A rather angry rant!!! I make no apologies..........School attendance

[alcyone]

I received a letter today from our County council informing us that 'The County Strategic Attendance Team' will again be working at the school for 1 week.
Quote"The school day begins at 9oam Prompt"
The letter states the folowing..."I shall be GREETING children at the school gate periodically during the week"
It then goes on to tell me about parent's responsibilities and punctuality.

Last year i let it pass without comment.
Two smiling ladies standing in the playground while flustered mums checked their watches and pushed their children through the gate.

I wonder how this promotes attendance and punctuality?
Granted, some children have regular attendance issues, but quite often this is linked to other issues,not really resolved by Attendance assistants.
My dds are rarely late,BUT it is ALWAYS a mad rush in the mornings.
Children have always been late for school and regardless of the cc policy,will always be late.
What a waste of tax payers money and resources.
The letter is patronising, Isn't it hard enough being a parent without chucking more guilt in our direction?
What evidence is there, i wonder, to suggest that this kind of scheme actually produces LONG TERM results?
My children....my responsibility.
If i want help i'll ask for it.

I hate running late,
it happens,
we are very good at forgetting things and then running back home for them.
We are never really late'at worst just a couple of mins.....but it always feels like a rush!

Actually, a serious point, it was almost always hunting for shoes that made us nearly (N.B. nearly!) late so I used to round them up the night before, plus anything else we needed. But how is that going to instil a sense of responsibility or punctuality into children? It can't and won't if parents always get the blame rather than the children. Children are quite capable of nagging their parents to get them to school on time. I've seen it happen.

alcyone this will make you piss.

i got a letter from school today which with serious finger waggin overtones said "your chils attendance is a cause for concern at 91.25% all pupils under 92% are a cause for concern.

fuck OFF i think i'll write them back

Will post later....gonna be late for the kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BTW i have grown a T
Do you like it?

Not sure you will believe this custardo.
Have just returned from school.
Last week i submitted a 'holiday request form' for 1 day off....my girls have had no days off other than sickness.
I had not received answer from Head,so......i saw her just now.
One of my girls has possibly less than 94% abscence, the other is fine.
Therefor cannot authorise 1 day off (could have given us half a day!!!)
(i say possibly because office woman is off and head couln't confirm)
realise that others put up AND shut up, ooooh i'm really struggling with it.
Verbalised my thoughts on sickness days included being unfair, sound like a whingeing child though...
Going to have a large rum and coke
Now i AM being a bad parent!
PS spoke to the class teachers to check what they would be missing, they said both girls would be fine missing a day, and to have a bit of r&r!

Frances5 - in Glasgow we have a free breakfast club that runs from 8.15 to 8.45 (last entry at 8.35). At 8.45 they go back out into the playground and are watched over by the janitor (who in Scoltand does the job of playground supervisors in England). The children all sign in to breakfast club, so they know who came to it.

Not sure if any of the habitual latecomers have been encouraged to use it though - it tends to be more the working parents, who are then able to get on to work. Or kids like ds, who asks to go to breakfast club, as he just wants to have maximum playing time (so he ends up having two breakfasts, one with us and one at school).

Enough about me....how did you respond?

i haven't at thismoment in time ican't be arsed

Christ Custy - your kids would be star attenders at my school. I only have time to plough through the under 85%ers. I've got a couple less than 50%!

and so it goes on....wouldn't it be simpler to just get the kids to school on time? In fact get 'em there 10 minutes early and but yourself a bit of extra mumsnet time!!

Going to stop my girls being ill next term.

like teh @T@

my son is off again today - ill. and i have to go to work, and we are expecting builders.

its all more complicated than it should be.

Are the ladies still smiling though once the bell's gone?

I am always early or on time and DP is always late or if lucky on time. He takes DS to school on three mornings and it is touch and go if he gets there on time or not. There is nothing that will change him no smiling ladies, no knocks on the door and no chats fromt he teacher. I think DS has always just managed to get there before the register but only just.

I think DP is mildly dyslexic as he seems not to know how to hurry or how to plan things so that he is on time. He thinks education is important and spends a lot of time educating DS on scientific stuff so it's not that he doesn't value education.