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Original poster

Fudging the attendance

44 replies

IHaveNC · 03/10/2018 23:36

NC as possibly outing

So I've returned from Maternity to my post in an amalgamated secondary school to find out that the new head is directing staff to fix the figures! He will not accept an attendance figure under 97% for the year group which each staff member presents to him. Seriously this is illegal?!

They are marking kids in that are off and sending children on 'study leave' that aren't academically smart so their exam figures won't bring the exam grades down (they don't sit their exams because they don't get told when they're on!). I'm just so deflated, I feel like I can't work here anymore it's actually depressing and stressful.

Wwyd?

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HoleyCoMoley · 03/10/2018 23:37

Report him to Ofsted or whoever regulates teachers

Original poster
IHaveNC · 03/10/2018 23:38

Everything is fake, staff are stressed and stretched to their limit and most are planning to leave.

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Original poster
IHaveNC · 03/10/2018 23:38

Can you do that anonymously

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clerkhaton · 03/10/2018 23:41

If/once you're sure of your facts, look at your whistleblowing policy. They'll be guidance there on what to do. Good luck!

Original poster
IHaveNC · 04/10/2018 07:50

I have looked at that policy but I'm still a bit cautious of what to do as I know if anyone suspects there's someone going to speak out then you will be told to leave somehow.

It fills me with dread going in to teach everyday. The kids have zero respect for anyone and SMT don't care but to the outside world looking in we're doing amazing...

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sadnessin · 04/10/2018 08:07

Do you have actual proof of this? It is SO serious if so.

Chocolala · 04/10/2018 08:10

Is there any documentary evidence of this? You are going to need something solid, or you would be hung out to dry for whistleblowing.

Whistleblowers are not protected. You’d be safer getting a new job, and then reporting anonymously to Ofsted.

TheFallenMadonna · 04/10/2018 09:05

Students with KS2 results need to sit GCSEs or it will have a very significant effect on the school's performance measures. I can't see how on roll students missing exams helps the school at all.

Original poster
IHaveNC · 04/10/2018 10:10

I have no physical proof other than my registers that I take in class and then tally my own percentage which is way off what the apparent Year Group percentage that's announced each month after its been changed.

Yes the whistleblowing policy isn't great and I will be hung out to dry.

I am unhappy so a job change is on the cards, hopefully soon.

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ASauvignonADay · 04/10/2018 17:58

Woah - really serious. Definitely report.

Jeez, we work so hard to improve attendance legally and are constantly being compared to other schools who I suspect many are also doing this!

ASauvignonADay · 04/10/2018 18:00

Do you use sims? Are marks being changed (so teachers are marking accurately the someone is going in after to 'tidy up')?

All marks can be tracked, even changes, so there is no hiding who is doing it if it gets investigated.

SleepyMcEdie · 04/10/2018 18:05

Getting kids to miss exams will not change your figures! They will all show as non grades so that’s a stupid thing for him to do!

The only way to avoid a non academic child affecting your figures is to deregister them and them be accepted onto another schools registers.

TheEgyptianKing · 04/10/2018 18:10

Gosh, isn’t this along the lines of what the Headteacher from Educating Greater Manchester was allegedly suspended for? Not great, but there’s not much you can do without proof. It’s the stupid government and Ofsted targets that are imposed on schools that are at fault.

HardAsSnails · 04/10/2018 18:15

Not teaching (different public sector) but we had a similar instruction in a team meeting and everyone nodded along, so I explicitly asked 'are you asking us to lie?' which led to lots of fudging. I refused to do it.

gazillion · 04/10/2018 18:42

In my last school, mixed comp, Ofsted ‘good’ (which was a joke in itself), genuine attendance figure was approx 90%. The ‘Pastoral Manager’ told all Form tutors to phone home for all absences for all their form members over the previous month. Had 30 students in a vertical form. As if a parent would know where their child was at 2pm four weeks ago. We were instructed to enter a Present mark, overwriting the Absent one. If we did not comply, we were taken aside by him and threatened with our jobs (in a verbal, deniable way). I refused to do it, as I knew it was illegal, the kids could have been anywhere (and they were), at risk and/or getting into trouble. He was very careful to cover his tracks. The whole thing made me feel sick, and was symptomatic of the school as a whole (crap, in a word). As you can guess, the job did not end well for me there as my refusal scared SLT, who weren’t used to staff standing up to them. Parents would be outraged if they knew the extent of this bullying / lying / letting kids be at risk.

WoollyMollyMonkey · 04/10/2018 18:54

No you can’t change registers or you shouldn’t. We had a child protection issue a while back and the police needed confirmation if the child was in school ( or absent) for a court case. What if something like that came up?

ILoveOnionRings · 04/10/2018 18:55

Op are you in the UK? Specifically England.

Schools have to complete a census three times a year, attendance is just one of the many items of data collected each time. There are huge safeguarding impacts of marking students present who not actually on site ie what happens if there is a fire - how can you account for all students.

Study leave isn't necessarily allowed anymore, students counted on the schools performance is checked in a variety of ways by the DFE at different times of the school year. I am surprised at the study leave excuse as not taking the exams would impact the schools performance. Are you sure the students have not been taken off roll?

Do your manual registers reflect what is on SIMs?

ILoveOnionRings · 04/10/2018 18:57

Sorry - didn't proof read the above

Original poster
IHaveNC · 04/10/2018 19:01

S

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Original poster
IHaveNC · 04/10/2018 19:09

Sorry for the delay, yes we use SIMS the marks are changed after the absence so that would account for fires etc, I keep my own manual registration and it doesn't add up for instance my form class had overall 82% attendance but I was told by my SLT it was in fact 97% and numerous children had 100% that I knew for a fact had been absent for medical and personal reasons (I still have the notes from their parents)

Yes the study leave pupils went out far earlier than any other school and most of them didn't turn up for exams but the study leave mark must make the attendance better in some way why else would it happen.

I'm at a loss of what to do, damned if I do anything but won't be able to stick working in this environment

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Original poster
IHaveNC · 04/10/2018 19:11

Gazillion this sounds so much like our school. Is this still the case at your school

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Original poster
IHaveNC · 04/10/2018 19:13

I didn't know marks could be tracked?! Can this be seen in the census? Or is it only checked after investigation

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Original poster
IHaveNC · 04/10/2018 19:14

No they don't reflect at all, even if I mark a child 'N' and comment they aren't here if I look back a week later it's present Confused

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MongerTruffle · 04/10/2018 19:15

I was told by my SLT it was in fact 97% and numerous children had 100%
Do you have that in writing?

Original poster
IHaveNC · 04/10/2018 19:17

No I was told and if you look on sims the class percentage has changed

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