Attendance letter for reception child

[BillStickersIsInnocent]

I'm a bit bemused and could do with some advice.

I received a letter from the head saying that DD's attendance had fallen below acceptable levels. She has had 8 days off sick. I have been asked to "work together with my child to ensure a commitment to better attendance in future".

I'm bemused (well fuming actually but may be overreacting) because:

She's just 5
I phoned the school office every day with progress reports
She was suffering with severe constipation that then caused incontinence - it wasn't fair to her or anyone else to send her to school
The reason why she got constipated was because (I found this out much later) "older boys at break were blocking the loo and not letting us in" (I did share this with her teacher when I found this out and was promised something would be done)

She was off for 4 days before half term and 4 afterwards (and was poorly for most of half term too) perhaps this is the issue? Might they think we took a holiday?

Would you take this further and if so how?

It sounds like it's a template letter they send to all children whose absence goes beyond a certain point. This is the problem with templates!! It doesn't really sound appropriate and perhaps it's worth mentioning that using template letters (if indeed it is one) is insensitive in these circumstances.

I think those letters are automatically generated when attendance falls below a certain percentage. I wouldn't take it personally. I'd probably respond in writing with what you've written above and leave it at that.

Schools and teachers think they are God's who can control parents as well as children. They have targets and bully files so they look good to those monitoring them. They care about their reputation not your child.

*families

With schools it's attendance figures first, health last. As a parent it's got to be your child's health first all the way

Unless it calls for actual action, like meeting with someone, just bin, ignore.

Automatic letter because attendance figures are what schools are judged on. Use the opportunity to formally explain that your daughter's illness was a direct result of bullying by older boys and lack of supervision near the toilets. The head teacher can then explain how the school are going to show their commitment to your child.

The letters don't actually come from the school and certainly nothing to do with teachers. Attendance is monitored by the LEA and the school will receive a visit from the Educational Welfare Officer who will have a list of concerns. Our EWO explained they now look at four week periods (rather than over a term or year) so 8 days out of a possible 20 would look much worse than it is. It's a stupid system and doesn't deter the families who fail to educate their child.

Parents of genuinely sick children seem to be facing this sort of thing far more. It's wrong, but it's possible that there have been a spate of local 'sickies' and distrust of parents becomes institutionalised.

Yes, almost two weeks either side of half term will trigger because of unusual pattern.

However, with constipation/incontinance lasting 17 days, you surely must have seen a doctor at some point, so dig out any proof you have of appointments and prescriptions.

Thanks for all the replies - very helpful.

Yes we had a hospital visit - she developed a UTI too, probably related.

So this letter was signed by the head but actually was from the LEA? The school is an academy, does that make any difference?

Still feeling cross about it all, thought I had a very open and honest relationship with them. Well her teachers at least.

Mrz yes - they said she's been absent for 16 sessions out of a possible 215. So her absence is below 'the silver line' at 92.6%.

Attendence is not actually complusory until the term AFTER your child is five. Unless your child has an autumn birthday the school can't do anything.

Send the head a detailed reply including proof of hospital appointment and anything such as prescriptions / medicine receipts you have. It probably is the fact it surrounded holiday but I don't think you should be wrongly accused.