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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

How many days has your dc been off sick starting reception?

61 replies

purplehouse · 29/09/2012 17:06

My dd has been at school for three and a half weeks and already she has missed 4 days due to 2 separate illnesses. She is still ill and I may not even be able to send her on Monday. At the moment she has a very snotty nose, a cough and is breathing noisily. I am getting a bit stressed about it. Her attendance is 78% so far and I gather from mn that is very poor and wonder if the school will be cross.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

AThingInYourLife · 29/09/2012 18:29

0 (4 weeks in)

serin · 29/09/2012 18:30

Aw don't stress. At that age they do tend to pick things up.

DD missed the first 2 weeks of school as she was in intensive care the school was heavily oversubscribed and the head actually rang me to find out whether she was getting any better as there were other kids awaiting her place (Bastard).

I thought she would be miles behind but she's in year 11 now and a straight A student.

At the awards ceremony last year all the kids who got attendance awards (my DS'S included) were the ones with working mothers. I must admit I have a tendency to send them in rather than cancel entire clinics (work in NHS) to stay off with them.

If I was a SAHM as I have been in the past, I fear I would have a much more lenient policy

CouthyMowWearingOrange · 29/09/2012 18:30

So from start of YR to end of Y3, 85 days.

CouthyMowWearingOrange · 29/09/2012 18:32

Oops, missed some while counting, 88 days to end of Y3.

Chronic illnesses in your DC's are not fun...

ivykaty44 · 29/09/2012 18:33

I have no idea - dd2 is in year 9 and I send her in and tell her to complain if she feels ill

dd1 was sent home from school with broken leg as they couldn't cope.

I don't do malingering and they tell me I am harsh - that is dd's not the school

But they have both had time of sick from school

CouthyMowWearingOrange · 29/09/2012 18:33

And I was working for half that time. Until I used up all my unpaid parental leave and got sacked for looking after my ill child rather than being in work...

Karoleann · 29/09/2012 22:27

You really don't want to be sending them in at all if they're poorly in reception. They're hardly going to miss much anyway.
Ignore the school if they're ill you just ring up and say they're not well.

Original poster

purplehouse · 29/09/2012 22:36

Thanks for replies. Am shocked at the huge variation!

OP posts:

orangefan · 29/09/2012 22:43

1 day, ear infection. This term is the worst, two seven week terms. There's no way she'll last 'til Christmas.

CouthyMowWearingOrange · 29/09/2012 23:07

DD has only had 2/3 days a year off SICK on average, though, and she's in Y10. Though she often has mornings off for routine medical appointments.

She just ALWAYS gets ill in school holidays. Which pisses her off no end.

Summer holidays this year, 6 days before back to school - tonsillitis. She was well enough to go back to school on the first day back.

It grates on her that she'll catch something in the holidays, and be well enough for school, yet her brothers will then get it AFTER they have gone back. .

On the plus side, she rather enjoyed the iTunes voucher she won for getting 100% attendance last year...which my DS's will probably never win!

dikkertjedap · 30/09/2012 08:10

At our school it varies widely.

Some children do get ill a lot more as they have not been exposed to so many bugs before (i.e. have not been to nursery). Some have medical problems.

Then there is the difference in approach between working and SAHM.

Children from working parents who are ill are very often sent to school dosed up on calpol/calprofen and the parents often ask us to top up at lunch break. Some teachers do, some don't .... our new Head has instructed us to give calpol/calprofen/other medicine to the children if so requested by the parents. Previous Head only allowed prescribed medicine.

All these things mean that there are very big differences, so I wouldn't worry too much OP.

GoldenPeppermintCreams · 30/09/2012 11:21

My reception child has had no days off.

However my friend's daughter missed the first week because she was in hospital with a bad chest infection, missed another couple of days from a stomach bug, and I predict more for her. She generally is a sickly child, bless her.

So I think it really depends on the child. Hope your DD feels better soon.

RobinSparkles · 30/09/2012 11:27

DD1 is in year 1 and she's had one day off due to illness. She was sick with an ear infection. She was actually fine on that actual day, she had been sick at the weekend but school policy is that you have to keep them at home for 48 hours after vomiting so I had to keep her off.

She's hardly ever ill and if she is it's often the holidays (usually over Christmas . Such fun!)

megandraper · 30/09/2012 11:27

My reception child has had 6 days off. Two lots of 3 days each, for tonsillitis both times. (High temperature and clearly not well enough for school). He has been at nursery, but got ill a lot there too. Our school has a no-Calpol policy - if they're ill enough for Calpol they need to be at home (I don't disagree, certainly true in DSs case).

I do wonder though if he has some underlying problem as he has this a lot, so am going to ask paediatrician at next visit (we see a paediatrician for a chronic problem he has).

JiltedJohnsJulie · 30/09/2012 11:31

DS had lots, far too many to count until the NHS finally agreed to take out his tonsils and he's had one day since.

DD started reception last year and had 3 days off but to be fair on the days she was off there were only 9 children in out of 30. Very nasty bug.

NimChimpsky · 30/09/2012 11:37

My friend had 1 day off school in his whole school career.

DD's had a couple of days off here and there since starting but her attendance is probably around 99% still. Preschool however, her first experience of being around other children a lot, she had cough after cold after slapped cheek after chicken pox after ear infection etc etc.

Sadly, to get an immune system she had to get the bugs. And she did that in preschool. Now she's in school she's pretty robust. Never picked up the D&V bugs as they go round and gets the occasional cough/cold which once turned into an ear infection.

missmapp · 30/09/2012 11:48

Ds1 - no days off, he is now in Yr 3
Ds2 - no days off, but he only started school 3 weeks ago!

They are pretty healthy and had chicken pox when at nursery. They are pretty good at being ill in the holidays- but then I m a teacher, so that is when we all get ill!!

If you are worried, go in and explain about the illnesses, it sounds like you have just entered a new germ pool and she is suffering a bit- I 'm sure she will build up her immunity soon.

HiHowAreYou · 30/09/2012 11:55

After fretting about it a lot, I kept DD off on Thursday and Friday with a cough cold sore throat thing.

She's only four and I thought it's a long day for her to be at school from nine to half three if she's miserable and worn out. She wasn't sleeping at night despite calpol so I decided I'd rather keep her home with me.

Maybe it was the wrong thing to do. I don't know!

Xenia · 30/09/2012 12:11

Mine seem to have a day sick every 5 years but we do tend to struggle on as a family whatever, a kind of stocism or perhaps we have just been very lucky. We were lucky that even chicken pox in case of all 5 children fell in school holidays! May be the fact both parents always worked full time meant children went to school whatever.

harvestvestibule · 30/09/2012 19:05

Hmm the reason your Dc are off sick so much as a direct result of all the people who say their child has never/hardly ever been off sick

RobinSparkles · 30/09/2012 19:53

How can it be a direct result of those that are never off sick if they're not sick?
I suppose that you're implying that people are sending their ill children to school but that's definitely not the case here! DD has the immune system of an ox, like me - I genuinely can't remember the last time I was sick apart from the odd sniffle.

I would never send my child in if she was ill and it would annoy me if someone else sent in an ill child too!

Floggingmolly · 30/09/2012 19:54

Exactly, my kids have never been off school sick - because they're never sick!

BizarreLoveTriangle · 30/09/2012 19:58

Dd1 got sick a lot when she started nursery but has had one day off since starting reception last year.

MerylStrop · 30/09/2012 20:03

DS - Yr3 - loads of time off get recurrent tonsilitis.

DD- Yr1 0 100% so far

I wouldn't be overly worried OP, she's only little and she needs to get well. If it becomes a pattern over longer term it might start to be an issue but for genuine illness, what else are you going to do? You might get a slightly shirty letter around february if attendance is less than @85% by then. Take no notice!

Marne · 30/09/2012 20:09

Both my dd's had a lot of time off over the past 2 years, mainly with throat infections, UTI's and flu. I send them in with a cold as long as they dont have a high fever and are eating fine. I dont see the point in sending them in if they are poorly. They both have time off for hospital appointments too, last year they were off a lot due to starting a new school, so far this year they have not had a day off (touch wood) but we probably wont make it till half term.

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