Anyone else hate that attendance is rewarded?

[coffeepleeease]

DD (5) started school in September, she picks up everything going and struggles to fight things off, so a common cold puts her out of action for a couple of days with a high temp and usually being sick from all the phlegm. So far she's had 2 days off for one cold with a high temp, and then 3 weeks later a day off for another cold with a high temp.

She now has a chest infection, started antibiotics yesterday and although she's now happy in herself she's coughing so much she's dry heaving and she had a high temp last night which seems to have gone down for now at least. She's also up all night having away so very tired. I'm not sure she's well enough for school tomorrow, so would be her 5th day off. School allows for 6 days absence over the year which is 97% attendance, and all those who "achieve" that receive a certificate in assembly at the end of the year. Children can't help being ill, I hate that attendance is rewarded (not just because my DD is a poorly child, I've always thought that even before having her). What are others thoughts?

I have dc with 100% attendance. I think it's ridiculous that attendance awards are given.

yes. it's a stupid, smug, useless, non-achievment celebration that adds insult to injury by highlighting what others, mainly due to health issues, can't do through no fault of their own

I didn't even know these existed until DS4 came home with one at the end of term.
yes, well done him for not catching an illness or needing a check up during school hours. 🙄

he did make up for it a few years later when he broke his left humerus clean in half (bike accident) then had boxer's fracture on 3 fingers (another accident) - all in the same academic year. he had a lot of time off.

Some children will have health issues but others have other issues. My son has significant learning difficulties and poor physical coordination. The only award that he had a chance of getting was full attendance and the awards meant the world to him as he was judged on the same basis as all other children in the class. Not everyone can do/be eligible for everything as he found out to his immense cost. Try being at the bottom of the heap for virtually everything.

It’s awful in my opinion.

Can you imagine if an employer offered a party to those with 100% attendance only? Ignoring those with maybe chronic health issues, mental health issues, childcare issues & god forbid you just actually get ill.

If I’m too sick to work, I don’t work. I have time off. Why we expect children to be in school when they are feeling awful is beyond me.

schools: all students are equal

also schools: some students are more equal than others

Good attendance in exam years is incredibly important - for every 10% of lessons missed, students go down a grade.

So establishing good attendance habits in primary school and KS3 is setting them up for good grades in the future. Praising these good habits early will encourage them to continue.

If a kid is genuinely too ill to go in then of course they shouldn't. But if they just have a cold then they absolutely should!

It's absolutely nonsensical. My one son got 100 per cent attendance last year. My four year old got an absolute spate of illnesses at preschool so was off loads...awaiting Pcr test results in some cases and in others unwell enough with sickness bugs that they really wouldn't have wanted him. The middle one got covid so was off for two weeks. The eldest got an attendance award because he was already lucky enough to be less unwell than his brothers. Utterly ridiculous! It also has the psychological consequences that it's all or nothing...if you only get a prize for 100 per cent, then 99 per cent or 92 per cent, it's all the same, still no prize! So you might as well not struggle in after the first day off! I increasingly hate the education system in this country for its narrow mindedness abd blinkered thinking.

@BrunoJenkins

Good attendance in exam years is incredibly important - for every 10% of lessons missed, students go down a grade.

So establishing good attendance habits in primary school and KS3 is setting them up for good grades in the future. Praising these good habits early will encourage them to continue.

If a kid is genuinely too ill to go in then of course they shouldn't. But if they just have a cold then they absolutely should!

and how do you make a distinction between "off because of emergency surgey" v "off because just having a cold" the latter which can actually be pretty debilitating (I've had 'just a cold" for 5 weeks now and I'm broken).

who is gonna be the judge of what reason for not going to school is a better reason? are you seriously proposing a "who is the illest of them all?" competition????

I have news for you: if a child has a valid reason they have authorised absence. period.
It doesn't matter what the reason is or how it would rank in someone's fucked up imagination.

Being lucky enough to be healthy is not an achievement. Being unlucky enough to have health problems is not a failure.

I also think we have got to get past showing up at school with a virus for others to catch us virtuous. It’s not. Spreading colds isn’t a good idea.

Schools should speak to parents of those who don’t make 82% attendance. I think mist of us know it’s chaotic families that need help and encouragement. Not the standard family of a child with a cold once a year.

My son is in and out of hospital a lot so I hate it, it’s not like he’s skiving ffs

Think about this a child with cancer denied the privilege of attending a show in school time

She didn't choose cancer she didn't choose hospital stays medicine that could kill her and did kill her friends she didn't choose any of it but the school chose to exclude her and others because of there absence from school

In my opinion the only time they should be excluded from an end of term celebration over attendance is (maybe) if their parents chose to take them on holiday because good health is a gift not a right a privilege not a certainty and we should not forget this

I am sure most schools do look at long term illness more sympathetically.

@TizerorFizz

I am sure most schools do look at long term illness more sympathetically.

I really wish they did

@TizerorFizz

I am sure most schools do look at long term illness more sympathetically.

Not around here they don't

Not in our Borough either!

I'm on the fence. I completely see your side and the unfairness of it all. On the other hand a lot of parents don't take attendance seriously (I also used to teach) so you can see why the schools are trying to do something. I took my 3 year old to softplay after pre-school one day and it was absolutely heaving with school-age children, some as old as 9 or 10. Things need to change somehow.

It should change by targeting the DC who are most often not in school. Schools know who the offenders are! Work with their parents! Not punish genuinely ill children.

Been interesting reading all your replies. I understand schools need to monitor attendance, but if a parent just isn't bothering to take their child to school with no genuine reason, I don't think their child receiving a certificate at the end of the year is much of an incentive to change their ways! By all means keep an eye on attendance, and contact parents if you have any concerns, but no need to reward with a certificate in my opinion

Completely agree that parents are usually the reason for unjustified non attendance at least at primary age. And these awards will make no difference to the behaviour of those parents.

DD has a health condition which meant she had 80-85% attendance for her first two years. She was upset enough about missing school, awards would have made it unbearable. Luckily her school doesn’t do them.

Attendance parties and rewards are not an education policy dictated by a Local Authority. They are individual school policies. Nothing to do with Boroughs! Ofsted expect good attendance and that’s reasonable. They don’t expect schools to be unsympathetic towards ill children. Where people find ill children are discriminated against, take it up with the head and the governing body. It’s their policy. No one else’s .

Schools are assessed on their attendance rates. The better the attendance rates, the better Ofsted considers the school to be. Hence schools encourage attendance.
Blame the government not the teachers.

Also you only have to look on Mumsnet to see all the parents taking their children out of school for social reasons (trips/holidays/family get togethers).

My kid gets penalised because medical appointments in another city often mean a half day off. So no competition to win a bike for us!!

I still remember in secondary school being called to a senior member of staff to ask why my attendance had fallen below 80%. I just stared at him and said "you do remember that bug that caused us to have 600 students and 40 teachers off all at once, right?" Plus, that was also the year swine flu was a thing 🙄 god forbid people get ill.

@TizerorFizz

I am sure most schools do look at long term illness more sympathetically.

Yeah, I got a letter telling me attendance was at an unacceptable level and when I pointed out it was ALL medical appts told not to worry about it. But it still says unacceptable.