Year 6 awards assembly......

[Keiza]

Sorry if sound like a pushy Mum but

My DD had her assembly yesterday where awards were given to pupils for their achievements of the past year, one of the awards they receive is for attendance, I watched as several of her classmates got their certificate but none for DD, why? I asked, well its because she had ONE day off for the whole year so it wasn't a 100% attendance. The day she was absent for was when she attended her Aunts funeral, am I right to feel somewhat aggrieved that she has been penalised for this. I know it's only a small thing but she has worked so hard this year and I think it's sad the school couldn't recognise this.

tiggytape completely agree - that's the kind of 'luck' I meant but I don't think I worded it as well as you. I was going to add to this earlier but lost my internet connection.

But it is not always, or just, luck, is it? Of course any child without a chronic and/or serious health issue is lucky - but it's daft to pretend those are the only reasons children are ever absent.

Tired the day after a holiday, on holiday, thought I might as well not send her back again after the dentist, older sister not well so much easier not to do the school run, doesn't like sports day, younger sibling's leavers assembly, other child has INSET day so thought we'd have a day out..... I've heard each and every one of those, more than once. Those are crap reasons not to be at school, and rewarding children who don't do that is no bad thing. It's not like this is the only award there is, and it's not like a certificate really penalises anyone who doesn't get a certificate.

Sometimes it might be done too much, or insensitively - but the essential idea of attendance awards as part of a ceremony at the end of term to celebrate various instances of good attitude, achievement or attaintment is one with which I am in complete sympathy. And neither of my children would have got one this year.

Low Attendance in Mainstream schools IS often due to I'll health. My DS2's attendance this year (his worst ever) was just 88%. The EWO wasn't called however - a) I had done a 40 minute bus journey each day AND had to arrange for someone to sit with DS2 while I did so to get his older brother there, and b) He was severely immune suppressed due to strong asthma medication and chickenpox was going around the school, and on the advice of his respiratory consultant, he was kept off school until 5 days after the last reported case...

There ARE many, many DC in mainstream who may have quite severe medical and health issues requiring time off. I find the suggestion that because my DC's ate in mainstream education, they can't be ill enough to have poor attendance offensive, misguided and ill-informed.

I have a DD with two leaky heart valves that will need replacing through open-heart surgery when she is 16 (she is 14 right now) in mainstream. Her cardiac consultant is nearly 100 miles away. She often has to miss 2-3 days of school to go there. She is also partially deaf. Her ENT and Audiology clinics ONLY run in school times. She has other health issues that require Physio and OT, again the clinics are run during school hours only. She has to see a developmental Paed. Again, clinic is school hours only. She has to see a Paed Neuro for her absence seizures, 60 miles away.

Then there is the associated travel times involved when you rely on public transport.

My DS2 also sees the developmental Paed, SALT, Orthotics, Physio, OT, ENT, Audiology, asthma nurse, respiratory consultant, and probably more I can't remember without looking in my diary...

They are both in mainstream. Can you now see why someone saying that DC in mainstream don't have serious health issues is offensive to me?!

And I'm glad that at our school, attendance awards are given out for attendance over 95.5%. Gives most DC's (though not mine, frequently) the chance to achieve them.

I think they are a terrible new invention. Children get sent in to school with disgusting infectious illnesses (d & v anyone) too often as it is.

Though DD DID get one this term. Just. I managed to book most of her appointments for this quarter over the Easter Hols. But that's not always possible, and to do that with TWO DC's needing appointments is not possible unless it is a 2-week holiday that isn't at Christmas or over the summer when a lot of the clinics ate shut due to consultants being on holiday..,

DD misses out on termly attendance certificates because she has (very very occasional) medical appointments & she goes to sporting events where she represents the school.
I cannot take attendance certificates seriously.

In my day, people only get certificates if they had never had a day off school for any reason. I thought they were freaks, too, but there were always a few!

I'm not sure if you're refering to my post Couthy but I didnt say that mainstream school doesnt have children with health problems and I certainly didnt mean to offend you.

I said attendence problems (where attendence is low across the entire school not for a specific child) are not generally caused by health problems. 1 child who is regularly out for doctors appointments/illness wont knock the schools statistics that much unless it is a very very small school.

The aim of these awards is to target the high numbers of children who just dont attend school. Many many schools roll out attendence awards. Not that many actually have the problem.

I think people are missing the point here and becoming too personally involved. Parents could equally argue my child is never going to win sports person award, most improved, top writer etc etc. These awards celebrate the things we value in life - working hard, punctuatility, team work. They arent saying 'lets all point out the children who dont attend every day/arent good a sport/are not very motivated.

I'm sorry if I have offended anyone, I can see these awards are just 1 in a long line of things that are frustrating or upsetting for you and your child. But I really think people are seeing it from a very singular point of view.

Tough, you knew the cut off. Rules is rules. It isn't your childs fault they missed out 100%. Its just to bad

Yes, just to bad I took an authorised absence for DD to attend her Aunts funeral. Doesn't alter that there is no encouragement, if there is no reward for the effort.

I do think attendance certificates can be unfair. My DS missed out as he had to have an operation.

However the attendance in my DC school is poor and has improved since the system of certificates has been introduced. However I do think a certificate for maybe 95% attendance (or whatever the school aim for kids to have - which I think is 98 in my kids school) should be enough to get their award.

I don't know why people get so wound up on 100% attendance certificates.

It can be down to luck. But so can whether you are good at running, good at maths, good at dancing, good at

Yes, some working at those things may help. But actually some work at attending can help. Dd1 has hardly had a day off school for illness-1 week for pneumonia and about 3-4 other days in 7 years. That's because she make sure she goes in. She says "I've a headache, can I take some calpol before I go in?" And then she'll come out and say "I'll go to bed early because I'm not feeling great".
DD2 otoh goes "I've a headache and it's so bad I can't get out of bed..." Sometimes when she's lying there groaning how bad she is I'll remind her about something happening at school that she wants to do. You'd be amazed how she can switch it off and be bouncing all round the house in seconds. And then if she comes home feeling bad she'll still want to stay up playing late on the basis "If I'm too tired do I have to go in tomorrow?" (yes, you do!!)

Dd1 just came home with a certificate for getting 100/100 on the SATS maths test. You know how much work she did outside school? None. Did she work for it? Not really. They'll be children who have done a lot of extra work for the SATS. Is that fair?

Our schools haven't usually done 100% attendance awards, but it wouldn't bother me if they did. Even though dd2 and ds both have medical issues that mean they miss a certain amount.

I'm not sure I agree with them either however they can sometimes work to the good.

Dd has had hospital appointments every year in infants so had no chance of getting a certificate. She is also a very good little actress and has persuaded her teachers and me off illness and has stayed at home when I've realised afterwards that she's putting it on.

This year her hospital appointments have stopped and so it's the first time in 4 years that she's had a chance to get her attendance certificate. She managed not to be ill the whole year because of her determination. It has meant that she's stopped faking it and for us it's a good thing.

I made a suggestion to our head teacher this year that, as well as the usual reward for 100% attendance, they could do a reward for 100% punctuality.

Punctuality is something that (most) children at least have some control over.

She said she thought it was a good idea - we see tomorrow if she follows through with it.

But Wellthen - even in a school with endemic low attendance, SOME children's low attendance will not be through parental apathy, but through ill-health of the child. Why should THAT child be made to have no chance of gaining the award when they can't CHANGE their ill-health. The people that have low attendance for rubbish reasons CAN change, and have a CHANCE of changing in order to gain a certificate that requires 100% attendance. But the DC with ill-health has no option of changing.

Which is why, to me, the bar being set at 95% is more acheiveable for MOST DC's.

And after an illuminating conversation with my primary's Chair of Governors, apparently what I feel is an atrocious attendance percentage for my DS2 (though inescapable) is still WELL above the national average. .

Which DOES make me wonder just HOW much time off school some DC's are having, for non-health related reasons...

I DO find that it is those parents who have a DC with long-term health issues who go over and above in order to ensure that even if that DC is off sick, that their other DC's are at school.

I think you're right there couthymow, parents of children with chronic conditions are probably more determined than most to get their DCs into school every day possible.

My DD (just finishing reception) has to have an annual check up involving a full day at hospital so she will never get 100% attendance even if she makes it in every other day. Having said that, she also has regular hospital appointments and the prospect of lengthy hospital stays for treatment purely because of her condition.

On the last day of the autumn term she had an appointment at 11.00 (at a hospital nearly an hours drive away) but so determined was I for her to not miss school, I took her in for the first hour, picked her up and then dropped her back for the last hour.

I could easily have said that I would keep her off for the full day but I want her to see her condition as being something she has to deal with rather than let it rule her life. She has already worked out that she is 'different' to all her friends so I want her to have every opportunity to do the same as them whenever she can.

So yes, I don't like attendance awards - DD hasn't been at school long enough for there to be awards for sport/reading/writing etc (although maybe there are and she just hasn't had them yet!) for me to know what its like to miss out on other celebrations.

Our school has attendance awards too.

Last week they were given out and DS2 didnt get one, despite being there every day this year.

He has ASD and for a while he wasnt in school full-time, at the school request (and against my own wishes), so in the afternoons he was put down as 'approved educational activity'. This apparently means he did not have 100% attendance.

I made a fuss and eventually the HM relented.

DS should have got his certificate Monday, but he wasnt in school as he has an infection :o

And there have been days when he is screaming the house down that he doesnt want to go, and I have to physically carry him into school from our house.

We've just had OFSTED in and they've suggested we move away from 100% attendance awards to 'most improved attendance' in order to encourage better attendance from ALL children.
100% attendance is down to luck and good parenting, some children don't stand a chance of it but could be encouraged to improve their attendance by 2% for example.

I don't think it's worth getting one's knickers in a twist over. I'd rather my children were rewarded for actual achievements rather than attendance. Md ds got a 100% attendance award in his first year; he's never had one since because he's had the odd day sick.

I work in the public sector and those of us who haven't taken sick leave get a letter of appreciation at the end of the year. It means nothing. I got one a couple of times. Since I've been pregnant and had kids I haven't had one as I've had to take time off for either myself being sick or theh kids. It wasn't something I was particularly 'proud' of when I got one. I don't think it's a bad thing for attendance to be appreciated, though.

Oh for God's sake, this has come up time and time again and it really annoys me. She isn't getting 'penalised' nor is anyone else who has missed school for good reason.

For those who are complaining that it isn't fair because their child has been genuinely ill or whatever, you are COMPLETELY missing the point. These awards are not aimed at you. They are aimed at people who take their children out of school for a holiday. Or a day off to go to a theme park to avoid the queues. Or who go for a doctors/dentist appointment in the morning and don't bother to come to school in the afternoon. Or those who miss school because they are tired after late night partying. Or any other rubbish excuses for missing school.

It's nothing to do with being ill and schools are not saying bring your sick child to school.

They are to encourage people to attend school every day who otherwise might not.

Did lots of children get attendance certificates? It's normally about 3 at DD's school so hardly a big deal for children that don't get them.
DS missed out on a 100% certificate in Y1 for missing 1.5 hours for a hospital appointment - so he was actually present for every session of every day. But I totally accept this made his attendance not 100% - so he was not entitled to a certificate.

I loathe the attendance awards basically your rewarding a child for having good health. DS has had 2 days of sick this year with a d&V bug he picked up at school. (they had 47% of the children off with it) Hence no certificate.. Complete insane "reward" and imo NOT an achievement.