Poor attendance at school due to medical reasons advice needed please

[claw3]

Ds has had poor attendance at school this term 70% due to being hospitalised. He has had 4 days off in total due to the usual bugs and illnesses which are not covered by medical 'evidence'.

I have received a letter from the school informing me that his attendance is 70% this term and i quote 'Due to the amount of absence through illness you will be required to provide medical evidence to support any future absences (i have, other than 4 days)

'In order to resolve this matter and improve the situation, i will be monitoring your child's attendance and as a consequence X will be placed on 'attendance report' until further notice. If x's attendance does not improve the Local Authority Attendance Officer will request a pre-referral meeting'

Im fuming, what can i do?

Its a form letter. Is it from school or from LEA? Is it a large school, where office staff may not know which child is which and which have valid reasons, tho teaching staff and head teacher do.

My hunch would be that polite letter to head CCed to class teacher and LEA attendance officer should be enough to sort it out and then continue doing as you are with supplying evidence for longer than 4 day absences.

sorry, forgot to say- the below from me is IF this is teh first time they have sent you thi kind of letter due to hospital treatment absences

Its from the school (signed by Head Teacher and the 2nd letter i have had, i ignored the first one), very small school (1 class per year).

I have supplied medical evidence for every absence ds has had other than the 4 separate odd days off he has had for the usual bugs etc.

Can i stop ds being put on 'attendance report'?

I've been through similarish last year - DS attendance was about 80% as he had measles and got about every bug going, so got referred to EWO.

doubt that you can stop school putting him on attendance report tbh - as 85% attendance is the trigger for them having to take such action (e.g such as notifying LEA), and they have to cover their arses to Ofsted etc, and show that they have effective absence monitoring. Given the hospitalisation will be documented don't worry about getting into trouble with Local Authority, showing them confirmation of the hospital stay will get them off your back. from now on CYA - i.e. cover your arse with any days off - drag him to GPs, then get receptionist to do an appointment card to show you went. A very nice lady on here who works for the EWO advised me that the appointment card or something like the medicine box for a prescription should be enough to show there was a genuine illness.

Thanks Totalchaos, just a bit disappointed, that the school feel that i can 'improve' on his attendance, not sure how! Perhaps take him to school instead of hospital

I have written to them anyhow to cover my arse, just in case it does go further, as this is the second 'warning' letter i have had this term, seems like the school will take it further.

I bet it's school covering their arse. Are they due/ just had ofsted? May have been questioned by EWOs too

do you normally get on with them?

No not due or just had, 2008 was last report.

Funny you should say that ds went back to school today, his first day back since 5th December and letter from school in his book bag.

I wrote to the school after ds was discharged from hospital just before Christmas(he was off for 2 weeks)

I stated 'The fact that X has wiped and picked at his face and eyes to the point of injury, medical intervention and the risk of having a finger amputated has been extremely distressing and highlighted my concerns that an IEP and some reasonable adjustments need to be put in place as a matter of urgency'

Sounds like tit for tat?

Hmm possibly but if you do go for an IEP the medical stuff could be evidence that he needs it!

this is a standard letter and if you can, it's best to emotionally distance yourself from it. I never quite achieve this zen like state of calm but know it's the right thing to do

you can counter with a letter to the head asking for an iep - good plan

there will also be a governor with responsibility for special educational needs you might want to speak to to check policies on sen due to medical conditions, maybe get things shifted up a gear.

particularly irritating for me are all the awards for 100% attendance - I always complain to the LEA about their awards on the grounds it discriminates against those with medical conditions

Nymphadora - Exactly! I have been trying to get the school to put some strategies in place to manage ds's anxieties and it feels like this is their counter attack!

I write and tell them ds has just been in hospital and use this as proof he needs some help in school (and i copied head into letter i sent) and they report me for poor attendance!

Sanfairyann - You are quite right, getting angry gets you no where, i will fume silently on here only!

Dont even get me started on the star studded wall with 100% attendance, as if the kids get themselves to school at 5, more like a mum competition

I'm a bit concerned that I'll be hearing from the EWO in the very near future as last term, I got DS2's IEP in October stating 100% attendance...then he promptly was hospitalised with a chest infection that set his asthma off. And when got home from hosp, he had to have a further week and a half off due to the prednisolone leaving him immune compromised. That my GP refused to provide a note for. DS2 went back to school for 4 days, then chest infection was back, so he was off for the last week of term. So without a note, he has had 15 days off out of 20 at the end of last term. Think I'd better check his bookbag. . I may just insert the note into the EWO's backside if/when it's there....if other parents didn't send coughing spluttering DC's into school when there's an immune compromised child there, it wouldn't happen! ...

claw - I'm attendance officer in primary. You can't prevent him being put on attendance report - it's not a school thing it's driven by the dcfs and ofsted. Children with less than 80% absence are deemed to be persistently absent and have to be followed up under safeguarding.

I do agree about emotionally distancing yourself from it though; it is something we have to do and it's not personal. Generally I try to tailor my letters to parents who have obviously ill children - my dd has chronic health issues so I see both sides of the coin. A card from the doctors receptionist should be fine as evidence as is a copy of any prescription.

You can pre-empt the meeting if you like - call and ask for an appointment with the EWO. The liklihood is that she'll see you're doing your best. And actually if you're looking to get an IEP or other help she may be a good ally. Apart from challenging poor attendance, school have a duty to help support you and to ensure your child has access to a suitable education especially in situations where there are special needs. So you can in turn put some pressure on them. The EWO may be able to help you get the IEP in place.

Loudlass, Its annoying isnt it! Last term ds had quite good attendance and i literally only ever take him out of school for the time spent at hospital appointments, then drop him back at school.

Saggar, Im glad to hear that it is a standard letter and i know i shouldnt take it personally. I had only just copied the Head into a letter a few days earlier and she is also present at most meetings i have with SENCO, i suppose i expected a bit of understanding. But as you say these letters are standard and i cant expect special treatment!

Just seems a bit silly to state they will involve anyone or take any action to improve the situation, when the situation cannot be improved on and to request medical 'evidence' when it has already been provided.

Perhaps i will state in my letter, that i would be happy to meet with the officer and for 'attendance report' if they feel improvements can be made

yep the 100% rewards get me to her ethey do a trip .School said can`t you get his appoinments for afterschool ,like i can pickj and choose not!!!,

Ds was of all last term bar 2 days ,buty i have phoned ewo and made them aware why,

Claw if ds has been in hospital did the school if they had one there do anywork with him tif so it becomes educated elsewhere know this as ds2 missed most of his school year when in Y3/y4 as was always in hospital but they took over his education

Phoenix, yes a 'teacher' from the hospital gave him school work every day ie a worksheet and a couple of reading books.

saggar does this apply to children in sn schools as well, kids who have their medical probs listed in their statement?

I ask cos we have never had any letter or other follow up re dd's attendance and wondering if am due one. Last year's attendance was 39% (up from 17% the previous year)

Horrible that kids are being left out of school trips etc cos of not having 100% attendance

hi claw what you need to do then is get on to ewo or teh school and tell them it should not be marked absent its educated elsewhere .The hospital school have to keep a record of children admitted

Thanks Phoenix, that is brilliant advice. I had totally forgotten about the teacher in the hospital and would never have thought of that in any case!

How about doing work at home, would this be classed as 'educated off site'?.

He was also infectious, but not ill when discharged from hospital and bored stiff, i did do some work books etc with him.

Claw - he could be coded as educated off site if he's having input from the hospital school or a home tutor. Off the top of my head you are entitled to some hours of home tuition if you child is likely to be absent from school due to illness for 15 working days. The LA is required to provide this. Some info in this document here My dd was coded as educated off site when she had work sent home (in secondary). You are entitled to be supported in this not just challenged to 'improve' but some schools need that pointing out to them. Does your ds have continued medical needs and does he have a written care plan in place?

Herjazz - there is specific ofsted guidance for special schools. Schools have to make reasonable adjustment for pupils with medical needs and are more likely to have links with the hospital tutors. They are not targetted by ofsted to the same extent wrt attendance and hence are less likely to be challenging parents.

If a school trip is curriculum based then school should not exclude due to poor attendance.

Saggar, thanks for that, something to bear in mind for future.

He has shadows on his lungs and the slightest bit of cold goes straight to his chest and he often ends up in hospital with this.

He also 'self harms' due to his sensory seeking/anxiety behaviours. He pulls out his eyelashes and wipes his chin so often with his finger, he literally friction burns the skin off his finger and chin leaving constant large open sores which are prone to infection hence he recently ended up in hospital on IV antibiotics to prevent septicemia.

He doesnt eat at all in school, he soils himself everytime he needs to go to the toilet, he finds clothes painful and gets stressed at getting changed for PE etc, etc. He is on action plus in school.

A written care plan and an IEP is something i have been trying to get put into place for some time. Thats a whole different thread!

saggar - what about school refusal linked to SN such as ASD? Any advice on that? (sorry about hijack OP)

It's not something I've ever come across auntycorny, sorry. But I think the same principle applies; if they feel fit to challenge the absences then they should be prepared to offer support. What would be helpful? Maybe a shortened timetable? I haven't done this role for a huge amount of time but it seems that some schools need to think outside the box a bit. It's not enough to say 'improve or else'.

Claw - school sound a bit crap TBH. How can they put him on SA+ and not then put in place the interventions, via an IEP that would help? How do they record his progress?

Saggar, the short answer is they dont record his progress!

I dont think they have ever come across anyone quite like ds. He doesnt have learning disabilities (recent Ed Psy report stated he is a 'gifted learner') although in school he is not reaching this potential and is regarded as 'average'.

He is placed in the group with children with learning disabilities simply because he has special needs and this group is the only group that get adult support.

Most of his difficulties are emotional and behavioural, he has severe sensory problems ie over responsive to taste, touch, sound etc. Also the problems i already listed. He also has problems with sequencing, verbally etc, likely autism, but no dx yet.

So to the school passive, introverted kid without severe academic learning disabilities and no dx = he doesnt cause us any problems, so is doing fine.

sadly less they have sent work home it does not apply, but if you can give paed sectary a call see if she can send you copy of discharge .Glad could help only knew it because we have been in same situation