Page 5 | To ask what you think to attendance assemblies

Sunshine193 · 2025-07-22T15:32:29+00:00

DD school did certificates in assembly for those with 100 % attendance. And they all got a £10 voucher too. What do you think to this? Heard some parents complaining about it to each other

Screamingabdabz · 22/07/2025 20:21

It’s like the Bible story where Jesus recognises that the poor old woman’s low value coin is worth far more than the generous offerings of the rich temple goers. She gave all she had.

The quiet resilience of some of the 99% kids or even the 75% kids won’t be truly measured by this pathetic system. There might have been circumstances that they really pushed through despite the odds, but still have to sit there watching other children, who may have had none of their private battles, walk off with a tenner.

A good school would take the time to make it a place where children want to be there as much as they can. Shit schools make no effort beyond handing out £10 vouchers at the end of the year.

Hai2012 · 22/07/2025 20:26

Vivienne1000 · 22/07/2025 20:02

As are rewarding those pupils who strive day in day out.
come and work in a school if you are such an expert.

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Reasonable adjustments are a legal requirement

"Reasonable adjustments in schools are changes made to ensure disabled pupils can participate in education on an equal footing with their non-disabled peers. These adjustments are a legal requirement under the Equality Act 2010, specifically addressing situations where a school's policies, practices, or physical environment put a disabled student at a substantial disadvantage. The duty to make reasonable adjustments is anticipatory, meaning schools should proactively consider potential disadvantages and plan adjustments accordingly"

100% attendance certificates are not a legal requirement.

Vivienne1000 · 22/07/2025 20:28

DrCoconut · 22/07/2025 20:17

It's not impressive if they've brought their germs to school and made others ill. That's just irresponsible on the part of their parents.

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That’s parents for you.
Then they turn their phones off

Whatshesaid96 · 22/07/2025 20:31

I'm not sure that our primary school actually reward 100% attendance. I always had a hospital appointment every six months as a kid. So aside from these I was at 100%. It always felt horrible watching kids collect these certificates knowing I'd never get one because I had a disability that had to be regularly looked at.

TheRoundestRobin · 22/07/2025 20:31

They're an utterly crock of shit, endorsed only by crap HTs. My cousin's child was diagnosed in yr 1 with a terminal brain tumour. Still struggled in as often as possible, she'd be having seizures in school, lost control of her right hand so couldn't even write, but she kept coming in whenever she could, even though it was really fucking hard for her.
It's really crap for a 6 year old to know that she's going to die. Really scary and confusing. So she sat through the bloody assembly at the end of year 1, with her 40-odd% attendance, feeling like she had failed because she was literally dying. And then over the summer, she died. Her coming in at all that year was a complete waste of the last months of her life, but her parents were trying to "do the right thing". And did the school acknowledge it? Did they fuck.
I hope that assembly was worth it to the stupid HT and all the smug parents of healthy children.

Spies · 22/07/2025 20:33

TheRoundestRobin · 22/07/2025 20:31

They're an utterly crock of shit, endorsed only by crap HTs. My cousin's child was diagnosed in yr 1 with a terminal brain tumour. Still struggled in as often as possible, she'd be having seizures in school, lost control of her right hand so couldn't even write, but she kept coming in whenever she could, even though it was really fucking hard for her.
It's really crap for a 6 year old to know that she's going to die. Really scary and confusing. So she sat through the bloody assembly at the end of year 1, with her 40-odd% attendance, feeling like she had failed because she was literally dying. And then over the summer, she died. Her coming in at all that year was a complete waste of the last months of her life, but her parents were trying to "do the right thing". And did the school acknowledge it? Did they fuck.
I hope that assembly was worth it to the stupid HT and all the smug parents of healthy children.

Really puts it into perspective doesn't it. 💐 I'm so sorry for your cousin's daughter, six is no age at all. 😥

Vivienne1000 · 22/07/2025 20:34

Hai2012 · 22/07/2025 20:26

Reasonable adjustments are a legal requirement

"Reasonable adjustments in schools are changes made to ensure disabled pupils can participate in education on an equal footing with their non-disabled peers. These adjustments are a legal requirement under the Equality Act 2010, specifically addressing situations where a school's policies, practices, or physical environment put a disabled student at a substantial disadvantage. The duty to make reasonable adjustments is anticipatory, meaning schools should proactively consider potential disadvantages and plan adjustments accordingly"

100% attendance certificates are not a legal requirement.

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Where did anyone say it was a legal requirement.
its just recognising some pupils efforts. Thats all. It’s not a big deal. And if you are not happy with your school, there are plenty of others to choose from. Our school is way over subscribed, it can’t be all bad. I get pupils who beg me not to send them home, they want 100% attendance. Others get out of the car, come straight to me and tell me they are sick and they need to go home. Then when I say their parents have only just dropped them off, they look at me as though I am an alien.

HarrietBond · 22/07/2025 20:37

TheRoundestRobin · 22/07/2025 20:31

They're an utterly crock of shit, endorsed only by crap HTs. My cousin's child was diagnosed in yr 1 with a terminal brain tumour. Still struggled in as often as possible, she'd be having seizures in school, lost control of her right hand so couldn't even write, but she kept coming in whenever she could, even though it was really fucking hard for her.
It's really crap for a 6 year old to know that she's going to die. Really scary and confusing. So she sat through the bloody assembly at the end of year 1, with her 40-odd% attendance, feeling like she had failed because she was literally dying. And then over the summer, she died. Her coming in at all that year was a complete waste of the last months of her life, but her parents were trying to "do the right thing". And did the school acknowledge it? Did they fuck.
I hope that assembly was worth it to the stupid HT and all the smug parents of healthy children.

I’m so very sorry. Unfortunately this is something that isn’t as rare as it should be.

ARichtGoodDram · 22/07/2025 21:15

As are rewarding those pupils who strive day in day out.
come and work in a school if you are such an expert.

Attendance awards are reasonable adjustments? You make no sense with that whatsoever. Two totally different things entirely.

And I worked in schools for 20+ years.

Talipesmum · 22/07/2025 21:16

Vivienne1000 · 22/07/2025 20:02

As are rewarding those pupils who strive day in day out.
come and work in a school if you are such an expert.

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Our school has awards and celebrations for attitude to learning and effort. That’s worth celebrating. Not attendance.

ARichtGoodDram · 22/07/2025 21:17

We don’t actually give them out like Op has said, but they get reward points. We also reward for no unauthorised absences, a very different thing. This means that even if you are at school for 50% of the time, if your absences are authorised you are no way penalised.

So you defend 100% attendance awards even though the SLT at the school you work in clearly doesn't agree with them, hence their adjustments...

Fifthtimelucky · 22/07/2025 21:27

My daughter’s school (she is a teacher) gives rewards for good attendance but it is only unauthorised absence that counts against pupils. Those who are away because of illness are not penalised.

JazbayGrapes · 22/07/2025 23:08

If my kid got one I'd be in the awkward position of having to piss on her parade explaining that it's nothing to be proud of because people cant help XYZ barriers for not getting one and not being ill isn't prizeworthy, nor does it praise her capability

What a depressing attitude. What do you think your child will pick up from this? Then don't act surprised that they start pulling sickies whenever they don't feel like going. Because full attendance is not worth even a token recognition to you.

Do you feel the same about sports or academic awards? Because other children also have XYZ barriers for not getting them.

Hai2012 · 22/07/2025 23:42

. When I pointed out the "rewards" you stated were just reasonable adjustments.
You said attendance awards were reasonable adjustments

Reasonable adjustments are a legal requirement so that no child is disadvantaged due to a disability or protected factor.

Attendance awards are not a reasonable adjustment.

Isitreallysohard · 22/07/2025 23:43

hyggetyggedotorg · 22/07/2025 16:46

A certificate is fine but rewarding children for not being ill always seems unfair on those who have the misfortune not to have perfect health.

I’d personally prefer school awards to be kept to things like effort & achievement.

I agree, although I guess the point of them is because so many are absent unnecessarily

Isitreallysohard · 22/07/2025 23:45

Talipesmum · 22/07/2025 21:16

Our school has awards and celebrations for attitude to learning and effort. That’s worth celebrating. Not attendance.

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Attendance is worth celebrating, there are many mornings I wake up and don't want to get out of bed but I do it anyway. Attendance is a fundamental building block of life, and given so many on here don't realise that is quite disturbing. What kind of message do you send your children. Life can be hard, so sometimes you need to dig deep.

ARichtGoodDram · 22/07/2025 23:54

Attendance is worth celebrating, there are many mornings I wake up and don't want to get out of bed but I do it anyway. Attendance is a fundamental building block of life, and given so many on here don't realise that is quite disturbing. What kind of message do you send your children. Life can be hard, so sometimes you need to dig deep.

Effort is worth celebrating. That's not the same as attendance.

People who dig deep through disability and long term illness and end up with 50/60/70% attendance often work harder for that attendance than someone who gets through the year with no illness.

I had that exact scenario with my DDs. One rolled out of bed, got to school just on time and managed to dodge illness all year. 100% attendance. In one school locally that would have meant a trip to a theme park...

Her twin drags herself out of bed every single day. Takes umpteen medications just to get through each day. Dragged herself to school every single day that she was capable, and on a few that she really shouldn't have. 65% attendance and threats of fines...

JazbayGrapes · 23/07/2025 00:01

Dragged herself to school every single day that she was capable, and on a few that she really shouldn't have. 65% attendance and threats of fines...

Threats of fines are surely a much bigger problem than awards. Because that's the actual punishment

Isitreallysohard · 23/07/2025 00:09

ARichtGoodDram · 22/07/2025 23:54

Attendance is worth celebrating, there are many mornings I wake up and don't want to get out of bed but I do it anyway. Attendance is a fundamental building block of life, and given so many on here don't realise that is quite disturbing. What kind of message do you send your children. Life can be hard, so sometimes you need to dig deep.

Effort is worth celebrating. That's not the same as attendance.

People who dig deep through disability and long term illness and end up with 50/60/70% attendance often work harder for that attendance than someone who gets through the year with no illness.

I had that exact scenario with my DDs. One rolled out of bed, got to school just on time and managed to dodge illness all year. 100% attendance. In one school locally that would have meant a trip to a theme park...

Her twin drags herself out of bed every single day. Takes umpteen medications just to get through each day. Dragged herself to school every single day that she was capable, and on a few that she really shouldn't have. 65% attendance and threats of fines...

Yes but that's a legitimate reason. Now there is a culture of non-attendance mostly due to parents who don't care, and why schools do give out fines now. If so many people weren't so useless, it wouldn't even be a thing.

Talipesmum · 23/07/2025 00:10

JazbayGrapes · 22/07/2025 23:08

If my kid got one I'd be in the awkward position of having to piss on her parade explaining that it's nothing to be proud of because people cant help XYZ barriers for not getting one and not being ill isn't prizeworthy, nor does it praise her capability

What a depressing attitude. What do you think your child will pick up from this? Then don't act surprised that they start pulling sickies whenever they don't feel like going. Because full attendance is not worth even a token recognition to you.

Do you feel the same about sports or academic awards? Because other children also have XYZ barriers for not getting them.

Perhaps if academic awards were only given for students who never got a single answer wrong, it would be comparable.

Many years ago the school my kids went to did the attendance awards crap. We said exactly the same to our kids. They didn’t learn to “pull sickies”. Plenty of ways to reward effort, resilience and hard work without deciding that correlates perfectly to not just having good attendance, but having a totally and flukily unsullied perfect record of attendance. In what world is “never got ill at all this year” a particularly praiseworthy thing? How is the student who stayed off with a temp of 40 or had to go to the hospital for a day less resilient and trying less hard than the one that didn’t that year? It’s such rubbish.

PreciousTatas · 23/07/2025 00:12

What I think of them is that they are complete disablist bullshit, and that within ten years we will be horrified they were ever a thing.

Talipesmum · 23/07/2025 00:14

Isitreallysohard · 22/07/2025 23:45

Attendance is worth celebrating, there are many mornings I wake up and don't want to get out of bed but I do it anyway. Attendance is a fundamental building block of life, and given so many on here don't realise that is quite disturbing. What kind of message do you send your children. Life can be hard, so sometimes you need to dig deep.

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Do you take yourself into work if you’ve been vomiting all night with an infectious bug? Would you, if it happened?

Talipesmum · 23/07/2025 00:16

Fifthtimelucky · 22/07/2025 21:27

My daughter’s school (she is a teacher) gives rewards for good attendance but it is only unauthorised absence that counts against pupils. Those who are away because of illness are not penalised.

This makes a lot more sense.

ARichtGoodDram · 23/07/2025 00:16

Yes but that's a legitimate reason. Now there is a culture of non-attendance mostly due to parents who don't care, and why schools do give out fines now. If so many people weren't so useless, it wouldn't even be a thing.

Yes, and dealing with the parents for unnecessary or neglectful non attendance is how it should be dealt with.

Attendance awards have been a thing for donkeys years - they're not new because of a change in parents. They're a lazy throwback to when it was perfectly acceptable to discriminate against children with health issues, disabilities or neglectful parents. Thankfully most schools have moved past that and reward effort rather than attendance stats.

Isitreallysohard · 23/07/2025 00:17

Talipesmum · 23/07/2025 00:14

Do you take yourself into work if you’ve been vomiting all night with an infectious bug? Would you, if it happened?

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Of course not, but I don't really get why it's even such a big deal. You get one, great. You don't, ok. What's with the outrage. Ita not like you're going to berate your child for being sick 🤨