To send my children to school today even though they are unwell and clearly contagious

[sicknotez]

They both have nasty coughs/colds. I know that the best thing for them would be rest (and their inhalers). I know they are clearly contagious.

But under the new rules as I understand I would need a doctor's note or it would be unauthorised absence? And it doesn't seem right to waste a stretched doctors time with this when they don't need anything prescribing.

So I guess I send them into school and wait for school to send them home and in the meantime they will infect their teachers and classmates?

It seems like a stupid new system to me.

They both have chronic conditions so it's likely they will need quite a number of days off in the year. Despite this they are both steaming along in top sets. They love learning and hate missing school and would happily do work at home when ill if teachers sent them some

No. Code I: illness is authorised absence.

Is that not a generic letter sent to all families ?
Incidentally why would a child with diabetes need have more time off?, my son was diagnosed last year whilst he was extremely unwell in DKA on diagnosis
18 months,on he manages it well

But school want a doctor's note to evidence it and that's an utter waste of a GPs time

You can't get sick notes until you have been ill for a week anyway and good luck with getting an appointment too.

Quite and I think they have more important ways to spend their time

@sicknotez Well more fool them. Absolutely ludicrous to make poorly children who won't learn while feeling ill, go into school, infect others etc. My niece is a vulnerable child with a life long medical condition. I'd be livid if she was put in danger so that somebody could get a certificate!

Good luck getting a doctors note for a school kid. My kids school has had these rules in place since they've been going to secondary and the GPs apparently don't issue fit notes for school children.

Honestly, if you think they need to be off, keep them off and just fight your case with the school and LA if they send you a snarky letter, especially, like mine, and they're never usually absent.

I haven’t got the guidance in front of me but our school guidance says 5 unauthorised days in any 10 week period could trigger a fine. So not consecutive but not over a whole year either. Maybe that’s from the national policy?

had to check last night as DD, who was meant to start Reception this morning, vomited everywhere yesterday afternoon. So that’s the very first 2 days of school absent already and already on the shit list..

She's been battling to get it under control and every cold etc she gets makes her very unwell.

Believe it or not everyone with the same health condition doesn't experience it in precisely the same way

Surely you'd put your children's wellbeing above a potential fine, which you a) may not receive and b) can appeal.

Just as an aside a ‘sick note’ is actually a form for statutory sick pay and is a formal document for those in employment. So it’s nothing to do with children at school.
The school might ask for a doctors note but this would be an individual policy and would be non- statutory work for the GP. So then would be free to decline or charge to do it. That argument is between the school and the GP….

Surely you got the same letter as every other child in the school? They just didn't give you a special one.

The way I read the guidelines from our school were:

If a child's parent phones in to report sickness (daily) its authorized. If t goes on over 5 days (a holiday length of time) they may ask for proof (doctors note) or if there is a patten, or unusually high level of absence then individual cases will be reviewed, and action may be taken.

Which I think is good, as if I need support getting my children into school I want the school to be aware of the situation in proactive in helping. I want them to investigate the kid down the road who's mum cant be bothered to take her in, or the boy who has perfect health but seems to be off school sick every other week and sometimes comes in malnourished or with bruises.

Yep, its a pain that those of us doing their best have to jump a few hoops and feel like we are being monitored, but I can live with that if the kids that need the school to keep a close eye are helped out.

School's have no statutory role grading the severity of a child's symptoms!

Are you sure that doesn't mean 5 consecutive days?

Sorry for rogue apostrophes this morning.

It is an utterly ludicrous system that stretches and already overstretched NHS.

DS was ill Friday in his first week of year 7 and luckily for us it was
a urine infection so doctors appt and antibiotics but I did speak to the attendance officer (DS can have school based anxiety) and told her if he is ill I will say if it is anxiety I will say that and she agreed because we need to see if there is a pattern and how to work through it which was sensible

we don’t expect adults to go in when feeling bad so why kids

This amount of misinformation from schools on this is unbelievable.

Oh I've had this exact argument when my son was sick and on the FIRST day he was off, they issued the passive aggressive letter. My son caught a virus that lead to a bacterial infection from a sick child from school and he isn't medical vulnerable and they couldn't answer me when I asked about their duty of care to medically vulnerable children if they insist that contagious children are to be sent into school sick. They don't even care.

You’re the parent.
Do what is best for your children, ignore any potential fines.
If you’re worried, keep a brief diary of their symptoms in case you are faced with fines later in the year.

Pressed IABU by mistake

could you ask the doctor for a general letter stating that if they're unwell with a respiratory infection and their peak flow is below x they need to rest at home, then on days when they have a bad cough you could keep a record of what their peak flow reading is?

I doubt the school is going to go after you for their attendance, I think it's aimed at stopping people just deciding not to send their kids in.

365. Schools are not expected to routinely request that parents provide medical evidence to support illness absences. Schools should only request reasonable medical evidence in cases where they need clarification to accurately record absence in the attendance register – i.e. making a decision that code I is the absence code that accurately describes the reason the pupil is not in school for the session in question. In the majority of cases a parent’s notification that their child is too ill to attend school will be that evidence and can be accepted without question or concern. Only where the school has genuine and reasonable doubt about the authenticity of the illness should medical evidence be requested to support the absence.
366. Where medical evidence is deemed necessary, schools should not be rigid about the form of evidence requested and should speak to the family about what evidence is available. Schools should be mindful that requesting additional medical evidence unnecessarily places pressure on health professionals, their staff and their appointment system, particularly if the illness is one that does not require treatment by a health professional. Where a parent cannot provide evidence in the form requested but can provide other evidence, schools should take this into account. Where a parent cannot provide any written evidence the school should have a conversation with the parent and pupil, if appropriate, which may in itself serve as the necessary evidence to record the absence.
367. This code is classified for statistical purposes as authorised absence.

As a GP, if I was asked for a sick note for a child who’d been ill for one day, because of school requirements, I would be writing a very stern letter to the school. That’s not my job, and I simply wouldn’t do it. Fair enough after a week (and to be honest a child who was still too unwell to return to school after a week would need to see a doctor anyway), but after a couple of days - no way.

However, OP I think there must be a backstory here. Either you have misunderstood the rules from your school, or your kids have a history of significantly excessive time off. If they have chronic diseases that cause more frequent illness, then it’s worth getting a letter from their consultants stating that.

Take a video clip of them snotting/coughing?

This is very “just following orders”
These are your small children. Surely you do what’s best for them and what they need you to do rather than sigh and say “well the government says you need to go in, so…..”
Very passive and you seem to be lacking in some sort of maternal instinct here. Take your power back. These are your children and you know what’s best for them.