To think that the school is going too far with this.

[howmuchdidyousay]

At the end of last half term we got a letter home from school (primary).They are starting a new scheme where if a child goes for a half term without being absent then they can wear their own clothes on the last day of the half term.But if they have been off at all they have to wear uniform.
I would imagine that most children manage to go 5 or 6 weeks without illness ,so it will be the minority who are left in uniform.
Is it right to 'punish' children for being ill and by making them stand out by wering different clothes to the majority ?
(The school has no serious problems with absence-well below national average)

I think this is seriously wrong. If they have an issue with the absentism of certain pupils then they should deal with them directly. My ds would have ended up in uniform because he had a medical appointment so was absent for half a day....hardly a lifetime. If I was a parent at your school I'd be making serious noises about this.

They go for certificates at our primary school to reward 100% attendance.

terrible idea....but they will have a motive for it

attendence rates...ofstead by any chance??

That is bloody ridiculous - so you get the double whammy of being ill and having to wear uniform! It singles out those with long term illnesses too.

What about those who have time off for family bereavement etc.

I can't abide this micromanaging that primary schools seem to do at the mo. Ours has green, amber and red zones where all the childrens names are put in depending on how they behave. Any child can move backward and forward several times during any one day. Horrid!

YANBU. This kind of behaviour is starting to get ridiculous imo. In fact, don't get me started.

I think that's really mean! A child who's ill a lot is already going to be slightly ostracized - no need to make it worse.

It is a terrible idea - I can sort of see the logic at High School where absenteeism is (usually) more to do with truanting than illness (although having said that it only takes one major bout of illness to skew your attendance stats, plus school phobia/avoidance is a real problem for some), but at primary age most absenteeism is due to illness or parents having problems.

By rewarding the 100% attendance children, you're effectively punishing the rest of them, and it's not something within their control.

The problem is there is just so much pressure on schools to set high attendance targets and then meet them - both from the LA and Ofsted.

Lots of schools do this- certificates like blametheparents said.
Our borough has a special ceremony so children with 100% attendance meet the mayor and have tea [hmmm]

I don't really agree with the certificates , but I could live with it.It's the making the children look different that I don't agree with.If it was done over a longer period ,say a year , then the majority of children would have been off at some point and the majority would be in uniform , it would be better.
I wonder what the HPA think about this sort of thing, when they are trying to contain the spread of infectious diseases like swine flu , or at the moment here,Scarlet Fever.

Awful.
To mark children out for a whole day, as not being wirthy of a reward which is in any case beyond thier control?

DS is already upset that at his school the certificate system precludes him because (as he has a disability) he has so many hospital appointments.

And then they expect parents to be sensible about helping prevent epidemics? At the end of last summer term on mother sent her child to schol with what were clearly possible SF symptoms rather than lose the coveted Gold Attendance certificate in the last week of term.

This is absolute madness. They're effectively punishing children who have been ill or bereaved and they're encouraging parents to send children with infectious diseases in.

I'd be complaining hard and putting those points to them.

(But then, I've pretty much given up on school and gone the HE route now)

They should apply this to members of staff as well, if they think attendance is so important. How about a nice little FOI request asking for staff absence data?

I would avoid sending my kids in on the last day if this sort of crap was going on.

That is ridiculous and will encourage parents to send their children in ill and infectious imo. Madness.

Yes mayce staff who have been absent ,should have to wear sackcloth and ashes

Boffin - this won't be at the behest of the teachers, so wanting to 'out' the teachers who have been absent won't change anything.

I have no problem with the certificates, providing certificates are given for other things as well as attendance - but I think a non-uniform day for those who haven't been absent is a silly idea, not least because it is likely to mean that those who can't wear their own clothes are more likely to want to stay off school than go in wearing uniform, thus making the attendance figures even lower.

I would tell the school that it discriminates against ill children and is there for not on.

If that didnt work then I would start a campaign against it. >>Evil

stupid idea! and also discriminating the children!
most children stay off school with consent by their parents/guardian, so in my opinion how can you discriminate a child when they had no choice in that, they were kept off school by their parents!

Personally I would be sending my child to school even if they did not have 100% attendance, I will not have my child singled out through a action that was MY choice and one that I could not foresee.

sending my child to school in non uniform after all uniform is not compulsory!

Is this authorised absence or unauthorised?

Well how about outing the HT then, if he/she has come up with this bright idea? Are you telling me he/she won't have had a moment off sick all term???

Send a letter in to the Chair of Govs or Head mentioning the word 'inclusion' a lot and how the children who have been ill, thorugh no fault of their own, will miss out and how does this work with their 'inclusion' policy and how 'Every Child Matters'. That should shake them up a bit.

I think this is wrong- send them in non uniform on the last day regardless- what can the school do about it??

I always say this but it is another thing against the poor kids who would be in school if their parents could get it together too.

I know a few who love school but sadly their home lives make getting there a big challenge. Why penalise them when they are already having pretty shitty lives?

There are other ways to target attendence.