Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Children's health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

school will not send sick kids home

28 replies

loveheart45 · 02/10/2013 20:47

my daughter was feeling sick during the day yesterday and the school wont send them home if they just say they feel sick. they have to be physically sick. last night she vomited 3 times and had dry toast in the morning. 2 minutes later she threw it up. yesterday she refused any food at school. i said to the teacher "why didnt you call me?" she said "well she said she felt sick but she didnt literally throw up" i said "she is pale you must get your eyes tested woman". when we got home she threw up on the floor. she gets these bugs from the school. the head is lovely but her teacher is kinda mean.

today my husband walked in and the took a shower coz she threw up on him. she really isnt well.

im sick now she gave me the bug :( yuck!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Chocotrekkie · 02/10/2013 20:51

its the opposite at our school...
Had to leave a really important meeting at work to get dd aged 9 as she had a cold and her nose hurt .

The way they were on the phone you'd have thought she was desperately ill..

Sirzy · 02/10/2013 20:52

Its very hard for schools to know when a child needs sending home and when they don't. If they sent home every child who said they feel sick they would have nobody in!

DS goes pale just through tiredness so I don't think that is a reason to send home either.

Sorry she is ill, but schools really can't win and if they send children home too often they get complained at too.

Hulababy · 02/10/2013 21:00

Why was she in school today?
Most schools say 24-48 hours exclusion after vomiting, so she shouldn't have been in there. That's why such bugs get spread round school so often.

Did the teacher know she had been ill?

We watch children carefully for a while if they say they're feeling ill. We don't send home straight away as many children do rally. If we sent children home every time we would have many cross parents. We do call if they don't improve though.

Hulababy · 02/10/2013 21:01

Sorry- ignore my rant earlier! I completely misread the order of vents.

Whereisegg · 02/10/2013 21:06

I think a child that repeatedly complains throughout the day (not every day!) should be listened to, yes.

Last year when I collected him from school, my ds age 5 said he was poorly.
I asked his teacher and she said that he had told her that morning he felt unwell, so she had sent him for a lie down in the comfy corner.
He had slept the whole day, and threw up the moment we got inside the house.

Bearing in mind this was a Christmas party day at school so lots of fun and treats with no actual 'work' to encourage them to do, I couldn't believe nobody thought to question this

DeWe · 02/10/2013 21:18

If they sent the children home for saying they feel sick then dd2 would have probably a day a fortnight off at least. She has only once been sick at school, and that was from a migraine, but she regularly comes home with a sick bag in her pocket.

stardusty5 · 02/10/2013 21:25

At least three times a day, a child will tell me that they feel sick. Generally the child perks up and forgets all about it.
Like other posters i have had complaints from parents on both sides when we misjudged how a child was. We have sent home and caused mum to leave work when they were absolutely fine, and we have kept a child in when they were poorly.

It's not always easy to tell. But we do try to do right!

Smartiepants79 · 02/10/2013 21:38

As others have said, if I sent home every child who told me they felt sick I would have a very small class. What it usually means is -I'm hungry/bored/tired/worried.
In my experience parents are more likely to moan at me for sending them home rather than the other way round.
Sending her home is not going to stop her picking up bugs from school. It won't stop you catching them from her either.
I don't think her teacher was being 'mean' it is often almost impossible to tell if an illness is real until you have 'evidence. Some children are always pale. Some are hypochondriacs. Some don't say a word and then throw up on your lap.
I hope you didn't really say that to her teacher cos it's quite rude!

idiot55 · 03/10/2013 19:05

I think teachers have a hard enough job without being criticised for misjudging if a child is ill or not.

What schools need to do is promote the 48 hour rule.

LynetteScavo · 03/10/2013 19:07

I think it depends on the teacher.

IME teachers with children of their own are better at spotting when a child is genuinely poorly, and when they are just saying they feel ill.

duchesse · 03/10/2013 19:09

Loads of kids feel sick at school. Some (shock horror!) actually just want not to have to go to school for the day. They can't send everyone who says they feel a bit peeky home! Having said that, looking green might have been a sign of really not being that well.

Department · 03/10/2013 19:23

The OP and the first reply demonstrate brilliantly how schools can never win. Some parents complain bitterly about a child with a headache being "left to suffer" others complain about being called out of work for when it's "just a headache"

Some children complain they feel ill with come complaint or other almost everyday. It would be useful if their parents taught them about the boy who cried wolf....

Lottie4 · 04/10/2013 10:33

You often get children say they feel sick at school and then ten minutes later they are running around and laughing with their friends. Perhaps, there was an element of doubt as to how bad she was, Obviously if a child is sat there not speaking or joining in then they aren't right but it maybe that she was a little brighter at certain times in the day. You could ask it to be noted that if she is ill in the future, you wish to be advised so you can come in and assess the situation immediately yourself. Copy that note to the teacher and reception

ParkerTheThief · 04/10/2013 23:01

I've had parents complain because I havent sent a child home and others complain because I sent home a child who was fine but had convinced me he was ill.

As a teacher you have to make a judgement call and sometimes it isn't the right one.
It isn't done out of maliciousness or meanness, it's just human error.

I once made the wrong decision and ended up covered in vomit!

ParkerTheThief · 04/10/2013 23:04

My usual tatic is (if it is anywhere near playtime) to observe the child when they are outside.
If they are playing and fully involved I assume they are alright. If they are listless or sat on a bench then I'm more likely to phone home

bruffin · 04/10/2013 23:18

My ds had a febrile convulsion at both primary and secondary in school, at one stage he only had to sneeze and he would be sent home. It did get a bit annoying in the end. The secondary one was when he was 13 and his teacher said if he still felt ill lunch time he could go home. Long before lunch he had a fit in the middle of reception and was taken uncounsvious by ambulance to a&e. I spent ten minutes on the phone to a very upset HOY reassuring her it wasnt her fault. Turned out ds had pneumonia.

Original poster

loveheart45 · 07/12/2013 18:57

My daughters school is the exact same. She went into school the other day and the office wouldn't phone me. She threw up at the table at lunchtime and sat in class with a sick bucket all afternoon. The lunchtime supervisors didn't even consider phoning me.
I just wish they had called me.

OP posts:

Original poster

loveheart45 · 07/12/2013 19:01

FYI I have a daughter that has special needs so she goes to a different school.

OP posts:

Original poster

loveheart45 · 07/12/2013 19:03

She gets a bug all the time. I remember once that I had to take her of school coz she threw up 3 times in the night. ulch it was so gross

OP posts:

lljkk · 07/12/2013 19:10

For a child who doesn't much like school it's a great get out card: "I feel sick!"

Original poster

loveheart45 · 07/12/2013 19:19

She loves school and wants her attendance high. I agree though! When I was 25 I was teaching a year 2 class, one child said to me every day, "I feel sick Miss" Only coz he got told off for throwing rubbers, pencils and rulers.

OP posts:

DorothyBastard · 07/12/2013 19:27

Did you really say "you must get your eyes tested woman" to the teacher? Delightful.

Original poster

loveheart45 · 07/12/2013 19:32

Thank you for some advice It was her birthday on the 5th and she was very happy, she got a one direction cd from my big bro. She loves them. she wants to say a very big thank you for your info to make her feel better.

OP posts:

Original poster

loveheart45 · 07/12/2013 19:34

No but I nearly did she can be a really nice lady.

OP posts:

Original poster

loveheart45 · 07/12/2013 19:47

Her friend (also has a problem like her sister) he goes to a school for special needs and his mum gets calls like, " can you come pick him up he wants to live with his dad."

OP posts:

Flip

1 2