Unauthorised absence when everyone in the household tested positive

[selflessisolation]

So. On the last day of term I received a very strongly worded email from the school threatening all things on earth including prosecution as one of my children's attendance over the first half of the term fell below a specific critical threshold. A lot of patronising text about how important education is etc.

The reason it got so low is that we had a period of isolation in September where everyone in the house apart from the child in question had positive pcr tests (and was quite unwell too). I strongly suspect the child in question was positive too (was mildly symptomatic), but I just did not do the test properly (the child is quite young, just of compulsory school age, and was not very cooperative - maybe I did not reach deep enough with the probe).

There has been no indication at all from the school at the time that it would be a problem, but now apparently they consider it as unauthorised absence?. They were fully aware of the situation, the child's "positive" sibling is at the same school.

I can't really believe it, to be honest. Did they actually expect a very young symptomatic child from a single parent household, where everyone else is quite ill and has positive tests, to come to school? Never mind logistics re how they would get to school, but how is this sensible? Is it just our school that is so heavy handed, or is it the approach everywhere?

It feels completely crazy to me that just a few weeks ago in the summer term the children were repeatedly sent home and asked to test for a slightest sniffle and isolate until a negative result arrives.

@itsgettingwierd - but when there appears to be an epidemic of tonsillitis going on in a school, with multiple cases, this is not quite the same thing as someone who regularly gets uti’s getting their usual symptoms. At the school where I work, but there is an astronomically high number of children coming into school with tonsillitis at the moment, so I have a lot of sympathy with a school which is questioning this!

Yes if they were a friend (but then I am walking distance away, so would be outside the whole time!).
Cool. I don't even have friends who'd do something like that for me. And I am pretty sure that had there been a thread on MN with "a friend has covid and wants me to do school runs for her children" aibu question, the collective judgment would be that the friend is a rare breed CF.

The government guidelines are so harsh as it really is difficult to get people to transport a child from a covid infected house to school.
I would write and say tgere has been a mistake as your child had symptoms of a virus and was not well enough to attend school. Even if that was only a few of the days you would expect an I code on those days which is an authorised absence. So your 10 days might be changed to 4 days I and 6 o for instance.

@selflessisolation

No one's going to be prosecuted for covid related absence, tbh you are being a tad dramatic. Do you think the courts are full of parents who had to keep their children off schools for a few days, of course they aren't I have no idea. I am not British, I have absolutely no benchmark of how these things are supposed to work. When a person in a position of responsibility writes me a formal letter saying they are considering prosecuting me under the antisocial behaviour legislation, I, errr... believe them.

So I'm clear, you are posting about an English school?

Assuming you are no one has said they are considering prosecuting you for anti social behaviour, that doesn't make sense

Might this be some kind of language misunderstanding? If the letter says something along the lines that prosecution is an option for persistant absence they don't mean they are going to prosecute you, it's simply stating a fact

It really, really isn't going to happen to you. There's no need to engage with this and even if there is a pp has it right to say that the only response needed is “Okay”

Yes, an English school. The piece of legislation referred to is Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003.

Prosecution would only happen for a much longer period of low attendance after several letters, meetings and probably home visits by the school or LA attendance officer. By the of the academic year the percentage attendance will be back above what would trigger emails and letters, providing attendance improves.

@selflessisolation

Yes, an English school. The piece of legislation referred to is Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003.

Thanks for clarifying, that's not quite the same but still absolutely not going to happen to you. Please don't keep worrying about it.

Write to the school ( do not just call) and say it needs to be recorded as covid related and the record changed otherwise you will have to seek legal advice on the issue.

Over an average 6 week half term (60 am/pm slots) your child was absent for 14 of them therefore their attendance is approx 77%.
DfE and schools expect 95% attendance so anything under that is picked up. It’s standard of schools to warn you when attendance is low so it can be resolved.
It works out by the end of the year unless your child has other long absences.

@Xenia

Write to the school ( do not just call) and say it needs to be recorded as covid related and the record changed otherwise you will have to seek legal advice on the issue.

@Xenia - not supposed to be recorded that way according to this: www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-attendance/addendum-recording-attendance-in-relation-to-coronavirus-covid-19-during-the-2021-to-2022-academic-year Once a child has tested negative, they are supposed to be back in school and, even if somehow an authorised absence, it is not supposed to be recorded as a covid-related one (even though it patently is!).

We’ve just been in a similar situation with both parents positive and children negative ... Our school have been very sensible and said that while officially they could be in, if we were unable to get them in due to Our isolation they would fully support that and code as covid related absence and provide home learning ... reading between the lines they were glad that we weren’t sending our children in from a positive household to potentially further spread the virus!

The kid was ill even if not covid. They should've recorded it as I (illness).

Yes the code clearly states "cocos related absence"

A child off because the whole household is isolating and cannot transport them is covid related.

I think very poorly of any HT who won't use their common sense and code like this.

We are in a pandemic. Now is not the time to be forcing children who are I'll into school because you think they should be there.

I had this fight when my ds had a breakdown after having a knife pulled on him in class by his bully. The school refused to authorise an absence whilst we went to GP for help because they didn't think he needed to be absent as the bully had been excluded for 2 days. They said they'd refer to EWO.

I self referred and asked their advice on what to do with a kid who had been assaulted and was scared to attend and had tried to take their own life as a result.

2 hours later the school emailed to say they'd send work home in the interim and mark as educated offsite.

It's madness when a child who competes in elite sport at regional and national level will have an authorised absence to compete.

The whole coding and absence system is completely arse about tit!

I’d reply to the school, thank you for your letter setting out the school’s expectations. In future, if I believe my dc has an infectious illness I will continue to send them into school as you have requested.

Best wishes @selflessisolation

I understand there are set letters but a head teacher can make their own decisions as to when it’s appropriate to send so this “it’s policy” explanation is bollocks. There’s a pandemic on and schools should adapt.

It’s arithmetical bullshit. Made worse as most absences for colds/viruses have always been in the winter months.

I had this when DS was in reception.

1 week off in first half term = 5/6 attendance = 83.3%.

1 week off in the whole of the first term = 12/13 = 92.3%.

1 week off in the whole school year = 38/39= 97.4%.

Attendance percentage depends on the rest of the year which they don’t know yet.

@selflessisolation - I don’t see why the whole 7 days should have been unauthorised absences. While waiting for a pcr result, the absences must be marked as X, for covid-related, and are not factored into the calculation of absences, authorised or unauthorised, at all. The absences should then have been marked as I for ill for a short while, when your child was confirmed covid negative on the pcr, but was still unwell with symptoms of something. Only once they were better but still not coming into school could the absence have been unauthorised. You could ask the headteacher to mark that last bit as an authorised absence for exceptional reasons, given your difficulties in getting your child to school while in isolation. However, even if that bit remains unauthorised, it is highly unlikely this will ever go any further, unless you have a habit of keeping your child off school for reasons the school feels unable to authorise, or your child is so unlucky with their health that their absence remains below the levels accepted by the DfE to be reasonable and the school is thus obliged to request more evidence from you of the reasons for the absences.

Ps absence while waiting for the pcr result is only marked as an X if your child is symptomatic - but they were, so that’s OK. It is, frankly, quite ridiculous that this should all be made so complicated, when it is so entirely reasonable not to move heaven and earth to get your child into school whilst the whole of the rest of the household is covid positive and isolating.

And there seems to be no advice as to what happens if a child has continuing symptoms after the 10 day isolation period.