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Original poster

what's your schools attitude to illness?

25 replies

curtaincall · 07/06/2011 11:15

Feeling uncomfortable as the reaction of ds being off sick for last couple of days has been a bit Hmm as though he's taken an extended half term. (He loves school and is a successful pupil).

Have your dc taken much time off in the early years from various bugs or just us?

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RoadArt · 07/06/2011 11:40

Our school encourages us to keep kids away because of the impact it has on other kids AND teachers when chldren are sent to school who are clearly unwell.

Also, they dont have time to babysit them and give them extra attention, there are 29 other children who need teaching.

Original poster
curtaincall · 07/06/2011 12:13

Of course roadart i wouldn't dream of sending him in if at risk of infecting others. Especially as there are a couple of very vulnerable children on anti-suppressants.

This is more about the teachers not expecting or wanting the children to be unwell. Or having a rather unimpressed attitude to illness. Which is unrealistic no?

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blackeyedsusan · 07/06/2011 12:24

believe me, they would change their attitude if the got vomitted on....

("he as poorly this morning but is alright now..." 2 hours later.... one very wet stinky leg... did get given a box of chocolates though... )

Rowgtfc72 · 07/06/2011 16:51

We are in bother as dd only has 74% attendance in nursery , trust me, this year she has caught everything ! School have suggested we take her in even if she is poorly to get her attendance mark and if she is still poorly after half an hour they will ring us to collect her. Having passed illness to everyone and likewise the other kids with her. Not amused.

piratecat · 07/06/2011 16:55

don't even go there!!

my dd is one of life's ill children and i have had many raised eyebrows in the past few yrs from head, teacher, and lastly i was ambushed by EWO. Over a very legit time of illness where there was hospital involved.

All the times have been legit, and each time i get very down and panic. The school wants to keep up it's attendence records, and in the meantime i have had no help or feedback, even tho i have been thorough in letting them know.

PITA.

Original poster
curtaincall · 07/06/2011 21:40

So sorry your dcs haven't been well, though relieved in a way we're not the only ones. amazed what you say rowgtfc72 about being encouraged to bring her in if poorly, though this seems to be what I was told yesterday morning. This despite the risk to the seriously ill children in his year and we'd actually had a letter about one of them and how to make sure our dcs were completely healthy before bringing them in.

piratecat that's what I've had - raised eyebrows or equivalent. Dc was off for almost 3 weeks over Christmas term as every time he went back, he caught something else. A few days too at beginning of this term, and now I'm fighting being over-protective as he just needs to watch someone sneeze to catch something it seems. btw what's EWO and PITA? not really up to date with acronyms. Thanks.

OP posts:
meditrina · 07/06/2011 21:47

Rowgtfc72: if the school says that to you again, say you'll be happy to comply as soon as they give you that instruction in writing on letterhead paper and over an identifiable signature

RustyBear · 07/06/2011 21:49

EWO= Education Welfare Officer

PITA= Pain In The Arse.....

sunnydelight · 08/06/2011 04:24

We are constantly being sent reminders not to send sick kids to school and they are very quick to phone and ask you to collect kids that seem in any way unwell. We're in Oz though - I find it quite a relief after the suspicious attitude of English schools to absence through illness.

shelscrape · 08/06/2011 05:02

coughs, colds, sneezes and runny noses - DS woud go to school.
vomiting, fever, bad chest infection - DS would stay at home.

Sometimes kids are a bit under the weather with a runny nose and a normal cold, but other than that they are fine. In this situation I think they are better off at school, especially as the whole class are complete germ banks in the winter.

Perhaps you just need to explain the reason for keeping them at home a bit better. I know just saying they didn't feel too good would not be well received.

Now I live in NZ, schools are far more laid back about illness.

My mum was a head teacher .... I never had time off school apart from when I had measles and chicken pox. Otherwise I went to school and got left in the sick bay and still had to do my lessons!

cory · 08/06/2011 07:53

Dd's junior school was very negative. To the extent of doubting our word despite having piles of paediatrician's letters. To the extent of telling me that "of course we know corydd is ill but you can't expect us to be happy about it". To the extent of telling Social Services that it was a pity they were not able to get involved at the moment (SS having told them very firmly that they do not do medical conditions). They basically thought they could treat chronic illness like a discipline problem and it would go away.

The secondary school are totally different: their take is "yes, we know you have this problem but we are going to make sure you get an education anyway".

kreecherlivesupstairs · 08/06/2011 08:05

DD is at school in Belgium. If she has more than two days off, she needs a medical certificate.

ithaka · 08/06/2011 08:32

My girls' primary school seems very understanding compared to some examples on here. Older girl was never really ill, but our little one has asthma and viruses can hit her hard - she has been hospitalised twice as a result. I always found the school kind and concerned and I never felt they doubted my judgement - it seems I have been lucky.

BurningBuntingFlipFlop · 08/06/2011 08:42

Rogtfc - can't believe that, at nursery?? My ds is at schools nursery, full time school hours and I frequently keep him off just because he's a tired. He's 3 for goodness sake. If they said anything I would just tell then he didn't legally have to be there at all.

mummytime · 08/06/2011 09:04

As a wise friend of mine told me (she's a nurse married to a doctor and her three have all gone to good Unis) "They can miss as much school as they need until GCSE's, then they really should go in everyday unless they are dying".

My youngest has an immune suppressed friend, and I am extra cautious about when I send her in.
I've never had a problem about it though. (We did once have a head who gave out certificates to pupils with 100% attendence, which annoyed me.)

piratecat · 08/06/2011 09:11

waves at cory

cory · 08/06/2011 09:33

I'm getting to be an old bore on this subject, aren't I, piratecat

But I just can't believe the difference with this lovely new school; I'd like to take them chocolates every day!

And funnily enough (re mummytime's post), it is much easier for dd to cope with her absences now that they are studying for their GCSEs, as there is a set curriculum and a lot of the information is available online or in study guides or can be sent home by the teacher. Junior school just wasn't organised in the same way. Dd is on track for getting good marks despite a 30% attendance record.

pointythings · 08/06/2011 10:02

Both my DDs' schools take a common sense approach: colds, minor coughs, sniffles = OK. Everyone has them anyway. Vomiting, fever, severe coughing (as in 'needs to stop whatever they are doing because chest hurts and they are bringing up gobs of slime) = stay away. Their OFSTED scores for attendance are only a little above average so they'll never get an 'Outstanding', but that just shows what a load of sh*t OFSTED really is.
DD1's school does offer bribes for full attendance though - a 5 pound gift voucher for first term, followed by 10 pounds if second term is 100%, followed by 15 quid if third term is same, so total of 30 quid for a full year's attendance. I'm a bit Hmm about this - DD has very good health, but she has a boy who has had leukaemia twice in her year so he never gets anything - very very Sad IMO.

mummytime · 08/06/2011 10:10

Oh my DDs schools are all outstanding, and also want sick kids to stay at home. I think its only unauthorised absence that really counts.

cory · 08/06/2011 10:28

Ofsted count authorised absences too in their reports. My dd has never had a day's unauthorised absence- but she still got the headteacher's goat because of the Ofsted Outstanding thing; having a child with a 60% absence rate really affected their chances.

piratecat · 08/06/2011 10:52

it's really disgusting that they offer money incentives for good attendance, when those with serious illnesses can never hope to get recognition for the times they are in school and doing their best.

being off school isn't fun, it's not a laugh and my dd finds it very stressful. she worries. Week before last she was off with a headache throat virus, and i went up the school and demanded work be sent home for her to do on half term. The head was like 'oh don't worry' but i said, no, give me what she is missing, you never have sent stuff home and she and i both paid for it. Becuase basically they are so unorganised.

Get this, dd has had to have extra maths tuition. One session of an hour when she was out of class coincided with her class doing 'maths'

idiotic. grrrrrrrrrr. cory i am hoping it will be better organised when she goes up to secondary. glad your dd is doing so well, thats great news.

cory · 08/06/2011 11:27

sorry to hear you are still struggling, piratecat; hope things do get easier for you

it's no fun, is it?

Insomnia11 · 08/06/2011 11:40

Bizarre that a nursery would raise eyebrows for non-attendance. It isn't compulsory to attend nursery school.

piratecat · 08/06/2011 11:44

hi cory, thanks. the hip pain went, thank god. its just the usual illnesses now! we had swine flu back in feb too, that was a joy.

nice to see you x

Original poster
curtaincall · 08/06/2011 12:09

They basically thought they could treat chronic illness like a discipline problem and it would go away. Grin at Cory that's exactly what it feels like.

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