Page 8 | An attendance meeting at school for 5 days off since September

Emrie · 05/12/2023 20:19

I’d attend the meeting and ask why when absences were authorised you have been called in.
5 absences in 3 months does seem a lot tho.

my lg has had one day off in 2 years and that was due to her sister been in hospital.
when she had a bad cold was calpol and into school. I can’t just take the day off work and have her at home

HBZ287 · 05/12/2023 20:23

Maybe sending a child in dosed up on calpol when they have a bad cold is part of the problem, not the solution.

Emrie · 05/12/2023 20:26

What’s the alternative? Lose my job?

putthehamsterbackinitscage · 05/12/2023 20:47

Mine are past this now but the problem is endemic in our workplaces and schools.

If I am off sick again before March next year, I face a disciplinary as I've had 2 chest infections this year leading to time off.... the 1st time round I rushed back when not well enough and then ended up off again - counted as two separate periods of sickness.

When my dc were small I had the same issue ... be off as they were ill and I'd have been in a disciplinary.

It's crap and the Bradford scale needs cancelling- we need a common sense approach to managing children and adult sickness.

I sent mine back 5 dates after chicken pox - much to other parents disgust as I'd already had 2 weeks off (did caught it from ds)...

Damned if you take time off and damned by other parents if you don't ....

Greengagesnfennel · 05/12/2023 20:54

Politely decline and say thanks for the concern but she has been genuinely ill each time. They will do nothing.

They have to do it for every child who triggers the tick box. Happens every autumn term to loads of us parents. They only follow up where there are other indicators for concern.

tsmainsqueeze · 05/12/2023 21:25

I am sick of this absence obsession in schools .
I relieved a patronising letter regarding my youngest child's absence she had a few bouts of illness close together .
I replied with an eloquent email commenting on each point they made , i take my children's education seriously and if they looked back they would know that from the attendance of her 2 siblings at the same school.
I told them that should she be too ill for school in the future that again she would not be attending as they would not give her the care she needs as she would be genuinely ill not skiving and i will absolutely not be sending my sick child to school.
I ended the email thanking them for their concerns and received a sheepish response.
A 5 year old catches everything all schools know this , its just box ticking to pacify ofsted , i think they go after the soft target 'decent' parents first because they are easier to handle than the gobby feckless ones.

HideTheCroissants · 05/12/2023 21:46

Peablockfeathers · 05/12/2023 19:26

I can't even articulate how abhorrent I find this. And why on earth would you even consider taking a child off role for having cancer unless they were nearly of school leaving age or the parents had not indicated they'd be returning if and when well:

(g)that he is certified by the school medical officer as unlikely to be in a fit state of health to attend school before ceasing to be of compulsory school age, and neither he nor his parent has indicated to the school the intention to continue to attend the school after ceasing to be of compulsory school age;

Schools should be citing the legal guidelines to LEAs who are seemingly unaware of them.

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@Peablockfeathers You have (intentionally?) misunderstood that we WANTED to take the child off roll. We did NOT want that - the child loved being in school when they were able. That was suggested by the family to get the LEA off their back. They had no issue with us and we had no issue with them. The doctors had said he should be able to attend school as and when he felt able and for that reason the EHCP was refused (again NOT by us but by the LEA).

Notamum12345577 · 05/12/2023 22:04

Am898 · 05/12/2023 10:27

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

After just finishing the entire school journey, we have had many of these meetings! It isn’t because the school want to do them, usually they don’t. The local authority makes them do them. Anything below 95% attendance triggers, they definitely don’t like you going below 90 😬

Mookie81 · 05/12/2023 22:08

MrsSkylerWhite · 05/12/2023 10:37

School’s are obsessed with attendance now, to the detriment of the poorly child and their classmates. Go to the meeting and challenge. She’s 5. Ours were constantly unwell in winter at that age. It all passed by around 7.

Schools aren't obsessed, the idiot government and Ofsted are obsessed and drag us through the mud for it.

Strictlymad · 05/12/2023 22:22

Emrie · 05/12/2023 20:19

I’d attend the meeting and ask why when absences were authorised you have been called in.
5 absences in 3 months does seem a lot tho.

my lg has had one day off in 2 years and that was due to her sister been in hospital.
when she had a bad cold was calpol and into school. I can’t just take the day off work and have her at home

It’s people like you who are the cause of my currently sitting next to my sons beside watching him being stuck with needles for the 7th time in 14 months. Please consider how your actions impact vulnerable children.

Strictlymad · 05/12/2023 22:23

HBZ287 · 05/12/2023 20:23

Maybe sending a child in dosed up on calpol when they have a bad cold is part of the problem, not the solution.

Exactly…

Mookie81 · 05/12/2023 22:25

ticktickticktickBOOM · 05/12/2023 18:01

Schools are wasting time on this obsession with high attendance.

Why they can't differentiate between neglected kids and actually unwell kids is what I want to know.

Bloody waste of everyone's time.

Why can't you use Google and differentiate between schools being forced to do this by the powers that be and choosing to do this crap? 🙄

RedToothBrush · 05/12/2023 22:30

HideTheCroissants · 05/12/2023 18:36

Thank you, we do use our brain cells but we have to follow policy which is NOT set by me, the head, or the governors but by the LEA (or senior leadership of the MAT) in order to satisfy Ofsted. Ofsted are shit but unfortunately their judgement is considered important by parents - so important that a judgement caused a head teacher to take her own life! There are also safeguarding considerations.
It’s “obvious a child has been ill” - isn’t always obvious. We’ve had children off with chickenpox who have then come to school full of all the fun they had at Centreparcs! When I was a child my school were happy to take my mothers word that I was very sickly and missed a lot of school, or that the doctor had said I was to be excused PE. In fact I was kept off school if the marks were showing outside my clothes and off PE if the marks would only be visible when changing for PE.
At one of our absence meetings we discovered that the mum was calling in sick for her child on days when she hadn’t been able to get the ONE set of school clothes they had dry overnight - we were able to help the family with more uniform, food bank vouchers and signposting to agencies who could help.
It’s about a duty of care to the child and where necessary providing support to the family.

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Not being funny, but NOT all schools do it in this exact fashion...

The fact there is a discrepancy between schools says enough for me.

Icanflyhigh · 05/12/2023 22:33

Am898 · 05/12/2023 10:43

She's 5 so I'm assuming she's compulsory school age. This is why I'm confused, every absence has been authorised. The teacher even said I hope she is feeling better soon.

She's not behind, parents evening 2 weeks ago they sang her praises so I don't think these sick days have knocked her behind at all

She becomes compulsory school age the term following her 5th birthday. So if she has turned 5 since September, she isn't of compulsory age until January.
Also if all of the absence is authorised, there's nothing they can do.

PollyPut · 05/12/2023 22:33

HBZ287 · 05/12/2023 10:32

What’s her attendance percentage? Just politely decline if you don’t feel it’s worth it. Sounds like they are doing a tick box exercise.

There have been about 11 weeks of term so far and she's had one week off so it's probably just above 90%.

PollyPut · 05/12/2023 22:38

Am898 · 05/12/2023 19:45

😂

I definitely don't keep my child off for the sake of it. I care for DM full time, I NEED her in school!

She had 2 continuous days off for a nasty bug with diarrhoea and vomiting. Today off for a high temp and earache, 2 separate days off previously 1 for a temp without being sick and another as she had been sick over the weekend so had to be off due to the 48h rule.. I'm definitely not keeping her off without trying to take her in, school authorised all these absences (even today's!) She's NEVER been late to school either

I'm going to email and ask if they can ring me if they feel it is a problem they really need to solve but I believe her absences are reasonable and authorised so I don't wish to attend a meeting

Don't tell them you don't wish to attend the meeting. This is really not a good way to go; you will be labelled awkward and it's not going to help your case.

In this situation I would email again and write a list of the dates and what each absence was for. If they really want a meeting I would show willing and go.

ReadingSoManyThreads · 05/12/2023 22:43

Emrie · 05/12/2023 20:19

I’d attend the meeting and ask why when absences were authorised you have been called in.
5 absences in 3 months does seem a lot tho.

my lg has had one day off in 2 years and that was due to her sister been in hospital.
when she had a bad cold was calpol and into school. I can’t just take the day off work and have her at home

Just curious as to why you had children when you don't want to care for them when they're ill? You won't lose your job from occasionally having to tend to your sick child.

Hereforaglance · 06/12/2023 02:11

If you have nothing to hide where is the problem in a meeting

PeloMom · 06/12/2023 05:08

Oh dear! My kid has spent about 15 odd days at home due to various bugs he picked up at school since September 🤦🏻‍♀️. Thankfully he isn’t 5 for another couple of months.

Peablockfeathers · 06/12/2023 05:35

HideTheCroissants · 05/12/2023 21:46

@Peablockfeathers You have (intentionally?) misunderstood that we WANTED to take the child off roll. We did NOT want that - the child loved being in school when they were able. That was suggested by the family to get the LEA off their back. They had no issue with us and we had no issue with them. The doctors had said he should be able to attend school as and when he felt able and for that reason the EHCP was refused (again NOT by us but by the LEA).

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The school should have highlighted the relevant policy to the LEA, it'shonedyly deplorable.

Geordiebabe85 · 06/12/2023 06:27

School age is the term AFTER turning 5. So if she was 5 3 weeks ago she doesn't need to be in school until January.

Hercisback · 06/12/2023 06:36

Not being funny, but NOT all schools do it in this exact fashion...

No schools have the exact same policy for every scenario. However the government has attendance targets and schools have to be shown to be doing something about low attendance.

School barely know this child and family, so it's right to set up a meeting and see if there is anything the school can do to support attendance. It might just be a run of bad luck re illness, or there might be something more going on. A face to face meeting means you can read body language too, over the phone this is harder.

OPs school are doing nothing out of the ordinary. They're proactively monitoring attendance. If just bad luck, then their attendance percentage should rise in the rest of the year, but schools don't know either way.

Attendance is important. Students with under 90% attendance score an average of one grade lower than those who are over 90%.

Emrie · 06/12/2023 07:01

I

Emrie · 06/12/2023 07:03

ReadingSoManyThreads · 05/12/2023 22:43

Just curious as to why you had children when you don't want to care for them when they're ill? You won't lose your job from occasionally having to tend to your sick child.

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would have to take the day as sick
3 occasions of sick n I am pulled into a attendance meeting
5 occasions n its disciplinary meeting with potential dismissal.
this isn’t per year but throughout the whole period of employment

Emrie · 06/12/2023 07:08

Strictlymad · 05/12/2023 22:22

It’s people like you who are the cause of my currently sitting next to my sons beside watching him being stuck with needles for the 7th time in 14 months. Please consider how your actions impact vulnerable children.

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Kids get around 12 colds a year. I can’t keep her off for a cold.
I have a friend whose child had cancer as a baby. I know she is immunosuppressed so we don’t see her when we have a cold etc.

ive done a overnight stay with a 8 month old with RSV so I no how it can impact kids.
im not saying they go with a temp of 39+

a runny nose is not a reason to stay at home.

a cough- I check their throat, Covid test them and if bad I’ll listen to their chest.
temp of 37-38 can be managed with calpol