How important is it that your child's attendance record is correct?

[CurtainsForNow]

DC came home with the dreaded attendance certificates today.

DS has a certificate for 100% in the autumn term.
DD has no certificate (and others in her class have received them so not just a case of them not being given out yet).

However ... DS was off for 2 days last term due to sickness. DD was there every day.

So either BOTH their attendance records are wrong, or the school has got them mixed up (or something else I suppose but not great whichever way you look at it).

DD couldn't care less about the certificate, but I wonder if there are consequences to having an incorrect attendance record i.e. should I contact the school?

No there are no real consequences of this minor issue but it is slightly worrying if the school can mix up DS and DD

Maybe the record is correct but the certificate was written wrong, if your worried get them to check but it be no big deal to have just 2 days recorded wrong. Ask them to write one to dd if she is upset by it.

Registers are a legal requirement. I would question it

For me its a point of principle - our school go OTT on attendance so when they won't assist me in getting SALT into School, so I have to attend sessions with the preschool team on a Tuesday mornings with my 4 year old so he has some hope of accessing phonics, and then they mark him as absent I was furious not impressed

I spoke to head who said he would sort it out and get him a certificate (both his brothers got one and he was upset not to get one at the hideous VIP assembly) That was over a week ago - he's yet to have a certificate... I need to go in again - I now sound a bit crazy and OTT but if you are going to stand children up in a row and applaud them then I think you have a responsibility to make sure the data is correct - and then correct the outcome for the child when you say you will (that and when the NHS schedule a clinic within School hours it needs to recognised that we have no choice in the service offered)

The sessions where marked as medical on his attendance record which even if authorised (which they were) are an absence, although for ofsted I think thats ok so, for the purpose of which they collect the data, they didn't really care and don't need to make a change to his record (the attendance system is from LEA so they just put the codes in and it tells them who to give certificates and prizes too)

I did go in and make a fuss when they put a day at the hospital down as a family holiday. I told them in no uncertain terms that a day at the hospital with three children under 6 (which they had been notified about) was in no way a family holiday - they corrected it. I guess also you don't know if dd will be ill this term etc and those extra two days on her record might be the difference between EWO involvement (I don't have a problem per se with the concept of EWOs but some do seem to be particularly eager even when children are genuinely ill).

My DS and Dd are in the school on their playgrounds by 8.50 every morning but last year my DS managed to get 5 lates on his end of year report, yet Dd had perfect attendance .......what would you do about that then if the EWO pays a visit??

It would piss me off no end.

If they are going to issue the stupid 100% certificates, at least issue them correctly.

And don't send home children who have nothing wrong with them, and then tell them they don't have 100% attendance. sore point around here