fuming

[TaylorsMummyx]

i actually hate my daughters headteacher. a few weeks ago she pulled me into the school, for her lateness. we would get there for 9am on the dot, so i would take her to reception to know shes signed in ect.

this did happen abit, i felt embarssed for myself and my daughter [shes in reception], was told if it carrys on i will be contacted by social services.
my son has autism, so in the mornings it plays on him.

anyway, since then we have been leaving the house at half 8, getting to school for 8.40 for the doors to open at 8.50. Weve been the first in the classroom quiet abit lol.

apart from the friday before halfterm when we was all poorly, she hasnt had a day off.

i get a letter today to say her attendance has dropped a further 10%. i am FUMING, i know for a friggin fact shes been in on time and no days off!! my depression has been gone for the past month and im happy and have energy, theres noway shes not been at school!


i dont know what to do! im always speaking to her, im so angry.

i wil go and speak to her, and she will pull out her ipad and show me the dates.. but how the feck do i prove she was there?!

 

[Niki]

If I was you I'd start taking notes of when you left the house and what time you arrived at the school.. Do they have no CCTV? if so ask for it to be played back so they can see you on it with times and dates?

 

[Abz1982]

Is there No one who meets you for the reception class? If not that is a bit shoddy as if you are getting there 10 mins before you were. What time does class start?? If its 9 then getting there bang on 9 isnt THAT bad.

Definitely go in and speak to the head. I think its ludicrous that social services would be called for lateness......this lady sounds far to gung ho!

 

[Ceejay123]

Wow! I can't believe that, they're so petty. Social services?

 

[WW1]

Double check with the school. They will take an official register twice a day so it should be clear. Ask for an attendance printout. They should be able to provide one. Lateness after a certain time will be classed as unauthorised absence (at our school it is 9.30) - this sometimes causes confusion as parents think its a present mark if they arrive any time in the morning. This isn't the case. Also, medical appointments etc. will class towards absence percentages.

If you're really not sure then get a calendar and jot down the time you get to school daily. That way it will a) be clear and b) help you to check for yourself whether your morning routine is working.

As for social services, that is pretty extreme but it's not totally unheard of. Persistent lateness can be a sign of other family issues (not always of course but it can be). If we were very concerned about punctuality we'd likely try to arrange a CAF to see if there was any support that could be offered. That is a long way down the process!

I think schools are right to be strict about punctuality - missing 10 mins per day = 1900 mins (over 30 hrs) per year (I'm not saying your child is missing that much of course). It can be a real issue in some cases.

I hope you get it sorted. The HT might be annoying you but she is doing her job!

 

[DanielleM]

To be fair schools keep a really good attendence file on children as they have to due to law and health and safety so it is likely to be correct. If you know school starts at a certain time and you are consistantly missing the beginning of school then you obviously need to start your routine 10-20 minutes earlier and as you know autistic children rely on routine so this could help in 2 areas.

The head teacher also has guidelines to follow and the guidelines are there for a reason. I know that to be allowed time off for family holidays the child has to have about 90% attenence rate.

 

[suzib76]

is your son with autism the same son who last week had global developmental delay?

im so sorry i had to ask, but again you are 'fuming/raging/angry' with a slightly different twist ?

 

[dani_tinks]

The only thing you can do is go and speak to the head. I doubt the school would be lying about poor attendance. They do have to make a note of it for health and safety reasons.

 

[TaylorsMummyx]

is your son with autism the same son who last week had global developmental delay?

im so sorry i had to ask, but again you are 'fuming/raging/angry' with a slightly different twist ?

As you seem to know my life, il update you. My son was diagnosed wi autism on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for your concern.

 

[XcupcakeX]

That's strange but I'm sure the head teacher has better things to do than make up poor attendance and pull parents aside for it if its not even true?

 

[TaylorsMummyx]

is your son with autism the same son who last week had global developmental delay?

im so sorry i had to ask, but again you are 'fuming/raging/angry' with a slightly different twist ?

As you need to know my life, my son was diagnosed on Tuesday afternoon.

 

[suzib76]

is your son with autism the same son who last week had global developmental delay?

im so sorry i had to ask, but again you are 'fuming/raging/angry' with a slightly different twist ?

As you seem to know my life, il update you. My son was diagnosed wi autism on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for your concern.

My apologies, I wasn't aware. It's tough going through diagnosis with them so I totally understand you not posting about it. I hope you can get him the help he needs now, personally we haven't had much in the way of anything for our son since diagnosis, but it absolutely helps to know is wrong with him, it offers an explanation to many people and things. There are some really good support groups out there, local and national fb groups and forums.

The attendance thing I don't know about, it is a bit weird if you are getting there on time, my son is actually often late but school have never said a word to me.

Again I am sorry for asking, but it was a genuine enough question

 

[sweetlullaby]

Make an appointment and go and speak to the headteacher. Tell her your confused as to why your daughters attendance is falling yet she's been there? It might be from last term rather than this term or something.

 

[Tiff]

is your son with autism the same son who last week had global developmental delay?

im so sorry i had to ask, but again you are 'fuming/raging/angry' with a slightly different twist ?

Rude! Surely with your knowledge on the subject you know that before getting a diagnosis children's parents can be told that their child has various things before actually ruling it out. I can understand being confused, but there were far better ways that you could have worded your question.

 

[suzib76]

is your son with autism the same son who last week had global developmental delay?

im so sorry i had to ask, but again you are 'fuming/raging/angry' with a slightly different twist ?

Rude! Surely with your knowledge on the subject you know that before getting a diagnosis children's parents can be told that their child has various things before actually ruling it out. I can understand being confused, but there were far better ways that you could have worded your question.

see above. i have already apologised to the OP.

sorry my choice of words didn't meet with your approval as well