School absence rules are super powering the spread of flu

[Pavementworrier]

And people will die unnecessarily as a result and it's really annoying

Why the hell can't there be a rule that kids with flu or suspected flu (at least during peak flu season) don't have absences counted??

My youngest school have had at least 6 teachers off over the last two weeks one of which has actually with the classic Mumsnet twinkly laugh says she was the one who brang it into school and wiped her out couldn’t get out of bed for four days.

children and teachers walking around carrying sick bags 🤢

Flu is not like having a cold or little sniffle. It is a serious illness makes you feel like absolute shut for at least a week, but usually much longer. Most people have never had flu.

Rest assured that your OP did not have flu yesterday and he certainly does not need to stay home forever...

It was a Friday actually lol,school is 5 minutes away,I have no reason not to take him in,I think a lot of children are catching more bugs/illnesses due to the long terms before Christmas.

Then you wouldn’t know they had flu?
Are we suggesting keeping kids off for a sniffle?! The education system would collapse.

@FloralHighNotes nope not true. We have all just had it - DS had 8 days off and I was pretty close still battling the exhaustion. My parents (vaccinated) mum was worse than Dad. DH had one day off DD two days

that is why nothing helps the spread Covid showed that!

@Winteriscoming80 why did the school do that for 1 day

Your husband and daughter didn't have flu.

The test kits we ordered and used said otherwise

also DD is still suffering her voice hasn’t come back (can’t sing) throat hurts and coughs she just managed to make it back to sixth form

@FloralHighNotes flu can also be asymptomatic it is part of how it manages to spread and travel

I don’t get why you are so adamant it has to only be a serious illness?

Wrong.

Not true.

You can be asymptomatic with flu or have very minimal symptoms

Punishing? Who is punishing children or being sick?

I am SO sick of these idiotic rage baits. Super classless.

How many times? 🤦🏻‍♀️ It is possible to have MILD flu.

So we should just keep kids off school ‘just in case’ they have it, even if they feel perfectly well?

Is OP a lil school child hacking into mommy's mn account posting this puerile nonsense while off school with sniffles?

This. Shall we just go the whole hog and go into lockdown ?

Counted for what? The schools I know would count being absent due to flu as an authorised absence so it won't count adversely for anything. What schools punish children for being off with flu?

Yes, it will contribute to their attendance percentage, but a child could have a whole two weeks off due to flu and still be at 95% attendance. It would only bring their attendance to a concerning level if they're having time off for other reasons too - which should be looked into. Children obviously shouldn't be taking time off for holidays and even more so if they've missed two weeks off schooling due to illness - their parents should realise they will need all the time possible in school then to make up for what they missed.

If they're missing more school due to further illness then, whilst if it's genuine it shouldn't result in any kind of adverse consequences, it should be looked into because it could be an indicator of neglect etc.

She didn’t say that. Or anything close to that. It’s just a fact that flu can be mild. And it’s annoying when people continue to (incorrectly) insist that if you are capable of even weakly lifting your head off the pillow there is no way you could have “proper” flu.

Accepting what you say about flu coming in all different guises, I have reverted to the thrust of the thread. If you don’t know someone has flu, it’s hard to expect them to segregate to avoid spreading it. And if someone feels fine, you can’t know they have flu. Unlike COVID, there’s no ‘test’.

@EatingHealthy maybe it would by the end but DS has had a 2 day illness last half term and 8 days with this and his attendance is at 83% so yes at a concerning amount and one you get a letter

Well there is a test. You can buy it at boots.

But I’d agree that there’s no need to keep mildly ill children off school. I think only the OP has suggested it really.

Exactly. It's not a binary choice between lockdown and making obviously idiotic claims about flu.

I just didn’t send me kid when he had it. He was poorly

that's awful. as if it isn't hard enough having a chronically ill child. I hope she's on the mend soon

A letter you can chuck in the bin though. I wouldn’t keep my child off unless she was too ill to go in, and if that authorised absence brought her attendance down, I really wouldn’t care. Especially if it was a letter generated by a system that is unable to take into account how far through the term you are - 2 days off in week 1 puts you immediately at 60%, but it’s clearly not remotely a problem.
60% attendance by the end of the year would be a problem, but it would mainly be one I’d be taking to the GP to find out why my child was ill so often (unless there was a medical cause that I knew about already).

It is quite shocking how many people have absolutely no understanding of the science behind disease, no understanding how viruses work, etc and make very sweeping statements based on complete ignorance.

The influenza virus is not like the Ebola virus. It doesn’t wipe out everyone infected - that is why it spreads so effectively. Many people will feel terrible but will still go to work, school etc. Similar to Covid. Some people get very ill.

so if it's normal to have days of whenever you fancy, why do you think parents are forced to send in ill kids?