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)

Terrible idea, rather unenforceable too some parents will just turn up with children in ordinary clothes regardless of what the school says.

I have issues with this. In some cases, you will have children going to school when they are ill (and passing on germs) in order to get whatever reward is on offer. I bet many of those children who have 100% attendance only get it by going to school when ill.

agree with juuule, that is even worse, it is a system of collective punishment. The child who is ill will suffer even more guilt than under the other crazy method. Makes you wonder who trains the people that come up with these ideas

I have to disagree. I think it is better to reward 1 class out of 9 than make individuals stand out for a whole day in uniform.

The school has a good sickness policy, the problem is the unauthorised absences. We had a lot of snow in January, like a lot of other areas, but our school remained open. DD said that only 12 children out of 29 in her class turned up on 1 of the days. Most parents are in walking distance and all the teachers were there.

I don't like the schools idea at all. Like a lot of others have said the primary that my youngest DS is at get certificates. The high sschool that my eldest is at have a meal at Chiquitos and a book token. There is a consolation 'prize' for those who were just short of 100%

The teachers may not be singling out the absent child/ren but the other children will be aware of which child/ren are stopping the class winning a treat.
As has been said it's a whole class punishment and unfair.

The answer is to tackle the parents of those who are absent without good reason.

Completely and utterly ridiculous. Plus it just encourages parents to send ill children to school so they can pass on their d&v (or whatever) to others.

So frustrating!! ESP when at our school (whre there is a reward for 100% attendence), they encourage parents to keep children off school if they have headlice "because they appreciate we need to treat them". It gets treated as a medical absence... They do complain if children are sent in too ill to be there (understandably), and in the next breath remind us that 100% is rewarded and desired.
The school works it out annually (so MOST children have 1 day off)... DS has already lost out this yr because he had an earache and high temp (for 5 days.. and since they don't hand out antibiotics even if stuff is leaking from his ear, he had to suffer it... He did get over it without, so correct choice, but still to see him in pain). Perhaps I should have sent him in and let them deal with him?
They count each registration as an absence, so 2 days = 4 absences, given that last yr he was absent with headlice and sent home having been sick (after lunch, having run around in the playground....), and excluded the next day too (despite not being ill again), he didn't stand a chance then too. AND that was his entire sickness that yr... i.e their policy excluded him. GRR

We all hate it, but the school has attendance issues, so I get why... still

Ours give certificates,

None of my pupils would get this. They are hearing impaired and have regular hospital appointments some planned, some unplanned (if their hearing aids have gone wrong.)

I would be steaming if a child/ pupil of mine was penalised in this way. It's hardly their fault if they need a cochlear implant tune up or a hearing aid fitting.

Many of the parents do try to get appointments in the holidays but for some larger children's hospitals it's not possible to pick and choose. (and you can't wait for the next half term if your hearing aid doesn't work.)

I get cross enough if the taxi bringing my pupils to school gets stuck in traffic and they get a late mark. Nobody's fault so why penalise them?

These ofsted attandance regulations seem so inflexible. Surely they can make allowances for genuine reasons for not being at school?

It's discriminatory and they really shouldn't do it. Aside from children with chronic health problems, what about pupils who may take time off for religious purposes?

TBH it is a lazy way to demonstrate attempts to improve attendance. They need to use their imagination a little more. Improving attendance isn't just about rewarding the good.

I don't think they should be excluded from anything for genuine illness but here is a story to make you grateful it's only an own clothes day they would miss out on:

In 1934, when my nan was 13, she was absent for half a day (the school was only open for in the morning this particular day anyway) because she had pneumonia and her mum wouldn't let her go in.

She had never had a single days absence from school since she started school but because of this half day absence she was excluded from a scholarship class (for top performers) and sent to the "lower" class (for less able pupils) for the rest of the school year.

As a result of this she never got the chance to sit any exams for formal qualifications and to continue in the upper forms so she had to leave school at 14.

I think she would have preferred to have to wear a uniform while everyone else was in own clothes!

incredible what they could get away with. If their current own clothes/school uniform threats don't work, the next stage will probably be to bring back what happened to you nan.

Mabble, hate to say it, but there may be more to that story than meets the eye ...

This idea is dreadful.
As previous posters have pointed out, children are kept of school because they are ill, have appointments etc.
My dc has been off for 3 separate time periods since Christmas (snowed in, 2 x illness) None of these her fault. She is quiet and punishing her by being different to her classmates would make my blood boil, given the examples I have used.

I would demand to see the head and I would be writing to the governors too.
Depending what they said, I would take it further.
Have a look on school website for policies and see if they are contradicting themselves.

Ridiculous idea. You cannot stop children getting ill, it's OUT OF OUR CONTROL!! I am sick of schools just sitting there making up their next scheme. Stop telling us what to eat/to come in if we're ill (or else accept the consequences), etc.,etc..... There is enough pressure on our primary (and secondary) pupils nowadays and it has to stop. Sorry, rant over.

when my eldest was in junior school her best friend always had a 100% attendance even whilst passing on diarrheoa, vomitting and generally any other nasty bug doing the rounds.(Her parents were both teachers so never took any time off to look after their own sick children)
I was a SAHM at the time, with 3 pre schoolers and they always assumed I would have their DD on inset days.Never even got a bottle of wine or bunch of flowers as thanks either.Still a tad pissed off and she's 21 now!!!
should I get over it?

Does the school have a bullying policy? I would say that excluding and making a child feel different for something beyond their control is bullying. If it was my child would be tempted to write a note back saying that I don't support bullying by selective differentiation and my child will be wearing uniform on that day in solidarity with children who have been unfortunate enough to suffer an illness. I'm too easily riled by stupidity though.

we just have the 100% attendance certificates here, and i think even they are not fair, because they do not take into consideration medical appointments. DD has a condition which means she has hospital appointments twice a year, they have always fallen in term time, she has 2 half days off, but does not get a certificate those terms, it upsets her, because she struggles on when she is feeling rough because she does not want to miss school

Yeah, really lovely to have a child walk around looking different to her mates just to remind her of the day she had off because her Mum died.

Sweetnibbles, if you have a chronic health problem, class rewards is going to mean that you spend year after year feeling that you are letting your class down by undermining their efforts to get the prize. My dd is in this position. It's not her mates' fault. It's difficult enough for disabled children to make their way through school without making them even more of an inconvenience.

agree cory. It is bad enough for a child to have to come to terms with the fact that the school is punishing them for being ill. But to compound this by making the child feel guilty for letting the whole class down is cruelty.

Crap scheme. I wouldnt be happy about it either.

Oh well my seriously asthmatic son would be in trouble then.