Does anyone else feel bad when their dc's are off ill AGAIN!

[MincePirateCat]

DD was off about a month ago for a week. She is ill again the past two days and off school, altho she went in mon and tues. She breaks up tommorrow, so i see little point in her going when she is still poorly. I don't want her to pick up any more f ing bugs. Yet I also always feel bad when she misses school thru ill health. You get those end of year attendance reports, and dd's is alway quite high. She has mild asthma and these cold and cough bugs get her everytime.

melly407 on Sat 17-Jan-09 00:52:12
"Hi all,
Well im more scared than ever after reading certain posts regarding children being asked to leave the school as it does not look good for their stats!!"

Hi, can I reassure you since it was me who told the story of an unsympathetic head. And he did not actually ask us to leave the school: he wouldn't have had the right to do that without a proper exclusion procedure, and those you can only have for proper misdemeanours. It was just the way he spoke wistfully of other schools which might cater better for my child's needs that sort of led me to read between the lines....
Still, I didn't have to take him up on his suggestions and I didn't. As I said, it wasn't dd who left in the end.

Also, this was in Year 5, so there will be less pressure in Year 2.

But I would try not to be late, if you can manage it, because that does irritate them, unless there is a specific medical reason.

The SENCO will hopefully present to ensure that any genuine medical needs of your dd are met; taking the pressure off the discipline issue as it were. We've had a lot of help from the SENCO although my dd is very bright.

I'm shocked by this too - I had a stroppy letter from the head yesterday because I applied to take my boys out of school on the Friday before half term. Which is because I'm struggling to keep up their bilingual French and have a big opportunity to get them together with some French children that day, throw them into an immersion situation - as far as I'm concerned, better for their all-round education than a Friday at school.

She said a reluctant yes, but is clearly v pissed off that their attendances are each around 86%. DS1 has (we think) migraines and sometimes misses a morning or a day, and is being investigated by a specialist which is scaring me shitless (lots of delicate talk about 'just making sure there's not something going on in there).

DS2 has asthma which is now being well managed and he hasn't been off sick for ages, but suffered horribly between half term and end of November.

Why are they bothered? I want to ask whether she wants me to a. send her children with terrible headaches / asthma, or b. let them lose their French to keep her records up. Is it an ofsted thing?

Because I forgot to write in about DS having measles (only told on phone) I got a v. stroppy letter from head saying if I didn't confirm reasons for absence in writing then they would call in EWO . Spoke to DS' teacher who is deputy head who was very reassuring - it was a pro-forma letter because DS's absence had reached a certain level - but basically for genuine illness not to worry. I do feel a bit peeved at pressure because DS isn't even 5 yet, so not obliged to attend at all! Also a bit irritated because DS was late in 5 mornings because he was going for NHS SALT, which probably counts as 5 further days off.

I get the impression it is an ofsted/political thing.

Hi all,
Thank you for all your feedback. And Cory for letting me know that, did get a bit worried there.
Totally agree with the lateness thing, which i am responsible for, but in my defence
1; if we get there just as they are closing the door LITERALLY they point towards the office, instead of just letting us through.
2; When all the classes are lined up ready to go in, if your childs class has already gone in, we have to go through the office, despite others in her year waiting to go in.
3; When we have bad weather, they let them in early, so we arrive on time, go through the office and again get a late mark. The worst being when we had the recent stretch of icy weather, instead of gritting the playground we had to skid across slowly to get in, with a toddler and a newborn in a carseat and a 7yr old hanging off you, we had to take things slowly! so again a couple of mins late.
4; Or you get the effing caretakers (x2 of them) supervising the car park, not thinking to ask people to move in/park as it holds up all parents behind, they stand there and watch instead, instead its usually another parent that moves on the affecting vehicle.
5; When i got a copy of the register with my meeting letter, it sayes L (FOR LATE) in the key at the bottom L= STILL IN TIME FOR THE REGISTER. So why are we still late.? They do the register first thing. If you are late and miss the register according to this key it should state U. which we have never had!
But i do have to sort myself out late wise, however much it kills me!!

Sorry to go in to so much detail, im just so stressed out about Mondays meeting.