Attendance - what can I do?

[weegiemum]

My dd1 is in Primary 5.

So far this academic year she has been ill a LOT. She had Swine Flu in August and was off for a week. Since then (took her ages to get over it) she has had 3 other episodes when she was off for 3 days due to either vomiting (and then is was cos of the school 48 hour rule) or bad colds/coughs etc. Dh and I picked up a bug abroad in October which she caught and was off for 3 days, and I'm not sending her in to either be sent home or spread it around.

I don't keep her home lightly. Apart from the vomiting, she's always had a temperature of at least 38.5+ and been unable to cope without regular Calpol (which the school won't give without a doctors note!)

So when she went back on Monday I got a letter home to say her attendance is 81%. She has literally never had a day off since she started this school in Primary 2. Now the Head is "monitoring her attendance", and "worries she will fall behind with her studies", though last week at parents night the teacher said they have no worries about her and she is amongst the best in the class at everything!

Do I just ignore the letter, or get in touch with the head to justify the absences? I'm a teacher myself (though not currently working) and don't know how to approach this. I don't see what I can do - all her absences are genuine. Dh is a GP and has looked her over every morning she is off - and has said she should be at home.

Aaaaaargh! I hate school bureacracy!

Worried about their attendance rates in the stats, more like

I would send a very businesslike l'hope this clears it up for you'-type letter, thanking her for her letter and briefly outlining the reasons for your DD's absences / what you've said above.

I know its the stats

Forgot to say (not drip feeding honest!) that she has one "unauthorised" absence. For the afternoon they sent her home!!!

Would anyone else say different to MrsMattie or is this definitely the best approach to take (I like it, esp with it signed Weegiemum and Dr Weegiedad!)

MrsMattie's advice sounds good. It acknowledges that the Head has concerns while also making it clear that dd has only been off for genuine illness.

And definitely add the "Dr" in the signature.

We don't trade on "Dr" often (in fact on things like bank cards dh is "Mr"), but we use it if we must

Don't worry about it. The schools come under a lot of pressure from the LAs and send out standard letters to anyone falling below certain attendance points.

Keep good records yourself as to when and why she was off so that you can easily answer any further enquiries.

As a teacher you will know I am sure that there are a lot of children who are kept off for anything and everything and that is who they are really after.

If they send her home ill, they can't possibly put it as unauthorised!!! That is shocking and I am horrified that they have done that.

The letter will have been just sent because she fell under a certain level of attendance - probably initiated by the EWO.
Her attendance will of cause be monitored as she has had a lot of time off. If a child has a lot of time off and it wasn't monitored, then a child protection issue came to light, the school would be slated for not monitoring the child. By just speaking to the head about your child's illnesses this term, you will be helping them to monitoring your child attendance. (i.e. not seeing it as a school against us situation).

To the mention about the school not giving your child Calpol without a doctors note - erm of cause not! Schools HAVE to stick to so many stupid rules. You're lucky that someone at the school will take responsibility for administering medicine. At lot of schools would make you (or someone else) come into school to give medicines at lunch time.

Just take it at what it is - a note that the school has to send out because they have to monitor attendance. You know that you have valid reasons each time she's off so why worry?

But then being a teacher, you'd know all of the above, right?

Forgot to say - the unauthorised absence should definitely have been recorded as medical if they sent her home. I think you've every right to speak to them about changing that.

What everybody else has said. The unauthorised needs challenging- but do at least pretend you think it was a simple oversight. Has happened to us to; iirc I think one of dd's hospital stays went down as unauthorised absence. Unfortunate, but I don't think they did it on purpose.

i phone up the head and explain the circs even though we both know the score. my crappy reasoning is that if he can't make an exception for chronic illnesses or at least have a more sympathetic letter to send out to pretty gutted parents of a chronically sick child, then he can spend a few minutes of one day listening to me ranting on about why ds was off most of one term for example.

it isn't personal but it feels that way and even us teachers have hearts as well