Am I being unreasonable

[Yeahwhatever]

Am I being unreasonable to disagree with school giving reward certificates to children for 100% attendance while making no allowance for periods of sickness absence?

In my youngest ds's primary school, which year has managed 100% attendance for a day, a week etc, gets a mention in the monthly newsletter.

They also have a board outside the school office with a big display of stars, well done banners etc and pictures of individuals who have managed 100% attendance.

I was thinking of asking for autographs!

But yet children who learn their phonics, recognise letters and capital letters, get a certificate placed in their book bag, like its no big deal.

100% attendance seems to be more like a competition for the mums, than the kids, afterall the kids dont get themselves to school.

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In dd's junior school there was a similar system to Pitchounette's: the table with the best attendance record got a reward. All that resulted in was that nobody wanted dd on their table because she has chronic health issues and needs frequent hospital appointments. So the only lesson learnt by the children is that anyone with a less than perfect body is a liability to be avoided like the plague. Never mind that dd actually worked harder and got better results than most of them.

I know someone who worked in the school office. She used to bring her DD in ill, get her registered and then get someone to take her home. For the poxy certificate.

Ds's attendance this term has been 78%, despite giving the school copies of hospital appointment letters and treatment, they want to know what i am going to do to improve this. Erm not have ds stay in hospital over night and not attend hospital appointments, what the hell are you suppose to do!

It's not meant to penalise children who are sick. It's meant to encourage those whose parents don't care enough to ensure that pupils attend regularly. Can't you all just take it as a positive? That is might be helping the education of other children?

DS#1s secondary school has solved most of it's myriad problems - but the one they are still struggling to deal with is attendance - too many kids playing hookey. So they have certificates and they have a prize (a bike) this year for the child with the best attendance record. DS#1 hasn't won it as he has had a few days off but I don't care. Neither does he. Good luck to them I say.

It isn't about the parents though, is it OrmIrian? it's the children who suffer from it, as shown in several posts. So maybe it isn't meant to penalise ill children, but that seems to be happening, so how is it positive?

Indeed. But what else can you do? if the children are motivated to come in perhaps they can influence their parents too. And of course there are those kids who don't really want to go in and whose parents don't make them.

Messages sometimes a bit inconsistent - my DS's school has a laptop as reward for 100% attendance over a child's school career (believe it or not, these do get won). If any class has full attendance in a particular week, the class gets to wear their own clothes for a day, which is more achievable reward. On the other hand there's a huge message to parents on the web site warning them not to send sick children to school ....but I supppose you could look on this as an attempt to keep overall attendance up by making sure sick kids don't infect everyone else.

On the whole I support this approach - it's a shame for sick children, but more important to keep them home if they are genuinely sick, at least you will be doing your bit for the whole school record.

Just saw claw3's post and have to agree - why not make just as big a fuss of children's personal academic achievements as over attendance?

Yes with Star of the Week at our DCs school the parents are less pleased with their DCs getting it than we used to be as we have now all worked out they are usually awarded thus: "Well done, Biffa, you haven't punched anyone for three WHOLE DAYS!"

The sad thing is that children with disabilities will never be in with a chance of winning these awards ie laptops, bikes, name up in lights on a well done attendance board. All they can manage is a certificate which is unceremonious placed in their book bag.

I do not have a problem with children being rewarded for good attendance, but recognise others and their own personal achievements too.

Child not at primary school yet.

But it does seem a bit odd to reward something which you have no control over ie whether you are ill or not. And I have to agree with the people who say that it will bring approbation on children who are ill, especially if they have ongoing health problems, which doesn't seem very good.

I was off school a lot as a child and it was bad enough without also thinking that everyone hated me for stopping them getting their prizes or whatever.

Pfff that's the exact opposite word of what I mean. Whatever the opposite of approbation is. Meaniness?

You can tell I was out of school a lot

Is it opprobriation? Maybe condemnation would be safer!

I think I'll stick to what I know. Meaniness.

DS1's school have the 100% attendance certificate. if they achieve it they get taken to Frankie and Bennie's for a meal. At athe primary school they get a certificate and a box of chocolates.

I'm not for or against it either way tbh but both kids have made a big deal about going to school before they relized about certificates and Frankie and Bennies.

They only time attendance has been a problem was in 2008 when Easter was early. I had already booked a hotel in the Cairngorms for skiing and used the holiday dates issued by the primary school. The High school was the only school in the whole of the Borough that broke up w week earlier than everyone else. For the skiing to happen it would have meant that one of them would have had to have a week off school (depending if I moved the booking) Unfortunatly neither big DS or little DS was willing to lose their 100% attendance.

I don't think the kids give two hoots about it until it's almost end of term, if they haven't had a day off halfway through, they get an incentive to keep it that way.

Not saying they'll crawl to school with two broken legs, but teens try and skive off sometimes - this might stop them trying to fool Mum & Dad that they've got a sore throat.

I think the kids care alot less about it than the parents by the sound of things!

Thanks for all your messages on this topic. According to head teacher she is under intense pressure from above as Ofsted are now saying that if a school falls below 94% attendance they are at serious risk of being given an "Unsatisfactory" Rating, irrespective of what else is going on in the school (This is a first school..) Who the hell would be a head teacher!

I wonder if any parent who tried to take school to task over prizes for 100% attendance citing disability discrimination would succeed.....?