Seems we do need dr certs for kids sick days.

Morag

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/mother-jailed-for-not-sending-her-three-daughters-to-school-3356650.html

I know in this case the kids had missed 28 days from Sept which is extreme,
but has anyone else had schools ask for sick certs?

Mine both had flu last year and were out for nearly two weeks, I rang the dr and the first time was told sounds like flu, treat it at home with over the counter meds, no point bringing them to the clinic. When it had gone a week and they still weren't right I rang again and got a late appointment coming in when they were not that tired and there wasn't a wait time.

Thankfully I did think to get a sick cert, but so many childhood illnesses don't have to be seen by a dr, it's crazy to think that you'd have to go and get a sick cert for school.

silverharp

Morag wrote: »

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/mother-jailed-for-not-sending-her-three-daughters-to-school-3356650.html

I know in this case the kids had missed 28 days from Sept which is extreme,
but has anyone else had schools ask for sick certs?

Mine both had flu last year and were out for nearly two weeks, I rang the dr and the first time was told sounds like flu, treat it at home with over the counter meds, no point bringing them to the clinic. When it had gone a week and they still weren't right I rang again and got a late appointment coming in when they were not that tired and there wasn't a wait time.

Thankfully I did think to get a sick cert, but so many childhood illnesses don't have to be seen by a dr, it's crazy to think that you'd have to go and get a sick cert for school.

there is a whole back story with that case in the paper, the mother is essentially a moron who didnt follow prior court orders. No normal parent would be asked for sick certs for their kids

January

In extreme cases and if my child was missing a lot of school because of illness I'd make sure to get sick notes and ask the teachers for work for the kids at home to try to catch up on.

I have a daughter with a heart condition, sometime in the future she's going to need open heart surgery so will miss a good bit of school, but I'll be sending a letter into school detailing this.

Unexplained absences are different and as a pp said there's a whole back story to this case that the mother already had a suspended sentence for the children missing school.

araic88

Am having trouble with laptop so can't open that link, but schools have to record absences for the Education Welfare Board, a 'red flag' really only is raised once 20 days are missed in a school year, and in reality proper action is not taken til much further down the line.
Believe it or not, I've taught a child who missed the equivalent of 3 YEARS primary school of 7, almost half their schooling to that point. NEWB officers were involved at the time and it wasn't enough for the mother to say the child was 'sick' without producing a cert, but in the vast majority of cases this is not required and most parents just send in a note/brief letter.

Orion

It's the Independent - take anything it says with a bushel of salt - it's a bloody rag. They love a sensationalist headline and saying that she got jailed for not getting doctor's notes is exactly that.

She wasn't jailed for not having doctor's notes - she was jailed for repeatedly failing to ensure that her children went to school and had no evidence to show any reason for not attending. So her previous suspended sentence was activated. If it was a once off she wouldn't have been jailed - she's got a history in court already.

naughtysmurf

My GP actually has a notice up in his surgery saying that doctor 's notes are not required for kids missing school due to illness & if the school had an issue with this, I think I'd have an issue with them

Orion

Morag wrote: »

Thankfully I did think to get a sick cert, but so many childhood illnesses don't have to be seen by a dr, it's crazy to think that you'd have to go and get a sick cert for school.

Just on this bit - you don't need a sick cert for any school. You need a sick cert for a paying job if you're absent for more than 2 consecutive days to ensure you are paid. If you are queried by the NEWB the doctor will have a record of the visit which you can get from him then.

If a child is absent for over 20 days the school is obligated to report it to the NEWB and then they investigate. You can then request your child's medical records from your doctor to show the reasons if required. You don't need to prove anything to the school at all.

guppy

Orion wrote: »

It's the Independent - take anything it says with a bushel of salt - it's a bloody rag. They love a sensationalist headline and saying that she got jailed for not getting doctor's notes is exactly that.

She wasn't jailed for not having doctor's notes - she was jailed for repeatedly failing to ensure that her children went to school and had no evidence to show any reason for not attending. So her previous suspended sentence was activated. If it was a once off she wouldn't have been jailed - she's got a history in court already.

If ths system was in place when I was a child, my parents would have been investigated. It would then transpire that I was in hospital due to many, many admitions due to asthma attacks. I did however, attend the school in temple street when it opened. I missed nothing outside of those hospital stays. I'm sure my parents wouldn't have been under suspicion for long.

If this system was in place when I was a child, my class-mate who missed weeks And weeks of school due to being the eldest of 5 with barely functioning alcoholic/junkie parents would have been investigated. I'm sure the fact that she, at age 9, brought the young ones to school then went home to care for pre-school age kids, as well as the home, would have been found out. Maybe she wouldn't have left school barely able to read or write.

sham69

My 5 yr old has been nothing but sick for the past 2 months or so.
He missed 2 days from school due to impotego (the principal actually saw his face when he got it so we didnt get a note from the doc)

He has had a really bad ear infection and also got a vomiting bug (only 3 people were left in the class and we were advised to keep him out for the week by his teacher)

He also suffers with encopresis.
Sometimes his backside does be raw.
It seems to trigger when he has been out of school a while, (after summer, Xmas holidays etc), it takes a week of me physically marching him up to the bathroom and sitting with him until he goes for a number 2. (sorry)


Anyway point I wanted to make was, we got a letter from the school to tell us that they have reported his missing of days to the NEWB.
we were freaked out when we saw it.
No prior warning from the school to watch his days or anything.
He's our first child in school so maybe we were a bit lax with certs etc.

When we said it to the GP he said he can't give us a note but if the school or NEWB needed any proof they could ring.
He said he doesnt give notes for children.
We are unsure now if we need to get in touch with NEWB and tell them about the illness's.

January

I'd contact the NEWB and explain the absences giving them your doctors details if they want to ring and check with him.

Orion

The school are obliged to do that. You've nothing to worry about. When the newb contact you explain the circumstances and give your doctors details and that will be that. They are more interested in combatting negligent parents than parents of a child with a recurring illness.

Miss Lockhart

sham69 wrote: »

My 5 yr old has been nothing but sick for the past 2 months or so.
He missed 2 days from school due to impotego (the principal actually saw his face when he got it so we didnt get a note from the doc)

He has had a really bad ear infection and also got a vomiting bug (only 3 people were left in the class and we were advised to keep him out for the week by his teacher)

He also suffers with encopresis.
Sometimes his backside does be raw.
It seems to trigger when he has been out of school a while, (after summer, Xmas holidays etc), it takes a week of me physically marching him up to the bathroom and sitting with him until he goes for a number 2. (sorry)


Anyway point I wanted to make was, we got a letter from the school to tell us that they have reported his missing of days to the NEWB.
we were freaked out when we saw it.
No prior warning from the school to watch his days or anything.
He's our first child in school so maybe we were a bit lax with certs etc.

When we said it to the GP he said he can't give us a note but if the school or NEWB needed any proof they could ring.
He said he doesnt give notes for children.
We are unsure now if we need to get in touch with NEWB and tell them about the illness's.

The school is obliged to report to NEWB once 20 days absence are reached whether they know it is legitimate or not - it doesn't matter whether the child is in intensive care or whether parents are just negligent.

I have never seen the NEWB investigate unless a child has reached 60 days though due to lack of resources - and this is something I see very often - I teach dozens of children who have between 30 and 50 days absence already this year.

Don't worry about it - if you had legitimate reasons then the NEWB will be happy with that.

sham69

Thanks all for the replies.
We just panicked when we read the letter first,thought it made us bad parents, felt we were being judged etc which was silly.
On reflection we understand the why etc.
Thanks again.
Sham.