An attendance meeting at school for 5 days off since September

[Am898]

DD is 5. Since September she's had 5 authorised sick days off with today being one of them. This has been spread out for weeks and been sickness bug etc she's only had 2 days off in a row for a nasty sickness bug and the other 3 days she's not well enough to be in school.

Schools just rang me and said I need to book an attendance meeting as her attendance is too low now.. aibu to think this is a bit daft.. she's 5 years old and been off sick a few times, what does an attendance meeting entail 🤔

She's always at school on time and every time she has been sick it's been authorised as I've rang the office straight away so I'm feeling a bit confused now

Not for a couple of days no. Well not more than a quick “are you ok now?”, “yes ok great”

Whether the absences are authorised or not, regardless of your daughter’s academic performance, it’s impacting her attendance figures, and the school have attendance targets to meet, so that’s why they’re trying to address it. Although if she’s in Reception and just turned 5, she won’t be if compulsory school age until January, so it shouldn’t be an issue currently if that’s the case (if she’s year 1 and turning 6 in this school year then it’s different).

Do you have Arbor or any other kind of school portal where you view her attendance %? My daughter has had one day off since September and is on 98.4% attendance, 95.1% in the last four weeks (the day off was this week).

5 days off since September will be severely impacting the annual figures because September was the start of the year. If she has no more days off then by the end of the school year it won’t look so bad, it’s just skewed currently because it’s all been at the start of the year

Personally I do feel like 5 days off since September is a lot - especially when it’s over multiple separate occasions. It would be for me anyway. My 5yo only had this one because she vomited over the weekend and was subject to the 48hr rule, and last year she didn’t have a single day off, but some kids are just more susceptible to illness than others

5 days off since September works out at 1 in 12 school days which is quite high really. Schools regard odd days off here and there as more of a problem than if the child had a serious illness and was out of school for a week in one go, in the same way as employers. At the current rate, she'll have missed 3 weeks by the end of the year, which is a lot considering they're only in school 39 weeks.

They'll want to talk to you about the reasons she's off as most minor illnesses, you're expected to treat symptoms and send them in anyway.

Its the schools that insist they stay off 48 hours after vomiting. Only had to happen twice and theres your 5 days

If attendance is below 90% I would send what we call Attendance letter 1 which just informs you, definitely not a meeting. Attendance isn’t compulsory until the term after the 5th birthday. As an example I send Attendance letter 1, monitor for 3 weeks, send Attendance letter 2, monitor for 3 weeks then ask parents to come in, then it’s just to find out why the pupil isn’t attending & how can we support you. If the parents have been informing school then no need plus like i said only for pupils over 5.

5 days off since September works out at 1 in 12 school days which is quite high really

But you have to think about it in context, which is that we’re only 13ish weeks into the academic year. Of course five days seems like a high percentage of sick days at this point.

Hopefully by Easter there will be fewer viruses flying around, and the present/absent ratio of this child will have changed massively.

Its the schools that insist they stay off 48 hours after vomiting.

Too bloody right they do. It’s bad enough that my son has a new cold every three fucking weeks; if people start playing fast and loose with D&V bugs I’m absolutely screwed.

Totally ridiculous
i wouldn’t attend but I would invite the school to call me to discuss if they really want to

5 days off since September works out at 1 in 12 school days which is quite high really

but the OP said at least one of those incidences was 2 days, so that's only 4 incidences in total.

Anyway I don't believe all the people on here saying that their kids were never ill when they started school. My ds had everything at nursery so genuinely had very little absence at primary school (and he didn't have a single day off sick at secondary). But other kids in his class were off frequently for various bugs.

It’s a government thing regarding attendance and your school is just following procedure. I expect it was a standardised letter. This meeting is just a checking in meeting and to see whether any interventions are required to get your DD into school more often. They will look at whether you need support.

When did she turn 5? If it was any point after the first day of term, she is not statutory school age and therefore all attendance is non-statutory. Children do not legally need to attend school until the term after they turn 5.

Why would you ask parents to come in rather than just calling them? It seems odd to want to waste everyone's time organising a face-to-face meeting, and far more likely to be met with parents refusing to engage. I can take a phone call from school at work, but I can't just down tools to go to a meeting.

The govt have a major attendance agenda and schools are forced to act. Just go along, explain she's been genuinely sick and just make sure you don't keep her off unnecessarily (eg just a sniffle). It will average out over the year.

I’m an attendance officer, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. It will possibly be more of a support interview to check on your child's wellbeing/general health and see how the school can support in improving her attendance or support at home. We are all well aware of the lingering bugs going round at the moment. No sooner catch one thing and you get another, nobody gets enough time to recover either because we feel we have to get back to work or school before we are fully recovered and spread it about. At the end of the day, her attendance has been flagged off a report ran most terms to check attendance and stats. It will be a box ticking exercise and is a formality so just tell them that she’s been ill.

But OP has already told them her daughter was ill. On the days she was ill. Having to reiterate this seems to imply the school didn’t believe her originally. It’s the way it makes it seem that parents aren’t the best judge of their child’s wellbeing and / or aren’t being truthful which is annoying.

whatever you think, those are the rules set by the local authority and the school must comply

You say she isn’t off all the time but five days in less than a term IS off a lot. For context, my year 11 DS has had less than 10 days off his whole school life! My DD who had an ear condition never had 5 days off in one term.

While you think ‘she is only 5’, school will be thinking, she is ONLY 5 and this is how she is staring her school career.

Poor attendance affects the school and other pupils who will get less attention from the teachers or TA’s who are trying to catch up pupils who have been off.

Even if the reasons are genuine, 5 days in 12 weeks is a lot. But that’s because she’s 5 and building her immunity. Can’t be helped

I had a call from school as my DD had 6 days off in October - she broke her leg - they knew she had broken her leg and had seen her hobbling on crutches and a boot for weeks later and yet I got a call to discuss her attendance. Bonkers!

4 different occasions of illness since September is quite high tbh so it will have triggered a box ticking exercise. I would just go along, don't worry about it but maybe look at whether your daughter is getting enough sleep and vitamins to boost her immune system against school bugs.

@Ofa excellent idea! x

Don't take it personally. The School are obliged to do this if attendance drops below a certain number and Social Services get freaked out too.

They just need to check that everything is ok with you - it's making sure your kid has enough food and warmth too in a way so they can be aware of any issues.

It's probably because due to the number of days so far your child's attendance has dropped below 90% (11 weeks of term and your child has missed one). This is something the school HAVE to do to not be negligent. You need to attend to show there is nothing for them to worry about.

Maybe I’m a harsh mum, but I don’t have time off work sick so I don’t let my kids have time off school (unless rules dictate such as chicken pox, vomiting etc). My kids are in years 7 & 10, and since the have started school in reception have had less than 5 days off each in that time. I’ve not had a day off in 18 years. If I’m ill, I just plough on through. I can’t afford time off sick

That’s the rules from the Council.

It is a way to look out for signs of possible neglect. Absences from school are one of the very many potential signs, so it is good that schools are showing due diligence and addressing any concerns they may have. Not attending a meeting will just raise further flags and you may end up with the schools attendance officer knocking on your door. The local education authorities monitor attendance and start asking questions when attendance drops below a percentage. Schools have been back roughly 13 weeks now. 5 days absence works out to be about 92% attendance. You will have hit a trigger. There are so many bugs and viruses going round at the moment, so most of the time it can’t be helped. I work in a school and the staff have been dropping like flies.

Decline the meeting OP, another poster quite rightly said about the correct term start and poor DD has had bad sickness which most likely came from school, so i would not have been in a hurry to send her back regardless of attendance tick boxes if that was my D5yr old. They do it to us all the time as adults, some of us even still have to do meetings spluttering over the phone while we are sick at home on our 'Day Off'! They should Leave little ones to be poorly in peace and when rested and recovered then send her back - they'll be going to work with cold fevers and allsorts without a choice soon enough, just to survive and pay these rotten energy bills. Hope she's feeling millions better OP