRewardConcern. Schools are so busy trying not to fall foul of the authorities putting pressure on them with regard to attendance that they fail to consider the issue in the round. (The same frequently happens with schools failing to make reasonable adjustments for disabled children on school trips etc.)

Ofsted and LA policies do not trump the law of the land. Schools are subject to the strictures of the 2010 Equality Act just like every other organisation in the country.

@Elsiebear90 you are wrong. Or at least you were some years back when I brought precisely this case up with the primary school my DCs attended at the time. The LA swiftly acknowledged that not making exceptions for DCs who were disabled or who had long-term medical conditions which were covered by the Act was illegal. It directed the school to alter its wording.

As I said yesterday and @Willyoujustbequiet has reiterated today, it really isn't terribly difficult to adjust the wording of the attendance policy to exempt absences related to a disability or long-term medical condition. Good schools manage this perfectly well.

That's a very visibly divisive reward op. So the kids who had time off have to wear uniform while the majority don't? That's shameful - both that the school is doing it and for the poor kids.

It's not just physical illness either, what about mental health? My 6yo dd is neurodivergent. As a result, she suffers from heightened anxiety and had a period of emotionally based school avoidance after last Christmas. One of her big triggers is looking or feeling different to the others in her class. So she'd have gone back to school (after weeks of struggling with clothing, particularly uniform), then been shamed, publicly, by being in the minority who had to wear uniform on the 'reward' day. Added to this, she has performance anxiety - is constantly striving for perfection and attempts to avoid any situations in which she may experience 'failure'. This would highlight her 'failure' and likely trigger another phase of school avoidance. This absolutely stinks, and if it was my dd's school I'd be kicking up a right fuss.

Certificates handed out as part of a celebration assembly that rewards effort as well as achievement, and includes all for various reasons, then fine (although i'm still not a big fan of rewarding attendance). But really, the reward you cite is particularly cruel and just wrong.

And before anyone starts going on about children like mine needing to 'build their resilience because life isn't fair and they'll need to learn to cope' - we now have an ehcp in place which seeks to help us and school do exactly that. Nowhere in that document does the educational psychologist suggest a strategy of focusing on achievement-based 'reward' and public shaming.

I'm actually really cross about what you describe op.

Unless Ofsted have suggested this particular policy, no. Schools don't choose the wider rules, but most schools aren't doing this despite having to negotiate this same stupid attitude. The own clothes day will have been a decision made at school level.

What, who is going to take their kids out of school for fun, this isn’t about the kids who are able with parents who get them there, it’s about the children who do/arent. It is ludicrous to suggest the answer is other parents should start keeping their kids off school to even it up. And who is going to buy the kids who have these issues consultation prizes, wtaf.

If kids with disabilities cant win the attendance prize, the school is discriminating against them.

Yes, rather than the school just not having discriminatory awards and taking the kids who lucked good health to Alton towers, far better for me to take my disabled child out for the day missing another day of school…

Not to mention that many people who have had to give up work to care for sick or disabled children simply can’t afford to match the OTT prizes given out in this category.

There are some of us who would happily do it (and fwiw one of mine has SEN too) but you're right it's not a panacea. Not everyone can take the time off work, afford the treat etc. If we could all do it, then these stupid initiatives would fall on their arses, but not all parents can. It's not the answer by itself. And we shouldn't be put in this position by disablism anyway.

I’m not aligned with this at all. I do not believe children should be made to miss school due to a policy like this, and buying a consolation prize is horrific. A pp talked about her little 6 year old missing due to anxiety, the thought of any parent being so insensitive as to walk in and hand her a consolation prize for having to wear uniform, making her stand out more, makes my blood run cold.

I should've been clearer, I was talking about keeping DC off not prizes.

Ah ok…

As an outsider to these awards (DC's school do not reward good attendance and actively promote staying at home and resting if under the weather), it seems like the award itself is a big part of the problem. If a child is good at Maths/English/reading/sports, they will be recognised in the form of a certificate or small gesture of achievement - they do not get taken on a special school trip for it and nor are they rewarded with a non-uniform day.

Other PPs have said that for some children, this is the only way they are recognised (which is pretty poor in itself imo - teachers should be able to find a way to ensure the whole class is recognised and rewarded for something but that it another thread in itself), in which case, surely the recognition should be equal to awards given for other achievements?!

I don't agree with the concept at all - at primary school level, good attendance is never in a child's control - but if they were going down this route, the types of rewards they are giving are absolutely ludicrous

Yes this is a big part of it. If it was just a certificate I doubt I'd be this upset about it. There's just no way to ignore such an in your face reward as this.

FFS, are schools still doing this?

If they must incentivise attendance, why don't they just reward a lack of unauthorised absence?

YANBU. It's lazy planning and totally against what any school should stand for - equality.

I'd be complaining.

It’s a ridiculous scheme. It’s punishing children for being ill.

There's a quiet rebellion around this at my childs primary school.

The kids themselves think it's unfair on their friends who they know have to have time off due to medical appointments and health conditions.

Neither the kids or the parents care about certificates awarded in assemblies, vouchers for sporting events or whatever other incentives they come up with.

Incentivising kids to come in when ill is never a good idea for obvious reasons.

We all know it's about keeping OFSTED happy, and to combat parents taking kids on holiday in term time...well the headline news is whilst ever holidays are about 50 -75% cheaper in term time , kids are going to be off school.

As well as being grossly unfair, rewarding children with a day trip to Alton Towers is a bit ironic - “to congratulate you for not missing a day of education we’ll allow you to miss a day of education!”. A trip to a theme park on school time is fine as long as the school is organising it?

Quite.