Would your school contact you if your child doesn't arrive?

[ayla99]

Apparently dd's school have no policy of contacting parents if a child doesn't arrive in school.

I think the risk to dd en route is minimal - but I had assumed it would be policy to contact parent if they hadn't been given a reason for absence.

no they wouldn't - you're meant to call if your child is ill, but i imagine lots don't bother so the school would be calling lots of parents

I'm not sure there's many secondary schools that do this. The one dh works in doesn't. There are just too many kids to being ringing the parents of every absentee to check where they are.

I doubt it - although I think they should!

As a teacher in secondary (before maternity leave) we often wait until the child has come back for a reason for absence. Some schools have now begun to make phone calls home to check the reason for a child's absence, but I am sure you can imagine that this could be a huge task in a large secondary school. It is also one that teachers would not have the time to do, so they have to employ someone to make the calls. I understand your concerns for safety on the way to school, although i think the school's main concern would be keeping truancy down and their own statistics (unfortunately).

My DS' state school doesn't (and often messages into the school regarding emergency doctors appointments etc don't get thrugh either so child will be marked as unauthorised absentee. When DS did a week's GCSE revision class at an independent college we were phoned by 9.15 one morning to say he had not arrived (the bus timetable had changed that day, so the buses were not running to time)

No school I know does this, and I can't see how it would be feasible except in a very small school.

It is good practice to do so, but realistically it is a huge job.In one school I taught in it was actually contracted out. We sent the registration data off to a company, and they phoned the parents. But it certainly wasn't immediate. How could it be?

Whilst I can understand the concerns, I believe that schools [not unreasonably] see it as the parents' responsibility to ensure that a child arrives at school explaining why they don't routinely follow up no-shows.

PORTONOVO
My dd's school DOES do it. You have to ring by 9.15 at the latest to say they will be off sick etc etc, if not they start ringing parents from 9.30am to ask why the child is not at school.

My friend has just started working part-time in the office and this is one of her tasks.

Our secondary does this. They call it 'First day calling'. If your child doesn't arrive and you don't call they call or text you. The school has over 1000 pupils and have an attendance officer dedicated to this task.

Fimbo, that's fine. I just said I've never heard of any school doing that - in any of the towns I've lived in.

I still can't see my children's school, with 1700 pupils, doing that, nor do I believe it to be truly necessary except where there is a known problem with truancy or other issues.

Obviously, they chase absences which aren't sufficiently explained once a child returns.

Message withdrawn

Sorry but I feel it is necessary. But then I don't let my dd walk to school alone either.

Don't know at this school as it's a new one and in a different area - but DS's/DD2's old school used to do this. As soon as the office had all the registers back - they'd start making calls. And they had an order -the parents/carers of those who were rarely absent would be called first , etc

I think it is certainly a good thing to do. ANd the school I was talking about had 1600 pupils, so it is certainly possible. But if phoning starts at 9.30, then by the time you get to the bottom of the list, you are well into the morning.

But it is certainly useful information to have, quite apart from the safety aspect. It is useful to know straight away whether a prent expects their child to be in school on a particular day and tackle truancy immediately, rather than do the whole chasing up notes thing.

Yes, absolutely. But its a small school, with about 14 kids in each class and a primary. School would phone home, then try parents' mobiles then email.

Surely they have to? They are effectively in loco parentis?

our school does first day calling as well actually they both do primary and secondary.
the secondary school has 1800 so I don't thinnk pupil numbers are an issue.

the school I teaches in calls the home/ contact number of every no show child - and we have a fair few every day!

ours does, secondary school. Start ringing around 9.15 am - day starts at 8.30 am so plenty of time to ring in sick.

my secondary school - no
my 6th form - yes used to ring by 9:45am. always made sure if i skived on days mum was at home i registered by 9:45

Our primary school does, but it is a fairly new policy and is not happening in all schools yet. I am still used to sending in a letter the next day, so I ahve had a few calls form school when I have forgotton to call. They will phone home and I think the emergency contact. If no answer they will call police.

Its perhaps something to suggest to the school, let them know that other schools are doing this now. If it is not a huge school with lots ot truants it wouldn;t be a big job in the morning.

Don't know about the primary - I always pop in to say if one of them is going to be off for any reason when I drop the other one off, but I don't think there's a policy. Most, if not all, children get taken to school anyway - small rural school.

My eldest's secondary school has an automated system if the child hasn't registered or you've not informed them of the absence - got a call once informing me he wasn't there, so rang in panic-struck only to find he was there, but had missed registration due to some confusion.

yes. i have had a phone call to my mandline - i so happened to be home, Don't know whether they would bother to ring my works mobile.

landline