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School attendance

linzijmitchell said:
A friends child has diabetes and goes for check ups every 3 months. The school record this as a medical appointment and the time is taken off of her attendance so she never gets any attendance awards. This also happened in primary school.
How can this be right when the child needs to attend these appointments otherwise she could be off for longer.
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Schools have a legal obligation to record students at morning and afternoon registration, if the child is present during those times, then they will not be marked as absent. Whilst it is not always easy to get a specific time at the doctors, ensuring that the child is registered first should alleviate this problem.
 
Catlady19 said:
Schools have a legal obligation to record students at morning and afternoon registration, if the child is present during those times, then they will not be marked as absent. Whilst it is not always easy to get a specific time at the doctors, ensuring that the child is registered first should alleviate this problem.
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Thank you for your reply but this is about a regular hospital appointment for a child who has diabetes. My point was that a child who has a regular hospital appointment (to keep themselves well) is being treated unfairly and being penalised for having that medical condition. I agree that if it is a doctors appointment or dentist that these should try to be organised outside of school hours.
 
They just need to pick the child up after registration so they get their attendance mark if the award is important to them
 
edan said:
They just need to pick the child up after registration so they get their attendance mark if the award is important to them
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Yes that is a good way for parents to use the system to their advantage. Its difficult sometimes depending on which hospital and what time the appointment is with traffic and parking/bus travel and thats probably the same for the majority of people attending hospital.
 
edan said:
They just need to pick the child up after registration so they get their attendance mark if the award is important to them
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My opinion is that they shouldn't have to do anything in these circumstances. It's a ridiculous situation and it is a fault of the school and their systems. I can never understand when an issue is the fault of an organisation why those suffering unfairly from it should be the ones to come up with a solution detrimental to them.
 
linzijmitchell said:
Thank you for your reply but this is about a regular hospital appointment for a child who has diabetes. My point was that a child who has a regular hospital appointment (to keep themselves well) is being treated unfairly and being penalised for having that medical condition. I agree that if it is a doctors appointment or dentist that these should try to be organised outside of school hours.
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Yes but I didnt say book outside school hours, all they have to do is book the hospital appointment after registration. I am trying to point out that the school is not deliberately penalising anyone, that is just the way registration and the school management systems work, even though it is an 'authorised ' absence, when you run a report for absences it will still show up as an absence, whereas if you register first then go to the appointment it will not show up. Every child will be treated the same in this respect.
 
linzijmitchell said:
I agree. I wonder if all children with medical conditions who need monitoring all get treated like this across the UK?
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Yes they do, it is the same for all.children, regardless of school. There are specific codes that must be used for certain absences, but if the parent makes a later appointment and allows the child to be registered first, then they would not be marked absent for any reason.
 
In my job we often pull children out of school for either part of or a whole day. They choose to be involved. They don’t get marked absent as they’re taking part in a sanctioned County activity. It doesn’t effect their attendance record. It doesn’t seem fair that a hospital appointment gets them penalised whereas what is essentially a voluntary absence doesn’t.
 
Catlady19 said:
Yes but I didnt say book outside school hours, all they have to do is book the hospital appointment after registration. I am trying to point out that the school is not deliberately penalising anyone, that is just the way registration and the school management systems work, even though it is an 'authorised ' absence, when you run a report for absences it will still show up as an absence, whereas if you register first then go to the appointment it will not show up. Every child will be treated the same in this respect.
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No, it's unreasonable to expect hospital appointments to fit in around an inflexible school just because teachers won't change a daft system of their own making. It's unreasonable to expect parents to take their child into school then drive perhaps many miles to the hospital, frantically search for a place to park and end up unnecessarily stressed before the appointment starts. Scrap the incentive scheme altogether if all a student has to do is turn up for registration, that's not exactly attendance, is it? Any truant worth their salt will have worked that one out...
 
Catlady19 said:
Yes but I didnt say book outside school hours, all they have to do is book the hospital appointment after registration. I am trying to point out that the school is not deliberately penalising anyone, that is just the way registration and the school management systems work, even though it is an 'authorised ' absence, when you run a report for absences it will still show up as an absence, whereas if you register first then go to the appointment it will not show up. Every child will be treated the same in this respect.
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Ah okay yes i understand. Thanks
 
Catlady19 said:
Yes but I didnt say book outside school hours, all they have to do is book the hospital appointment after registration.
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Whenever I have hospital appointments from my diabetes clinic I get given a time (I get sent it in the post), no choice in the matter, if I want to change it I can, however its likely to lead to at least a month delay on the appointment.
 
Rokaab said:
Whenever I have hospital appointments from my diabetes clinic I get given a time (I get sent it in the post), no choice in the matter, if I want to change it I can, however its likely to lead to at least a month delay on the appointment.
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Yes that is one of the issues same for my daughter who has a heart condition.
 
zand said:
No, it's unreasonable to expect hospital appointments to fit in around an inflexible school just because teachers won't change a daft system of their own making. It's unreasonable to expect parents to take their child into school then drive perhaps many miles to the hospital, frantically search for a place to park and end up unnecessarily stressed before the appointment starts. Scrap the incentive scheme altogether if all a student has to do is turn up for registration, that's not exactly attendance, is it? Any truant worth their salt will have worked that one out...
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I'm not a teacher, but I know plenty of them. They generally hate the system too, as it's imposed on them from the local education authority (LEA) and ofsted. They are given no flexibility either, and hate the box ticking exercised that they have to perform
 
Rokaab said:
Whenever I have hospital appointments from my diabetes clinic I get given a time (I get sent it in the post), no choice in the matter, if I want to change it I can, however its likely to lead to at least a month delay on the appointment.
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Yes, but it is their choice isnt it? If they are that concerned about the child receiving an attendance certificate or prize then they have to register first. It could be that the appointment is later in the day but they are choosing to keep the the child at home until.the appointment time.
 
zand said:
No, it's unreasonable to expect hospital appointments to fit in around an inflexible school just because teachers won't change a daft system of their own making. It's unreasonable to expect parents to take their child into school then drive perhaps many miles to the hospital, frantically search for a place to park and end up unnecessarily stressed before the appointment starts. Scrap the incentive scheme altogether if all a student has to do is turn up for registration, that's not exactly attendance, is it? Any truant worth their salt will have worked that one out...
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With respect, I dont think you read my post correctly. It is a system in all ALL schools set by the Government not by individual 'inflexible' schools.
Students in primary school cannot truant as they cannot get outside the school without a parent. In secondary school the register is often taken every lesson. It is definitely taken after lunch, not a lot of point in going missing for a couple of hours and very likely to be missed.
The incentive scheme is just that, to encourage students to come in every day. It is just as unfair on a student who gets very unwell and cannot attend school through no fault of their own.
 
Circuspony said:
Recognising the abscence isn't the issue - penalizing the child / family as a result is the issue
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But they are not being penalised, they are not receiving a certificate or reward but if the parent really wants the child to get that then they can by ensuring they register.
Any child who gets sick through no fault of their their own is also 'penalised'.
Perhaps the question is, should they have the award in the first place?
 
SilverK said:
In my job we often pull children out of school for either part of or a whole day. They choose to be involved. They don’t get marked absent as they’re taking part in a sanctioned County activity. It doesn’t effect their attendance record. It doesn’t seem fair that a hospital appointment gets them penalised whereas what is essentially a voluntary absence doesn’t. [/
Are you talking about county sports? Any event like that is classed as sport or trip and is therefore effectively classed as a school event and part of the curriculum of learning.
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