Taking time out of school for medical appointments- ask or inform?

[Theas18]

Dd2 has an appointment tomorrow at the GP wart freezing clinic. We have been waiting ages for his and have been informed this afternoon that there was a cancelation so I grabbed it.

She will have to leave school at 3pm ( year 8 so they finish at 3.45).

I've just emailed a "very sorry to take her out of school but a later appointment wasn't possible " polite note informing them she will need o leave early.

DH feels I've " done wrong" and should " ask permission" rather than informing them.

I cant see why I have ot ask permission - for a start there isn't ime fr Tim to approve the request and let me know, and given how tricky these appointments are to get, not going isn't an option anyway!

What do you do?

I agree with you - opportunity arose and you took it - just tell them!

Think you have done the right thing.

In this case I would just be informing them.

It makes absolutely no difference - as you say, there's no time to get a formal request sanctioned anyway. It's not as if you're going on a jolly. Tell them.

Inform, but try to keep to out of school hours if possible- then you can say with truth that you tried!

When DS has his hospital appointments (which cannot be arranged outside the school day), I write to inform, but finish by asking them to contact me straightaway if they have any difficulty with the plan. They never have, and usually I get back a quick email confirming they have noted the forthcoming absence.

Of course you should let school know but they are your children and your responsibility - you make the parental decisions and work out whether they need to miss school for whatever reason... You're right, dh definitely wrong I think.

When your DH is the one making the doctors appointments and contacting the school then he can decide what approach to take.

When you are then you decide.

IMO - your approach is correct. No way do you ask permission to take a DC to a medical appointment - you inform them.

I inform. I wouldn't accept them refusing. If I judge a medical appointment is required then that trumps everything else.

I also inform not ask for family funerals. I do add 'please ring me on......should you need any further information' but nobody ever has. I suspect they appreciate they would gain little.

Wouldn't cross my mind to ask permission.Nice polite letter to say I will pick up at so-and-so time.Job done.

Inform, definitely.

It's not as if clinics and doctor's surgeries and hospitals are going to be sitting round waiting for your convenience; most of the time you have to grab an appointment when you can get one. Dd's former school found it very difficult to grasp the concept that I couldn't arrange for the paediatric consultant to turn up when it suited me, but I stood my ground and it was worth doing.

I'm another informer rather than asker. I'm the children's mother therefore I dictate what they do (well as far as they'll let let me these days!)
Like Northernlurker, I also add the "should you need clarification..." etc, and funnily enough have never been contacted....schools in my town are on a sticky wicket after they closed all schools last year for a full week due to their lack of contingency planning for bad weather!

I had to do this last week as the hospital gave us an appointment with 2 days notice. I informed the school and collected Y7 dd at 2.00pm. I apologised for the short notice but told the school that I had been waiting for this appointment since July and they were fine about it !

Inform

Inform. Definitely. I'm a teacher and so long as you send a letter with the time of the appointment, what time you are picking up the child, and when you are returning them to school if they will be back later on, that is all that is necessary. Schools do need to keep a proper record of medical absences but you don't need their permission. It isn't like the NHS is going to give you an appointment out of school hours really, you just have to go when you are told. Also she is hardly missing any school at all. It isn't a big deal. I'm surprised you've got as far as year 8 without this issue happening before - you must have a very healthy child!

I always inform. The clinics my DS attend tend to be children's ones so they can't accomodate every child outside school hours.

of course you inform. you don't need to ask the school for permission to give yor child medical treatment!

Inform, of course. But TBH I would be arranging something very minor and non-urgent like this outside school hours.

Goodness gracious, you inform of course. It's not like the NHS has tons of out of school hours appointments just waiting for you.

Also a teacher and parent, and i always ask permisssion - not that i ever expect it to be refused but it just seems more polite. Not that i mind informing notes from my own students though.