Sorry it is late posting, but here is the article about illness thesunda0.eceytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Education/article149273 A CHILD with severe asthma has been turned away from class as schools shun pupils with illnesses to protect their attendance records. Joanne Brown from Leeds was told by teachers to teach her son Joshua, 14, at home after he missed several days this term because of illness. The teenager started at Parkside school in September after his mother removed him from his previous school following a crackdown on Joshua’s attendance, which dropped to 68% last year because of trips to hospital. Brown, a nurse, is now struggling to home-educate her teenager, who is starting his GCSE years and whose asthma is particularly bad in winter. “If he didn’t have the illness he would have been fine in Parkside,” Brown said. “But because of his illness they refused to accept him permanently. “He’s been out of school now three weeks. I’m trying to teach him history, about the Brontës, using local resources, but he’s not happy. I’m not qualified to teach GCSEs.” Joshua moved to Parkside this year after his mother was warned about his low attendance at Titus Salt School in Bradford. After three months he was told that if he missed one more day he would have to leave Parkside, too. The case highlights a growing trend of schools refusing to teach sick pupils or insisting they come in even when ill. Families say schools are desperate to keep their attendance rates high for fear of being marked down by school inspectors. Many schools now insist on a doctor’s notes for a single day’s absence before they will record it as “authorised” but parents say many GPs refuse to give sick notes for less than three days’ illness and that even authorised absences pull down a school’s attendance figures. Nationally, 60 families have started an e-petition complaining about the crackdown, which they say discriminates against pupils with illnesses. Launched by the campaign group Parents Want a Say, it calls on the government to review school attendance policies to ensure they are “family friendly”. Leeds city council, on behalf of both schools, said: “We cannot comment in any detail on an individual case, other than to confirm that due process was followed in this case.”
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 08:11:12 +0000
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