Child Day Off From School. Am I Wrong?

Child Day Off From School. Am I Wrong?

Author
Discussion

Ken Figenus

5,679 posts

116 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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Bushi - I'm concluding from the info here that the best way forward is to go see the head for my similar 'case' - even if the outcome is by definition 'fixed' it's probably for the best. Do you have the time to do that?

Sump

5,484 posts

166 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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FredClogs

14,041 posts

160 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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OP, you simply just take her, don't you? The rules don't apply for people like us, you know with bright kids and multiple directorships, goatees and an interest in space travel, they're for council kids... Just take her and she can practice her superiority at the next show and tell.

williamp

19,216 posts

272 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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Next time they tell you they are going on strike in support of comrade corbyn, just say no you cannot, you are needed to teach my child etc

Dodsy

7,172 posts

226 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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djt100 said:
We have discovered that my Boys school simply automatically rejects any application for time off. Its down to stupid ofsted ratings and attendance effects the schools rating. Far easier for the child to be sick if needed.
My boys both attended a school where you werent allowed time off sick either. It was counted as unauthorised absence and you would receive a sternly worded letter about possibly being fined. I only discovered this after they called me to come and collect one of the boys who had been throwing up all over the place then had the letter arrive a few days later. Talked to the school and they told me that as I had come and collected him it wasnt authorised, I had chosen to take him home.

This is after the school nurse told me I had to come and get him now as he was very sick. Had along chat with her and they are not allowed to authorise any absence unless you have a doctors note. Even if they send them home. Doctors note for a bad cold costs from £10-£25, I never even considered having to take him to the doctors to puke for them so they could write him a note. Madness.

This did lead to much fun where the nurse would be begging me to come and get a vomiting child but I politely declined and told her to enjoy cleaning up the mess for the rest of the day.

ETA: To the OP, just take her, for a first offence you should only get a nasty letter which you just file in the bin. A 6 year old is hardly going to miss anything by taking a day out of school!

Edited by Dodsy on Tuesday 1st December 16:22

Blanchimont

4,076 posts

121 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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I've not got kids, but under what you've explained my daughter would suspiciously become very ill for that day.
I also wouldn't telling her to keep quiet either.

GOG440

9,247 posts

189 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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Bushi said:
OK, strange to be posting this on PH but really donot want to join mumsnet and people here seem to be fairly normal.

So I have a 6 year old daughter at school. 100% attendance doing really well.

She loves space, all the sciences etc.. met Chris Hadfield last week and shes really enthused about space travel, has been for a long while. 90% sure this is lead by her rather than dragged by me, ether way happy days. Loves maths, sciences, engineering...

Any way... we have the space launch on the 15th for Tim Peake, and I have tkts for us both to go to the National Space Centre and watch the launch live with an absolute bucket load of Childrens educational activities on the day to enthuse children in the stem subjects.

Applied to school for the day of and they have refused.

WTF? seems insane to me but I may be well off base.

Any views before I simply take her and feel the wrath of local councils and schools?



We had a similar issue when the Olympic torch was being taken around before the games, every other school locally gave permission for the kids to go and see it except my daughters. I took her anyway (as I was off work) as I decided that it would probably be her only opportunity to ever see it, she got some amazing memories as she was lucky enough to be able to hold the torch. She missed about 2 hours of school, the headmaster made a sarcastic comment to me when I signed her into school, my reply was that learning was as much about experiences as it was sitting in a classroom.

Countdown

39,690 posts

195 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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bhstewie said:
In some ways I'm glad I'm not a parent as I'd struggle biting my tongue at some of what seems like total hypocrisy by schools and teachers.

  • Take your kids out of school for a day to go somewhere beneficial to their education = bad
  • School takes them to the same place on for the same purpose = good
  • Take your kids out of school on a regular school day for whatever reason = bad
  • Make you have a day off work because you're on a teacher training day = good
In your "good" examples All the kids are affected equally. In the "bad" examples 1 child is doing something differently to the other 29. This means he/she will miss some learning and need to catch up. if it's one kid for one day that's hardly going to make a difference. But when you multiply it by 25-30 kids and make it 2-3 days every year it does become quite challenging.



ATG

20,485 posts

271 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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TwigtheWonderkid said:
Andy888 said:
You have to wonder sometimes really. Clearly schools are their own little empires run by people who get off on power trips over parents and kids.
Care to comment now others have got in before me to tell you the school have no leeway in this and it's completely out of their hands..
Not true according to a minister on the radio a couple of months ago. There appears to be a perception in quite a few schools that they don't have leeway, but according to the bod on radio they were wrong.

Frankly I can see why the school might want to think they had no leeway as it would make it easy to handle the standard holiday pisstake requests, but apparently thems ain't the rules.

otolith

55,899 posts

203 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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She will probably never catch up on that day off and as a result will fail A-level finger painting.

supertouring

2,228 posts

232 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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bhstewie said:
* Make you have a day off work because you're on a teacher training day = good
Teachers not allowed training now?


Countdown

39,690 posts

195 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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OP - just out of interest what's the school's OFSTED rating? And how long has it been like that?

Impasse

15,099 posts

240 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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supertouring said:
bhstewie said:
* Make you have a day off work because you're on a teacher training day = good
Teachers not allowed training now?
Especially when the training days have no impact on the mandatory 190 days of education per year.

retrorider

1,339 posts

200 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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The world has gone mad.Take her and also tell her to follow her dreams.Life is too short to worry about one lost day at school...

Edited by retrorider on Tuesday 1st December 17:49


Edited by retrorider on Tuesday 1st December 17:49


Edited by retrorider on Tuesday 1st December 17:51


Edited by retrorider on Tuesday 1st December 17:55

Funkycoldribena

7,379 posts

153 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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Axionknight said:
Frankly for a one off occasion with such merits I wouldn't even have asked - I'd have just claimed she had a fever or some such.

Then get found out when a school trip from the same educational establishment rocks up at the exhibition knowing my luck, hehe
This. Why did you even ask? Were you expecting them to send you a certificate for being a wonderful parent or something?

pork911

7,087 posts

182 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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retrorider said:
The world has gone mad.Take her and also tell her to follow her dreams.Life is too short to worry about one lost day at school...

Edited by retrorider on Tuesday 1st December 17:49


Edited by retrorider on Tuesday 1st December 17:49


Edited by retrorider on Tuesday 1st December 17:51


Edited by retrorider on Tuesday 1st December 17:55
clearly did you no harm needing to edit that only four times wink

Jasandjules

69,825 posts

228 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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williamp said:
Next time they tell you they are going on strike in support of comrade corbyn, just say no you cannot, you are needed to teach my child etc
Funnily enough, I had the same thought. Along with when the close the school for an election....

However, your daughter will be much better served by going with you than to school in the circumstances. I would take her. Tell them she is either ill or being home schooled that day, they can choose which they want.

Ken Figenus

5,679 posts

116 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
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Jasandjules said:
being home schooled that day.
Ears perk up... Clearly when powerfully built company directors who are good track drivers and have 10 'O' levels (where getting a 'C' equalled a clip 'round the ear 'ole from Papa for not enough effort now equals an 'A') are battling the 'one size fits all' system is there a middle class get out of LEA wrath free option there (other than Eton LOL)?

Troubleatmill

10,210 posts

158 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
Bushi said:
OK, strange to be posting this on PH but really donot want to join mumsnet and people here seem to be fairly normal.

So I have a 6 year old daughter at school. 100% attendance doing really well.

She loves space, all the sciences etc.. met Chris Hadfield last week and shes really enthused about space travel, has been for a long while. 90% sure this is lead by her rather than dragged by me, ether way happy days. Loves maths, sciences, engineering...

Any way... we have the space launch on the 15th for Tim Peake, and I have tkts for us both to go to the National Space Centre and watch the launch live with an absolute bucket load of Childrens educational activities on the day to enthuse children in the stem subjects.

Applied to school for the day of and they have refused.

WTF? seems insane to me but I may be well off base.

Any views before I simply take her and feel the wrath of local councils and schools?



OP...
The idea of school is to teach your child all of the important things in life.
They are really important.

But... You are not going skateboarding in Bromley.

This is something that can really have the most inspirational impact on your childs' future.


I would grow a pair and tell the school... your daughter will catch up just fine.
You have a once in a generation chance of really inspiring her in her career.

Patch1875

4,893 posts

131 months

Tuesday 1st December 2015
quotequote all
Since your daughters not allowed can I come instead?biggrin

Seriously just take her out surely it will just go down as an unauthorised absence, we took our daughter out recently for an assessment at a private school they authorised that no problem.