Is this legal for a school to ask this?

[TimeIsAnIllusion]

Is it legal that a school can ask to see a child's prescription or a doctors note to back up a parents claim that the child was off school sick?
Surely this is an infringement of privacy regarding medical records?

[sparechange]

Zombie. Fucking. Thread.
What is going on today with these..?

[BertrandRussell]

So is the school asking for a doctor's note for any time off at all?

[228agreenend]

Locally to us, schools ask for proof that the child has had a doctors appointment. Usually the sticky label with the appointment details suffices.

A prescription proves nothing if the patient has regular medication. It could have been re-ordered without an appointment.

[Creampastry]

I would not be providing doctors letters, that's crazy. If the child is off repeatedly off sick then I can understand it as a special case. Otherwise, they can jump.

Also, there needs to be a valid reason for wanting this personal information. How will they deal with it.

[ivykaty44]

Legally I guess you could wait till the sat's are over in year 6 and then take your dc out of school and say you are home schooling them/moving them to alternative education, no one can stop you and you can still keep your place for secondary in the september.

[ivykaty44]

it was only what 4 years ago with swine flu gp's were asking parents not to take the dc to the practice but to keep them home and isolated so it didn't spread...

I bet year 6 will become the year that dc are taken out of school at the end of the summer term - as they will not be returning

[ExcuseTypos]

Bit what happens of they don't see the Dr?

Mine were off with bad coughs/colds etc which we didn't see the dr about.

[exexpat]

I hardly ever take the DCs to the doctors, as in my experience (and going by the NHS website etc) most minor illnesses are self-limiting and do not need to be dealt with by a doctor, even things like tonsillitis which make children too unwell for school. If it is something like D&V/norovirus, they positively beg you not to go near the surgery so that you don't spread it to other people.

In any case, it is almost impossible round here to see a doctor when you need one. I recently tried to get a doctor's appointment for DS - tried on the Monday, first available appointment was on Friday, by which time he was better anyway, so I cancelled it. I hope some lucky person who called at the right moment got a last-minute appointment as a result.

If schools are now demanding that parents take children to the doctor for every minor illness just to get proof, that is going to bugger up the system even more and make it harder for people who genuinely do need to see a doctor to get an appointment.

[lborolass]

If all the local schools have sent out the same letter they are probably doing it to appease Ofsted, it's not meant to be personal to you. I'd just file it and forget about it, feeling insulted just seems a waste of your energy.

[ivykaty44]

Schools don't want unauthorised absent children - so it is in their own interests to not mark them down in this way.

What are the school going to do if you don't get a note from the gp?

[TimeIsAnIllusion]

Just to reiterate, my children rarely have any time off ever - I was writing this thread after reading a letter (blanket letter) that went to all parents the week after the school was ofsted'd.
The school doesn't have an attendance issue but this seems to be new government policy along with no holidays in term time or maybe it's lea policy? I'm unsure but it follows a recent ofsted. Other schools locally have also sent similar letters out.
As a mother I feel the government is giving me the message that my word will not be good enough, that I am not fit to decide if my children are poorly enough to be off school without checking with a dr first.
It just seems over the top that schools can send such letters out as a blanket statement. I feel insulted that my word isn't good enough.

[Anniemousse]

Jeez molding that sounds harsh. However, I would carry on acting as I believed to reasonable (tested before AIBU jury if necessary )

What does it matter if they get an unauthorised abscence? I am a bit 'so what?' It matters to the school, as I believe they get financially penalised for unauthorised over a certain %age. (Is that right?)

What does impact does that have on a family who have a good attendance? I imagine the welfare officers would get a bit peed off getting referrals for such cases.

Let school get their knickers in a twist, if their policy is unreasonable, I won't.

[PortoFiendo]

Ha - in Belgium you get one day without a doctors note - work and school. It is normally possible to actually see the doctor though. I would not fret about providing that info to school. How awful could it be?

[hettienne]

My workplace asks why you are off but you self-certify if less than 7 days.

[SPBisResisting]

How can it be an invasion of privacy when workplaces ask for the same?

[YoureBeingADick]

Ah! Didnt realise there was a fee for the dr note. Ive never had one.

Slight tangent but how the hell have we got to a point where schools are holding parents to ransom over 'proof' of minor illnesses? This is bloody ridiculous. Yes i get that so e parents are crap at getting their dcs to school but the vast majority of people want their dcs in school and dont want to have to take days off work to have a pretend sick child at home. This is bollocks that schools are now expecting this level of proof. If there is a concern then inform the relevant agency dont have parents stressing over finding money to pay unnecessary sick notes and clogging up precious gp time!

[lborolass]

I'm not clear if you've already been asked to produce any evidence, if not yet then tbh it sounds like you're looking for problems and for something to complain about.

If/when it actually happens the school will have more experience of the new rules and will no doubt have found a workable solution. These new rules will take some getting used to and it's hardly likely that parents will all be forced to visit GPs and pay for sick notes for every cold and bug going round.

[bigTillyMint]

I have never heard of this before.
Is it a new system that they are warning you about or is it actually your DC that they want to see the medicine for?