Child marked absent from school because he had a doctors appointment

CBCTer

In my kids school, if a child don't miss one day of school they are rewarded with a trip, the school has an award system at the end of the year, category are class of the year, student of the year for each class, perfect attendance (which only brings max 10 kidsfor the whole school)

Diemos

Hellrazer wrote: »

We ask the teacher for extra work for them to do while we are away.

That's just cruel.

OP, this is a good chance to teach your son.
Life is not always fair.
Sometimes you do the right thing and get no reward.
Teach him that rather than focus on the reward, to focus on his strength, knowing he did everything he could, regardless of what a report said.

byhookorbycrook

Ok, I think that the OP has received enough answers. if people want to start a thread on taking children on holidays in term time, could they please start a new thread.

Thoie

_Whimsical_ wrote: »

Personally I think that it is an achievement to be there every single day for years. We are creating citizens, there is a whole hidden curriculum we learn at school, that being on time matters, that meeting deadlines matters, that turning up every day regardless of what's going on in your life matters. If we want to encourage those values then we should reward them and where small kids are concerned we shouldn't withhold reward over petty things like being 20 mins late or going to the dr for an hour once.

I do think there's a level of effort involved too to never once be late, to never once have a day off after a holiday or a wedding etc, to face in with hayfever or a headache or whatever. If someones never turned in late or missed a day up until the end of 6th that will have required some commitment in my opinion.

For primary school kids though, it's not really their achievement, or their effort, so why reward them for it? If you're about to bring your 5 year old to school, but the baby throws up all over all three of you so that everyone needs to change, the 5 year old doesn't have an option to just head off on their own so that they won't miss roll call.

You might as well hand out certificates at the end of the year to kids for having 0 rainy days in a year.

purplecow1977

In my school, if the parent sent me in a note the day before informing me that their son/daughter would be late due to dentist/doctor appointment, I would allow for that and mark them in.

GalwayGrrrrrl

purplecow1977 wrote: »

In my school, if the parent sent me in a note the day before informing me that their son/daughter would be late due to dentist/doctor appointment, I would allow for that and mark them in.

Is that list used to count kids in the event of a fire? If it is, surely it would risk the lives of firefighters looking for kids that are missing (even though they are off site?)

tina1040

CBCTer wrote: »

In my kids school, if a child don't miss one day of school they are rewarded with a trip, the school has an award system at the end of the year, category are class of the year, student of the year for each class, perfect attendance (which only brings max 10 kidsfor the whole school)

Very unfair on the kid who genuinely got too sick to go to school or the kid whose parents decided to go on holiday. Kids don't decide not to attend school so why the reward?

njs030

xfactorfan23 wrote: »

Is that list used to count kids in the event of a fire? If it is, surely it would risk the lives of firefighters looking for kids that are missing (even though they are off site?)

Even worse is the opposite, a child marked absent (like op's) who isn't counted and no one realised is missing

purplecow1977

I don't usually mark my roll until end of day. I keep my own list and have a list beside my desk to grab in event of fire. As class teacher, I take responsibility for getting all my class safely out and calling a roll check once safely outside, not firefighters.

Judge Trudy

Teachers are legally obliged to call the roll by 10a.m. every morning. In this case, that's why your child was marked absent as he didn't get back to school by 11.30a.m. which the teacher was right to do. If this rule wasn't in place, what's to stop me going into school everyday at 2.00p.m. and being being marked present but missing the majority of the school day.

I'm ruthless with this rule, I had parents who dropped their child to school everyday by 10.30a.m. Meaning he missed 1 hour 40 mins of school. The parents had a rude awakening when the principal reported them for truancy. I think schools need to be strict with this rule, timekeeping is an important life skill and unfortunately if you're not there, you're not there.

Flippyfloppy

purplecow1977 wrote: »

I don't usually mark my roll until end of day. I keep my own list and have a list beside my desk to grab in event of fire. As class teacher, I take responsibility for getting all my class safely out and calling a roll check once safely outside, not firefighters.

I get what you're saying, however roll has to be marked in the morning. Also, what happens if there was an actual fire, not a drill, and you were injured / list was burnt , roll book remained in tact etc. dramatic I know but something to think about

raydator

We'll lot's of reply.
Just to clear some points up.

1) Our doctors is appointment only which you are given a time and date. Yes I could have kept asking for different dates and time until I got one after school, but by then something of nothing could have turned into something which would have required antibiotics.
2) Why should kids who missed an hour or two in the morning be marked absent for the whole day, but yet kids who attend for the roll call and taken out at say 12 for the rest of the day not have a similar applied? Why do they get the award, because there parents played that system you say.. Well I wasn't thinking how can I play the system.
3) I said he was feeling unwell which is out of the norm for him. I never said what if any sickness he had. If he was sick I would not have sent him to school.

You try explaining to a child that based on a technicality he will not receive an award. I have no opinion on other kids and their parents in relation to awards and attendance, all I want is the best for my son.

The school has noted that I had an doctors appointment in his diary and my son was able to receive his award.

lazygal

Children have to learn to deal with disappointment. That's part of learning and life. Not everything is going to work out how he wants it. As for explaining the situation, that's all part of being a parent.

njs030

raydator wrote: »

We'll lot's of reply.
Just to clear some points up.

1) Our doctors is appointment only which you are given a time and date. Yes I could have kept asking for different dates and time until I got one after school, but by then something of nothing could have turned into something which would have required antibiotics.
2) Why should kids who missed an hour or two in the morning be marked absent for the whole day, but yet kids who attend for the roll call and taken out at say 12 for the rest of the day not have a similar applied? Why do they get the award, because there parents played that system you say.. Well I wasn't thinking how can I play the system.
3) I said he was feeling unwell which is out of the norm for him. I never said what if any sickness he had. If he was sick I would not have sent him to school.

You try explaining to a child that based on a technicality he will not receive an award. I have no opinion on other kids and their parents in relation to awards and attendance, all I want is the best for my son.

The school has noted that I had an doctors appointment in his diary and my son was able to receive his award.

Op my child is a lot older than yours and so I have seen alot of different types of parent, none of us do it perfectly and there's no "right way" to be a parent. What I can tell you is that children who are taught that everything will go their way no matter what find life a lot harder.
All you've done is told him that rules don't apply to him because his mum will argue the point even when you are in the wrong. It's not a technicality, he didn't attend school 100% of the time.


Also you clearly do have an opinion on other children and their parents as per your point 2.

Tbh if you think a piece of paper saying he was in school 100% of the time (which he wasn't and so it's literally not true) is the best for your child then so be it. Personally I think educating him that life isn't fair and gracefully accepting not everything can go his way might be a better lesson.

audi12

notjustsweet wrote: »

Op my child is a lot older than yours and so I have seen alot of different types of parent, none of us do it perfectly and there's no "right way" to be a parent. What I can tell you is that children who are taught that everything will go their way no matter what find life a lot harder.
All you've done is told him that rules don't apply to him because his mum will argue the point even when you are in the wrong. It's not a technicality, he didn't attend school 100% of the time.


Also you clearly do have an opinion on other children and their parents as per your point 2.

Tbh if you think a piece of paper saying he was in school 100% of the time (which he wasn't and so it's literally not true) is the best for your child then so be it. Personally I think educating him that life isn't fair and gracefully accepting not everything can go his way might be a better lesson.

Seven pages all started with a post about being marked absent from primary school wow..... First world problems