6th form - mandatory attendance vs driving lessons

Debbie9009

OP, are others in the 6th facing the same problem ? if so could you get together with the other parents and ask for a meeting with the school to discuss the issue, perhaps offering for the pupils to produce an appointment card from the instructor.

I find the schools stance very inflexible and it doesn’t translate into real life, if you do shift work, you only need to be there for your shift, you don’t have to register at the start of the day, and then go back later for your shift.

Fwiw I think driving is an essential skill, and would see driving lessons as a good use of time where she doesn’t have 6th form lessons.

Wonka_2

sheramber said:

How has she got clear mornings if she has lessons at 10am?

Sorry - lesson 2 starts at 10h05 and she has lesson 1 free so could do an 8am-10am driving lesson and finish at school

Wonka_2

Debbie9009 said:

OP, are others in the 6th facing the same problem ? if so could you get together with the other parents and ask for a meeting with the school to discuss the issue, perhaps offering for the pupils to produce an appointment card from the instructor.

I find the schools stance very inflexible and it doesn’t translate into real life, if you do shift work, you only need to be there for your shift, you don’t have to register at the start of the day, and then go back later for your shift.

Fwiw I think driving is an essential skill, and would see driving lessons as a good use of time where she doesn’t have 6th form lessons.

It seems so - and it seems it's only our 6th form where it's an issue in the area

Half term next week so have a few days to consider next steps with the school

sheramber

 DfE's guidance on working together to improve attendance 

Attendance Register 25. Schools must also take the attendance register at the start of each morning session of each school day and once during each afternoon session. On each occasion they must record whether every pupil is present, attending an approved educational activity, absent, or unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances. 
....................

Granting leaves of absence 28. Only exceptional circumstances warrant a leave of absence. Schools should consider each application individually taking into account the specific facts and circumstances and relevant background context behind the request. 29. If a leave of absence is granted, it is for the headteacher to determine the length of the time the pupil can be away from school. 30. As head teachers should only grant leaves of absence in exceptional circumstances it is unlikely a leave of absence will be granted for the purposes of a family holiday

Wonka_2

sheramber said:

 DfE's guidance on working together to improve attendance 

Attendance Register 25. Schools must also take the attendance register at the start of each morning session of each school day and once during each afternoon session. On each occasion they must record whether every pupil is present, attending an approved educational activity, absent, or unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances. 
....................

Granting leaves of absence 28. Only exceptional circumstances warrant a leave of absence. Schools should consider each application individually taking into account the specific facts and circumstances and relevant background context behind the request. 29. If a leave of absence is granted, it is for the headteacher to determine the length of the time the pupil can be away from school. 30. As head teachers should only grant leaves of absence in exceptional circumstances it is unlikely a leave of absence will be granted for the purposes of a family holiday

Thanks - exactly what I was looking for - doesn't help my case for flexibility but al least clarifies what I'm up against

theoretica

How easy would it be for her to get to another area where there is an instructor with weekend availability?

onomatopoeia99

Just ignore the school, they are acting like the worst kind of jumped up self-important bureaucrats, not like educators. So what if she doesn't have 100% attendance at registration, policies rewarding that are iniquitous, discriminatory and should be stopped*.

Education is important.  Pointless adherence to irrelevant petty diktats isn't, though you would be setting a poor example to your child if you teach her unquestioning obedience as a few on here seem to encourage.


* e.,g. book tokens awarded to kids at the end of term for a 100% attendance that the child with a life altering health condition could never hope to win - iniquitous and discriminatory, as I say.

goater78

onomatopoeia99 said:

Just ignore the school, they are acting like the worst kind of jumped up self-important bureaucrats, not like educators. So what if she doesn't have 100% attendance at registration, policies rewarding that are iniquitous, discriminatory and should be stopped*.

Education is important.  Pointless adherence to irrelevant petty diktats isn't, though you would be setting a poor example to your child if you teach her unquestioning obedience as a few on here seem to encourage.


* e.,g. book tokens awarded to kids at the end of term for a 100% attendance that the child with a life altering health condition could never hope to win - iniquitous and discriminatory, as I say.

The daughter could well be excluded if they take your advice.  Seems quite a poor suggestion to just ignore the rules to try and make some slightly irrelevant moral stand.  

I would assume registration is done to identify who is on the college grounds that day. It probably is quite important if there was a serious incident on campus. 

400ixl

onomatopoeia99 said:

Just ignore the school, they are acting like the worst kind of jumped up self-important bureaucrats, not like educators. So what if she doesn't have 100% attendance at registration, policies rewarding that are iniquitous, discriminatory and should be stopped*.

Education is important.  Pointless adherence to irrelevant petty diktats isn't, though you would be setting a poor example to your child if you teach her unquestioning obedience as a few on here seem to encourage.


* e.,g. book tokens awarded to kids at the end of term for a 100% attendance that the child with a life altering health condition could never hope to win - iniquitous and discriminatory, as I say.

Showing them how to get excluded from Sixth form isn't the brightest of ideas either.

Emmia

onomatopoeia99 said:

Just ignore the school, they are acting like the worst kind of jumped up self-important bureaucrats, not like educators. So what if she doesn't have 100% attendance at registration, policies rewarding that are iniquitous, discriminatory and should be stopped*.

Education is important.  Pointless adherence to irrelevant petty diktats isn't, though you would be setting a poor example to your child if you teach her unquestioning obedience as a few on here seem to encourage.


* e.,g. book tokens awarded to kids at the end of term for a 100% attendance that the child with a life altering health condition could never hope to win - iniquitous and discriminatory, as I say.

Plenty of people without life altering health issues will also not attend 100% of the time.

I'm not sure I ever attended absolutely every day of school each year - never had a 100% award, and I don't have a health condition.

I do think the OP is wrong to allow their daughter to bunk off / play truant for something as un-essential as driving lessons though.