I always keep my dc off school with a sore throat

[Responsiveness]

Just reading latest government guidance regarding attendance- parents are being told to send children in even with a cough, cold symptoms or sore throat ? (But not to send with any symptoms of scarlet fever or chicken pox yet often a sore throat is a symptom of both these illnesses 🤦‍♀️)

I always keep mine off with sore throats ? They can be really painful even without a fever. I will continue to do so as well!

I can understand sending a child in with a tickly cough or runny nose etc but sore throats can be horrible not to mention for some dc with SEN especially ASD the sensory aspect of something like a sore throat and how it impacts eating and drinking / sound of voice/ the cold air in winter making it feel raw etc (my ds has ASD and has these issues every time)

AIBU to think that this latest advice isn’t going to help anyone ? It will just be kids in school feeling too unwell and distracted to learn or spreading germs !

I don't have kids, but there are many different levels of 'sore throat'. A slightly sore throat due to a cold is one thing, and probably something that wouldn't stop someone being fine at work/school. But a horrible sore throat where it's agony to swallow and you've got spots all over your tonsils etc isn't something I'd ever expect a child to have to go to school with.

Agreed.

It's no surprise your children's attendance is what it is.

No wonder all three of your kids (coincidentally) have extreme sore throats when they have a normal seasonal illness that doesn't inhibit them from going to school, because it guarantees them a day off or two every couple of weeks.

Winner for them!

Or they could just be unusually affected by Illnesses…… they aren’t faking - they aren’t exaggerating- they love school (and they love food!) so I know when they are genuinely ill as they get upset they can’t go and are upset they can’t manage to eat

If it was one child who unusually suffers it would be more believable but what are the chances that all of them do.

I don't think its them though I think its you keeping them off with slight illnesses because you can.. because you're home.

Well they are obviously siblings so share genetics ! Things run in families !

I kept them off the same amount when I was in work (that’s why I ended up unable to work) I haven’t changed my thresholds based on my own circumstances I’m doing the same I always did

what are the doctors saying about their health? e.g. Are they suggesting taking their tonsils out to improve attendance?

There has to be a clinical need for tonsil removal they wouldn’t just do it for attendance issues. I asked about it and was told it’s viral and although their throats get extremely red and sore their tonsils aren’t that enlarged and there isn’t always pus and when there is it’s not severe so they dont feel it’s necessary to refer. The gp keeps reassuring us that some kids just take longer to build their immune systems and they aren’t concerned. A year or so ago they checked bloods and was all normal so it’s just one of those things. I was similar up till about age 16 just constantly unwell

Not sure if this is helpful, but my GP kept fobbing me off with the immune system line (vomiting for us) and I recorded it clearly in a diary. Seeing the marks on the pages suddenly made the GP think it was too often too and he investigated further. It turned out to be the prophylaxis antibiotics my son was on at the time. I’d push for further investigation if it’s genuinely bad enough to miss school and goes on for all three children for more than a year.

Honestly - a child missing more than 20% of school should have you seriously concerned about their health and insisting on the GP getting further checks done.

If the doctor isn't doing anything, its perhaps that they are recognising that your DC aren't really as ill as you think they are. A child genuinely presenting as too ill to attend school one day in every 5 would have most doctors very concerned.

I work in primary and parents don’t seem to keep kids off at all anymore. They lie about when children are sick( they forget that little chn can’t keep secrets and tell us ) so they don’t stick to 48 hrs after last episode of vomiting or diarrhoea. Currently most year 1s are coughing , have sore throats or snotty noses.

As for those saying they keep them off with a temperature, ours get given Calpol to mask it!

That's a fair point. With my autistic DD one of the issues is due to her sensory additional needs she cannot tolerate any type of medicine/tablet/spray. She had a nasty cold and was off for 4 days. The first couple of days she had a fever. She would have probably been able to go back quicker if I could give her paracetamol and throat sweets for example.

I’m not sure I’d keep my children off with a sore throat, but my school want you to send them in even with a high temp. Absolutely no way, I wouldn’t go into work with a temp, I certainly wouldn’t expect a child to deal with a day at school 🙄

But to answer the question I make a judgement call if she's ill no matter the symptoms as to if she's well enough to go in as things can vary in severity.

To be honest the type of sore throat that you just need a drink or to rest your voice, I wouldn't even call that a sore throat really. A sore throat to me is red raw and very painful. Affects eating and drinking and often comes with a fever.

If only it was so easy with a DC with additional needs!

I think the trouble is the attendance officer doesn't always agree!

But it’s not one in every 5 days - 3 significant bouts of unrelated things is perfectly normal in primary kids, especially in the younger years. D&V easily 5 days, could easily pick up scarlet fever/HFM/chickenpox and also a really bad cold/tonsillitis.

That alone is 10-15 days without blinking. My older son is 10 now and finally his immune system has sorted its shit out but this was my life every winter for about 8 years.

I had 5 hospital visits for croup with the in 18 months with the youngest - consultant told me that’s it’s shitty luck but normal.

These stupid 1/5 or 1/10 days as a description is not accurate - it’s a purposeful way of making it sound like we are keeping kids off a day a week because we’re feckless or lazy and can’t get our kid to school.

I’m bloody sick of it to be honest. ‘Persistently absent’ should have a definition which excludes illness.

DD recently got up, dressed and came downstairs and was promptly sick all down her jumper!

But equally for many parents without DC with additional needs it's not a big deal to send them in with a few throat sweets etc, but when your DC do have additional need it can become an utter nightmare. It was so bad for OP she actually had to give up work!

She hasn't said that. She's explained how unwell her DC get and their additional needs contribute to that. It was so difficult she had to give up work. It is not always so easy to 'just send them in' when they have additional needs!

Or in this case a parent had to give up work because the DC were so unwell.

Funnily enough, some DC actually like school.