primary school attendance letter

[goodbyemrschips]

Hi has anyone else recieved a letter recently regarding their childs attendance?

I am wondering if it it a national thing or just my sons school doing their own thing.

Several children have received one if their attendance is below 95%.

I've just received on and am so annoyed about it. In fact I have been given an appointment with a form to send back if I can't attend and my reason why! My son who's in reception has had a lot of time off all due to illnesses. A sickness bug, chicken pox, virus, ear infection. In fact the school sent him home four times! After reading the legislation (I'm a lawyer who's not working to raise my two DCs, so it's what I know about albeit in a different area) absence from school due to illness is authorised so I've printed off the legislation, completed a form concerning his illnesses (and the four doctors trips) and will be making a complaint to the school. It's unacceptable and all the form ticking without applying common sense is making public services a joke. They will be told. I might also threaten them with breach of my Human Rights because the letter implies that I'm a bad parent without even knowing or meeting with me.... GRRRR.... rant over ;-)

Before getting angry with the school check whether the letter has been sent in their name by an EWO employed by the LA. If the absence is due to illness it's easily explained but the school /EWO may ask for a doctors certificate for further absences. Heads are no happier than parents about this.

We don't enjoy having to do this but have little choice. I wouldn't be worrying unless it was dropping below 93%, but we still have to send letters when attendance has dropped. Some families it is totally genuine and all absences unavoidable - others not so much. We can't pick and choose so send such letters as standard. It wouldn't be fair if your neighbour got one and you didn't. We also have to send letters initially rather than wait until attendance is a real concern - we would be slated for not acting sooner. Schools are under lots of pressure; I doubt complaining to LEA would achieve much as surely they are supporting schools?

I received a letter back in November as my LO attendance was below 80%
I was called in for a meeting with the Welfare officer which was a joke as she didn't even know the reason my LO was off for (he got hit be a firework, first degree burns, skin infection etc) her face when I informed of her of why he was off was a picture.
It's silly that they are sending out these letters to scare people without knowing the facts.
She had also before knowing why he was off gave me a lecture about parenting and threatened me with court if his attendance didn't get better.

At work I use the Bradford Factor to look at sickness absence. If someone is off for 1-2 days frequently, there is more likely an absenteeism problem than someone who has been off once for 2 weeks with flu.

Wouldn't this be much more relevant and a better use of limited time/resource? Still flags up people with genuine sickness absence, but in my experience, also shows me who I have a problem with. This has been useful when I have managed large call centres and don't necessarily know every person individually.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford_Factor

My eldest had 2 strokes and was off school for 3 months had 2 months only part time in school and numerous times off for physio and o/t speech and language and hydro therapy for 2 years and I was never approached by the attendance officer or received any letters, my second child had 100% attendance for his first 3 years in school and then had 3 days off in the September of his 4th year with a vomiting bug and I had them on the phone 3 weeks later telling me his attendance was poor and he wasn't to have any other time off for the rest of the year as that could adversely effect his learning, the words I used were not very nice and she never rang me again! It's one thing to monitor attendance but another thing to dictate what happens with anyone's children in regards to illness.

"If someone is off for 1-2 days frequently, there is more likely an absenteeism problem than someone who has been off once for 2 weeks with flu." In a school two weeks absence can equally mean a term time holiday

I did because my son got some lovely sickness bugs from school (including nori virus). I phoned the attendance officer who said not to worry as she had to sent out seventy.

ZOMBIE from 2011!!

I definitely didn't notice - and RTWT! 🙊

Lol, nothing changes with attendance.

We just treat these as junk mail and bin them. He's top of the class in all subjects and well behaved so who cares.

The letter as an isolated event I wouldn't mind so much as I'd just chuck it out. The thing I hate is "attendance awards" particularly entire class prizes. Completely ridiculous to reward children who happen to have good health (should be reward enough surely) and create a situation where the other children resent the one child who has repeated bouts of sickness or medical appointments.

I'm with BigBagofJelly. At our kid's junior school prize-giving the head of the linked senior school likes to stigmatize all the kids with health problems by having all the kids with 100% attendance on stage for a hand-shake. My GP wife has written to complain about the public health disadvantages of pressuring kids who might be infectious to come into school, as well as suggesting that just being healthy is not a serious basis for reward. All to no avail.

I think too many kids and authorities have lost the plot in terms of distinguishing genuine truancy from problems with illness and the need to sometimes allow kids to take up travel and event opportunities during term.

I think I held my school non-attendance record in 6th form. All the resulting hard study at home helped me meet the hideous grade targets I needed for Cambridge. Meanwhile the school I refer to denies kids taking public exams study leave. Morons.

Some of those kids receiving the hand shake will also be coming into school still contagious and giving it to everyone else.
Parents deliberately ignoring the 48hr rule are putting people with compromised immune systems at risk sending kids in that are still contagious.

I received one last week and am really upset about it! DS yr 2 had cough/chest infection for first set of absence. Second was the dreaded sickness bug that made the school change their return to school after being sick to 48 hours so he had to have 4 days off! It is a small school and they know he has been genuinely ill. A phonecall would have been appreciated prior to receiving the letter (one mother did receive a call). I am a lone parent and sick of being berated by my ex-husband that I a a crap parent. I do not need this from the school. Plus it's the same sodding letter if the child has been ill or taken (known) holiday in termtime. Grrrrrrr!!

Because the letter isn't from the school!

mrz it is - it's signed by the head! And why did one mother receive a phonecall prior to receiving the letter and I didn't?

The letters are generated by the LA via the EWO

Mrz - this might be the case for some schools, but most/plenty send their own. And they're not usually automated.

Slummamumma - don't take it to heart. The school has to do it, and DFE policy states schools must act early to improve attendance. In most cases this means a letter when attendance has fallen.

They send them but have very little say in the process apart from adding signature to the bottom

We always used to receive one from school, but came with the hand written note saying don't worry about it. That suggests the sending of letter was not initiated by school, or they don't really want to do it but they have to, imo.

slummamumma, you may have missed the call from school.

It wa from the school office in a handwritten envelope - thought we note of affection! And I work at school!!! surely someone could have had a word if I had missed a phonecall (because I was in class!!)