To be annoyed over school attendance letter

[constantlylactating]

Just had an email from DS5's school regarding his attendance. It has dipped to 94.5% and so they are warning me that if it doesn't improve in the next 4 weeks then it will be taken further.

I do understand why they have to issue these, but they have marked him absent on occasions when he has had a 9am dentist appointment, but gone in straight after. Also his last absence was two days because they sent him home after he caught a vomiting bug from another student, and had to stay home for 48 hours.

What am I supposed to do if he gets ill again in the next 4 weeks? (Perfectly possible). Am I expected to just send him in? Or keep him off and have it 'taken further'.

I'm so annoyed I think because it feels so heavy handed when there obviously reasons that they are aware of.

I’d call or go in to see the school secretary and explain exactly what you’ve said here.

Right if he gets another vomiting bug in the next 4 weeks I will send him in, and quote your reply

You could ask for a later in the day appointment, after school? Half term, holidays?

At my dentist,you get an automatic appointment, once a year, and if you do not attend you get struck off and if you want to change it they give you one for six months time.

My son is disabled and although he normally stays above 95% I once got one of these letters after a couple of hospital stays. I’d have happily wiped my arse with it. It went straight in the bin but not before emailing the LA department effectively telling them they can piss off and leave my son alone and that they are bullies in their approach. Why do they have to word it in such a threatening tone? They’re fucking vultures pecking at people going through enough already. We MUST kick back and say how this is unacceptable

Speak to the school if it happens. That’s a low attendance rate, more than a 2 day bug, so it triggers a letter but each child will be assessed individually.
low attendance may mean others things - like the family is struggling for some reason and needs support.

Or you can ring the school and tell them he has a vomiting bug, like a grown up would do. And mention that you know this will affect his attendance % but that you’re happy to discuss with the school.

The whole attendance issue needs common sense! My daughter has had a run of bad luck with one thing after another. She wasn't feeling well on Monday and asked the teacher could she go
To The office so they could ring me to pick her up. The teacher then looked at her attendance figures (95% should be aiming for 97%) and said no your attendance is not great!

She told me this at home not feeling well after school- I'm Sorry but if a child isn't well they arnt well! They shouldn't be looking at Attendance figures on whether a poorly child could go home or not!

Took her to the doctor she has flu

Whether you are well or not is down to pure luck!

He's just been very unlucky. It was two separate sickness bugs, both needing 48 hours clear each time (both times caught from a classmate, both times sent home from school) and one time where they sent him home with a 'stiff neck', I took him to the GP, his temperature was 40.2, they told me to keep him off until the temperature came down, and they investigated him for meningitis. Luckily it wasn't, but he was still quite poorly and on antibiotics. It took 2 days for his temperature to come back down.

None of those were times when I made the decision myself to keep him off, and each time, the school themselves sent him home. Like I said, he has been very unlucky - all of this has been since they returned after Christmas.

I did email the school, to ask for advice on how we could manage this, if they could reassure me around the children's hand hygiene in school etc. I had a vague reply back that just said if he is ill, to keep him off school - which isn't very helpful.

And at drop off this morning, I heard from another mum that they were openly discussing my email in reception yesterday while she was waiting in there, and she overheard their entire conversation. Great confidentiality there!

Or you could be a decent parent and keep your child in bed if they are too ill to attend school ..ring school and explain. What school would want a child full of germs on the premises, possibly puking or worse?!