Are schools asking for medical evidence now if child off school sick now?

[whatisgoingonandwhy]

Family I know had a teenage daughter reported as sick by parent. Parent said school turned up their door and took her into school even though dad had proof she had been seen by the GP. Is this normal practice?

Waiting times? People wait 6/7/8 hours plus for an ambulance no teachers are in school that long quicker to put them in a car and drive

There's an option on my school app to just report an absence without even having to call school, I can just log it on my phone. But I have noticed it says something like, absence reporting enabled. Suggesting other parents aren't allowed to do it that way, probably depending on their child's attendance record and/or things like if social services were involved.
To turn up to the house is quite extreme, I would guess the school don't trust your friend.

It's not a safeguarding concern.

There are 1000s of incidences of DC being in cars alone or in other places alone every day with DBS checked professionals. Social workers, youth offending workers, MH workers, drug workers, nurses, mentors, education workers..

It's completely normal practice.

I'm in Ireland. I'm not a truant officer or a teacher, but I do sometimes work with children. It has been drilled into me during training that you are never alone in a car with a child. It is simply not allowed. Even if the child is a friend of my kids, and I've given them a lift 100 times before, if this trip was to or from a work event, I couldn't do it myself on that occasion.

There's the difference. You're not a professional working with DC as part of your job and likely not DBS checked.

It was drilled into you because it's not part of your job or profession so it could be a safeguarding risk, you mentioning friends kids confirms it.

For people where it is part of their job, it's normal practice.

Did you not think social workers ferrying kids from placement to placement or any other professionally employed worker taking a kid out for bowling or to a hospital appointment or to pick up their stuff from home/FC placement. Did you think they aren't allowed to do that? Or that's a safeguarding risk?

Really?

What did you think would happen? they'd have to have another worker with them? or they just couldn't do it?

Firstly, yes, I do have the equivalent of a DBS check.

And yes, I would expect social workers etc to work in pairs in situations where children are being transported. Not for house visits where there are other adults present, or where dealing with groups of children, but as I said, one child in a car, no. It's protection for the adult

Of course this wouldn't happen after a day or two off sick.

It's children that are repeatedly absent due to neglectful parenting. And/or children on CP plans that are not safe at home and need to be seen to check they are okay.

Just curious... have you ever taken a child who then had to be collected from school because they were actually sick? Or subsequently was admitted to hospital? Has a child ever thrown up in your car? I've noticed they can sometimes seem fine one minute and start projectile vomiting the next...

Would you visit if a child was off for 9 weeks with, say, pneumonia? Or went in after time off for pneumonia, but were off again with a relapse after three days because the parents were being hassled to send them back? Do local authorities know the lungs take around four weeks to heal after pneumonia, sometimes more, during which time the patient is very vulnerable to infections?

Generally, it's the children (often ones who cannot take themselves to school) whose parents have shown a pattern of not getting their children into school.

Our high school is very very strict on attendance.

Our dd has an attendance of around 95% and we "have" to submit medical evidence every time she has an absence.

In practice we don't, as she is generally sent home from school as ill, so I refuse to bother the dr if school have already judged her too ill.

We have, however, had 2 welfare visits from school but we've refused to let them in.

Her behaviour at school is good (she is asked to peer mentor the younger years) and she is in top set for all subjects

I just wish they would spend their time on sorting out the bullying.

Never had anyone sick in my car or gone home ill after id taken them in. If a person was off sick long term (over a week) I would do a welfare check and call round.

Not the point, but teachers are in school for 8 hours a day. 8am - 4pm would be a very short day. 10 hours a day is more usual.

Yes. But I am a qualified nurse, all staff are insured and I am permitted to make the decision.
Any 999 call is recorded - if they are expecting me to wait with a student screaming in agony, then it’s not going to happen. In reality, the pupils we take to A&E are usually the ones who sustain a severe laceration and we meet the parents at A&E. Most parents can get to school within 30 minutes, so we wait for them and they take the student to A&E.

What counts as medical evidence?

This attitude by schools is such a drain on our health services. There's no medical evidence someone has a sickness bug or a virus or a migraine. Most reasons children are off don't require a GP or hospital visit or even prescription medication

Do they want a sample of a child's vomit? Do they want a GP to say "yes I witnessed this child having diahorrea"?

My ds4 has a lot of medical appointments and hospital stays. His attendance is 92% at the moment. We have to give the school evidence when he has an appointment but not for a bug/cold/headache (although he is very rarely off school with minor illnesses). We've never had a home visit but we have had a meeting with the head of pastoral care at school.

If the child is ill enough to need to see the GP, a slip have been given which shows the appointment time and whom with. If the school wants a private letter detailing the information they need to write to the GP practice with parents signed consent to shame medical info, and to pay a price commensurate with the GPs time and professionalism -"aw we're a school and very poor and cannae afford it and, and - gonnae do it for free for us?" - offity piss.

Excellent - if you call round and see how sick the child is, hopefully you'd be able to get the them seen faster by the GP! It's tricky because the GPs don't want to see you for a cough until you've had it for 3 weeks, when in reality if you have bacterial pneumonia you need antibiotics way before that. You're certainly not well enough to be in school, and even bacterial pneumonia can be contagious until you start the antibiotics 🤷‍♀️

Exactly. They started asking for GP note every time, so my very friendly (and cross with school) GP wrote a stinker of a letter to the CEO of the MAT. They now ask if "proof" that you've been to the pharmacy..... absolutely ridiculous.

After school has started you have six hours with students before the students go home even if the accident happens at 9am on the dot first lesson the chances of an ambulance are low before school closes and secondary school students are less likely to have a parent collect its easier to take the child to hospital and get a parent to switch you out