how early would you expect to be told your child wasn't in school?

[dollybird]

DS was off school ill today for the first time in secondary school. There is an absence e-mail address so I sent off an e-mail first thing this morning. DH and I both received texts after 11 advising us that he wasn't in school, which we both responded to saying we had e-mailed in the morning and that he was ill. I then had a reply to my e-mail apologising for the truancy call, my e-mail had only just come through. Would you expect to be told sooner that your child wasn't in school?

it is quite a big school

I would, 11 would be over 2 hours at my DCs school, I'd be annoyed if it took that long.

not sure what you want to know...you emailed...it was picked up later than the texts alerting you to his absence.

Pretty on the ball I would say. emails can take time to arrive. I use the phone absence line when ds is off.

you had a text after eleven. seems pretty on the ball to me.

I'm not sure what the norm would be, just thought if he'd had an accident or something on the way to school I'd want to know sooner than 2 1/2 hours after he was meant to be there that he wasn't. I will use the phone no next time.

In my dc school there is no formal registration first thing, their go right to class. They have a tutor group at 11am where registration is taken and if the office have not been informed of your dc absence you get a phone call/text (or knock on the door) from the attendance officer. That said, prolific truants are expected to clock in first thing with their tutor group teacher and if that doesn't happen, the attendance officer swings into action.

will check with DS when his registration is, pretty sure it's first thing though..

I got a text at around 9.30am when school thought ds wasn't there (he was on a school trip but they hadn't updated their system), 2 hours seems a long time.

No registration until 11! They must register in class then surely as otherwise how would they know about lateness/absence.

Ours says you must call rather than email as emails may not be picked up for a while if they are busy. Before I read that bit of the procedures I emailed & got a text about 10 I suppose.

Around 10 or 11 is normal in a large secondary

With over 1000 students, some constantly late and missing tutor groups and having to be checked on in first period, info fed through to attenance officer before mass chase text can be sent how else can a school manage it?

Its very easy to manage it in a large school very fast. If they use electronic register then if any absences are not explained (so input separately from parents calling in or school trips etc) the system automatically sends a text at 9.10 (school starts at 8.35). All schools have the equipment to do this as its through SIMS.

I've been phoned around 9.30/10 am - once by dd's school which panicked me as she'd gone out as normal! They phoned me back 5 minutes later, saying oh yes, we've found her. And once by ds's school when I'd been so busy I hadn't yet let them know he was absent.

they have a specific absence e-mail address which suggests they are fine about us e-mailing. Anyway, I e-mailed and texted this morning and it seems to have gone through as they have replied. DS says they do registration first thing and it's on the computer not a paper register

We normally get a text at 9:30 to 10 ish, but I often don't see it straight away.

The worst was last year when I got one at 11:00, but I had dropped my son at the gate that morning as he had an important exam. It turns out the people running the exam hadn't informed the attendance office, and they had all been marked absent. (I had brief visions of him lying unconscious somewhere between the gate and the Hall for hours).

Mumsneedwine whilst that might be true of schools that run on SIMS, a significant percentage have alternative MIS - it very much depends on the school procedures even with electronic registers

if he'd had an accident or something on the way to school

That's a different scenario.

Of course you would be notified as soon as the school/emergency services were aware.

But it isn't, the school are keeping you informed.

I meant if he'd had an accident that they didn't know about, like mummytime said, lying unconscious in a bush somewhere. I know it's unlikely that noone would be around, but it could happen.

I'm afraid that is part and parcel of your children growing up...its hard the first term of secondary, we have to let go a lot more...

console yourself with the knowledge that it is extremely unlikely anything like being unconscious under a bush will ever happen. Its just a random thought that we can torment ourselves with.