Would you send child to school with slight temperature?

[HorrorFan81]

8yo woke up this morning with headache, tummy ache and low grade fever (37.8). One parent thinks they should stay home with a temperature even if it's low. Other parent thinks they should go in and see how they get on.
Their current attendance is 96% so dipping below the school target of 97% if that makes a difference.
Child loves school and is usually happy to go in. Really didn't want to go today.

What would happen in your house?

I'm quite strict with sick days but i always keep them off with a temperature. As i feel they're obviously not well.

No, absolutely not. Not only will your child struggle all day with the learning (so pointless them being there), they also run the risk of spreading whatever they have to their classmates and teacher. Any parent who sends a sick child in to school is being very selfish.

dose of paracetamol and send them in, unless they are vomiting. If school send them home that's OK, but most times they will perk up once they are in.

Give them calpol and see if they perk up after 30 min. If they still don't feel well home, if feeling better school.

Really eye opening to see the amount of parents that would give a dose of calpol to a child with a headache, stomach ache and temperature and then send them off to school. Worrying.

Can’t speak for much other than I always feel awful when my temp is over 37.0. And yet children are expected to carry on regardless. It’s a hard one when working but all I can say is keep them off if you can.

I have a child who has frequent ‘tummy aches’ on a morning (she’s usually absolutely fine just not a morning person) and even I wouldn’t send her in with what you’ve described. Our school would send them home immediately with a temperature anyway.
Hope your DC is feeling better now.

My kid’s school won’t take them with a temperature.

I’m a teacher and I’d rather you didn’t, a temp on their own, not too bad but with tummy ache and headache too - they’re clearly poorly.
we always make jokes about the lunchtime slump - when the calpol they had at 8am (and didn’t tell us about) starts to wear off and suddenly we have a poorly child.

Please don't send children into school when you know they're poorly. It puts everyone at risk of catching things, your children will feel like absolute crap and means you may get a call to collect your child.

I work in a school and have spent my entire Easter break absolutely floored and bedbound over the whole Easter Weekend, as have my 4 class colleagues, due to a child being sent in every day of the last week with 'just a cold' - a child that was visibly poorly and stated multiple times they didn't feel well, but the parents continued to send them in as they had to go to work! I've had to cancel lots of plans this holiday through no fault of my own and have felt absolutely rotten.

Sending poorly children into school is incredibly selfish - not only do they feel like crap, they then pass things onto their peers and staff!

Yes. I’d dose them up, take them in and collect them at lunchtime.

Why didn’t your school call the parents to collect their sick child each day?

Unfortunately, these parents are the ones who won't answer their phones until 2.30pm and are '45 mins away at work' so by the time they rock up, it's collection time anyway.

Not all parents are like this - some are at home with younger siblings and refuse to answer/collect. The school I work in is a specialist provision, that a lot of our children are brought in by taxi, so we can't even refuse to accept them at the door - it literally is take them in and try to call parents to collect

School policies too - our school policy is ridiculous, for sending children home who have been sick states they have to vomit at least 3 times or have at least 3 loose or unusual BMs. Parents know this, and some will often send children in who are unwell, even if siblings have had D&V, knowing full well they won't get a call until they've spewed 3 times at school. Ridiculous, I know, but creates a massive loophole for parents, leaving us to clean up the mess and then get HR meetings when we are off work multiple times for various bugs.

This is so sad to read, some people don't deserve to have children. This is neglect

Horrible 😒

Of course I'd keep them off, like all decent parents.

No I wouldn't send them. Apart from the fact they'll feel crap, they could be spreading whatever they have.
I'm a nurse so I use my clinical judgment. I ignore the letters about attendance because I couldn't care less about the school's league tables. My youngest was premature and constantly getting everything under the son when she was little. Her attendance was often under 90% but I wasn't going to send her to school when she was clearly poorly and would get even more run down if she was in school!

I 100% agree, and I have sat many a day cuddling a poorly child, at the risk of catching it myself and losing work days, when all that child wanted was their own parents. It's desperately sad. I would never not tend to an ill child whilst at work and I would never not give them a cuddle or comfort.

I did note a PP comment of 'what if they don't have childcare'...... you still don't send them to school poorly. Schools are not a free babysitting service or childcare service. It's a place of education and by sending ill children in, it can take 1-2 members of staff away from the other children in the class. If you don't have alternatives to look after your poorly kids, you cancel or rearrange your own plans/work schedule etc.

To update: she went in yesterday but I had a conversation with my DH about keeping her off in future if she had a temp and feels unwell and we have agreed that's what will happen from now on. We both come from v different upbringings where he was sent into school unless a limb was falling off (he had one day off in his whole schooling) and my mum let me stay home at the slightest sniffle so we need to meet in the middle and make sure we are keeping the kids off if really needed but they aren't staying off for minor things. In my mind a temperature or vomiting / diarrhea is the clear line and we've agreed that now (actually I already thought we were in agreement on it but obviously not!)

To answer a few questions:

Childcare isn't an issue. Both of us can WFH and even if we couldn't that wouldn't be a factor in keeping them off
She does complain of headaches and tummy aches fairly often (we've seen drs about it in the past) so that wasn't necessarily a red flag to us
Her temp was normal when she got back from school and actually asked to go to ballet class so she wasn't feeling too bad by then

Thanks for everyone's input it was helpful (mostly!)

Probably but I'm one of those "if your leg isn't falling off your fine" kind of parents

With a tummy ache though it would worry me they had a bug and that's a pretty high temperature

Nope. Never. Temp or vomit I take seriously.

Depends what meetings you and DP have on today. If something super important/unmissable then dose up and send in. Fake wide-eyed shock if confronted with a “your kid is unwell” call from school.
If there’s nothing critical happening at work then keep them at home.

Or sort out your backups rather than use school to care for your ill child.

@rosemarble not everyone has backups.

37.8 is pretty high especially for a child OP. I mean how high did you want it to reach?