Note from attendance officer

[Moanyoldcow]

I'm quite irritated to have received a note from the attendance officer and I'd like to understand the possible repercussions of lower than 'ideal' attendance please.

My son has just started Reception. He came down with a terrible cold on a Sunday with a fever, bad cough and very runny nose. He was off for Monday and Tuesday.

I sent him back Wednesday and Thursday but I misjudged it as by Thursday he'd relapsed and I had to leave early to collect him. He was off on the Friday and Monday. By Tuesday he was much better so he returned to school, only had a cough and has been in school as normal since.

The letter says some tosh about 'hope his attendance improves' but acknowledges he's been sick too.

What are you supposed to do? Send them in sick and keep attendance high just to appease the officer?

It's really narked me. The only way his attendance could've been improved would've been if I sent him in sick which is directly against their guidelines.

Urgh. I hate all this shit.

Likewise Irvine - and it was on school letterhead with the signature block of a named person at the school.

Appreciate your school may be different Norest but mine definitely came from school.

Not RTFT but I would ignore. Or send back with passive aggressive note reminding them that attendance within an educational setting (school or homeschool) is not actually compulsory by law until the September after their fifth birthday and therefore any attendance issues cannot really be enforced until then.

It's likely autogenerated but that's not really the point.

I got o e of these one year after DS was off sick for his 3rd day back in September. So he had 66.6% attendance for the year at that point

I just mentally acknowledged the ridiculous logic behind it, rolled my eyes, binned it and sent DS in for the rest of the year no problem. It turned out to be the only day he had off all that year.

I'd be annoyed too. What I don't understand is that for those people saying they have to send it it's just a standard letter- why don't they just do the simple check of cross checking the letters against the children signed off sick? I don't understand why this seems to be so hard, nor do I understand what they expect to achieve by sending this letter to a family who already informed the school their child was sick.

It makes the school look a bit dim really.

Suburban, I said printed note whatever would be enough. I didn't say needed to be hand written. Or even the word from class teacher when they get this letter. Anything, that just make people know it's just a n automated letter, especially in reception.
Reading MN, I know what my ds's school does is way above any school. And I don't even need to go into school to speak about worry because it just says don't worry!

I suppose the issue I have is that my son is one of 'those' kids - gets everything going and badly. Colds end up with fevers, often turning to ear infections, tonsillitis and bronchitis etc, especially in cold weather.

So I know this is the beginning of a load of shit that I could do without on top of juggling a child who gets everything with childcare and work etc.

And I don't want to end up arguing with some teattish jobsworth about it. But I'll update you in February after he's had his usual winter medley.

I'm just hoping for a Christmas where we're not both on antibiotics and deaf with catarrh (last three in a row now).

I agree Bubble - it's quite disheartening.

If it was a standard letter with no mention of his sickness I'd have filed under 'roll eyes and ignore' but since they took the time to acknowledge he'd been ill it seems like a true waste of time.

Op, it's annoying. But don't worry, like pps have said, it's just a automated letter. It doesn't do anything. Just make sure you keep record of everything.
If you have all the evidence, there's nothing to worry about.

Schools have to prove that they act in cases where levels of absence fall below expected.
I don't get the upset. It's all to do with data and percentages.
You don't "relapse" with a common cold though. My son used to "relapse" with a severe and life threatening conditions. We ended up in hospital a lot. Kids can generally go in with colds.

In some ways it seems like they ought to wait until later in the year to send these things but if you are a parent new to the school they will want to make sure that the message is clear as there are some parents who are rather relaxed about attendance.

If you are doing all you can to keep him well with a balanced diet, good sleep patterns and good hand washing then there is nothing more than can really be done.

So is there legislation which the school has to comply with to show they have done something? Does this legislation not distinguish between sick leave and unexplained absence?

It just seems like a bureaucratic waste of time and I can't get over the irony that admin staff are "too busy" to check reasons for absence- too busy doing pointless work. It's like something out of YEs minister

Whatever you want to call it Wolf - he had a nasty cold - I thought he was better and sent him in - school decided he wasn't well enough and called me to collect him.

This isn't a thread about whether he was sick enough to be kept home.

Yes, generally they can go to school with a cold. In this instance he couldn't.

And I don't want to end up arguing with some teattish jobsworth about it.

Is that word meant to be "twattish", OP? Is that really what you think about the staff in your son's school who are following instructions from the government and their LA about how to show theyre actively trying to improve attendance?

Yep. Very twattish.
The school wants to ensure good attendance that ensures good levels of progress and attainment.
But hey. Jobsworth.

It is supposed to be twattish.

I don't currently think that. But if after further absences due to sickness someone calls me in and displays no common sense concerning the situation then that is how I'll feel.

As you can see that sentence relates to the imagined scenario where my son has been off for unavoidable sickness and someone wants to talk about how to 'improve' it.

Currently I'm 'narked' and feel the school isn't using common sense but no one has made me feel that yet.

We've just had one of these op. DS had one day off to attend his Great grandmothers funeral (which the school authorised) but as it was in September, his attendance is now below 95%.

I've rolled my eyes and binned it and I do wonder about their grasp of percentages!

Get used to it op. Most schools I find do not use common sense, but treat all parents as though they are the same.

So you're preparing yourself for a future scenario in which you will describe the staff in your son's school as "twattish"?

Priceless.

Priceless? You can't get out much.

This sort of thing pisses me off too OP. When DS was in year 9 I got a letter like this saying I had to go in for a meeting to discuss his attendance. He'd been suffering from severe migraines, which the school was fully aware (some of the migraines began at school so they saw how poorly he was). But 'the system' said that because his attendance was below a certain % a letter must be sent out. They need to address each case individually.

Feeling your pain OP, very frustrating when it’s genuine illness as a cause for absence. I have had a similar situation with DS1 who has recently started college, made college aware that he needed a day off to attend a family funeral, all ok, then they said at a review his attendance was poor! He’s only just started and only missed one day, so surely common sense could be applied, his attendance will improve over the term etc.

I'd say because they acknowledged he was sick they also acknowledged the ridiculousness of sending the letter, which they have to do if attendance is below a certain percentage. Which 5 weeks into term 4 days off will do.

I'd be very tempted to send a letter back reminding them that until my child reaches compulsory school age my child doesn't legally need to be in school.

You seem very aggressive about a situation where the school is trying to help kids achieve by getting them into school. Perhaps try working with the school, drop the attitude and support them in wanting kids to attend?

Wolf - I have said repeatedly that I understand in some cases support is needed to improve attendance.

4 absences because of a bad cold that they called me about, in the first 4 weeks of term is not a significant or sensible period of time over which to assess an attendance level.

I'm not aggressive - I'm frustrated. I'm posting on here about that and like many posters.

I don't have anything to work with the school for - that's why I've got a bloody attitude.

I know SuburbanRhonda - oddly worked up about a situation that has yet to pass.

God forbid there was an actual problem with the school, instead of what sounds like an automated response once a minimum standard of attendance is reached...

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who feels that it's ridiculous - thank you to the other posters who can understand my frustration and feel there must be a better way to deal with it.