So there I am, my life ticking along nicely, feeling happy and content as I'd finished work for the Summer. Then bang one piece of A4 paper burst my bubble of happiness and I felt sad. The girls came home with their end of year progress reports and included in the envelopes were their yearly attendance records . I knew last school year wasn't great for Eloise but there it was in black and white , attendance 89.11%. Actually it was in black and white and highlighted in red, just I case I missed it I guess ! Also provided was a table of how awful this attendance score was , Eloise's therefore equated to the Government labelling her a persistent absentee. Millie's of course was fine so she can have a pat on the back from the Government as she doesn't screw up their statistics, neither did Henry with a 99.6% attendance score.
At the end of the day those with a 100% attendance are lucky, they must be fit and well with fantastic immune systems to not get taken down by the number of illnesses flying around school. Add in the mothers you hear in the background talking of their child being sick in the night but they are alright now. The ones whose child doesn't have to adhere to the 48 hours away from school after an episode of diarrhoea or vomiting as their mother has more important things to do today, I despise those people as their child infects mine and my child doesn't bounce back and whatever she catches lingers on.
Eloise will never get 100% attendance even if she wasn't off sick for a whole year as she has essential medical appointments. I don't take her out of school for dental or GP appointments but she has to go to GOSH and Bristol Childrens for appointments and blood tests that fall into the school day. I remember school asking if she needed the whole day for an appointment that was in GOSH ! Well actually this school year she's had five days off because of GOSH appointments, as it was her Annual Review with angiogram in January. I think it's wrong that she is put down for a morning of being absent when she misses one hour and not even a whole lesson to get her bloods checked. This test has to be taken in the morning as its a drug level check that's taken 12 hours after her lost dose of Tacrolimus .
She's being punished for having a life limiting condition, she didn't miss school because she is on holiday or at a music festival or a day out. She was ill at home, quite ill as we all know nurses deliver tough love at home !
I'll freely admit I cried yesterday for Eloise and this stupid situation but that only made me angry with myself because I let this stupid percentage figure do this to me. I think the idiot that highlighted the 89.11% annoyed me the most. Do you think I need reminding that my child is unwell ? Why didn't they stop and think about Eloise and her health issues ? The child they still have marked down as having heart problems on certain pieces of correspondence !
Maybe they'd like to swap places with her ? I'm sure she'd rather be in school than being repeatedly stabbed with a needle as her veins have had enough. I'm sure she'd rather do a maths exam than be cannulated, the anesthetist repeatedly jabbing at her as tears roll down her cheeks. I'm sure even a PE lesson is favourable to an exercise tolerance test, where you feel you are suffocating because of the tight fighting breathing aparatus. I'm sure she'd rather be with her peers than suffering horrendous migraines and managing them with hardly any analgesics because she's not allowed any non steroidals. My child isn't a skiver, I'm sure she's in school feeling awful for many more days than the ones I've let her take off. Surely all you need to do is look at why she's off school then stick your highlighter pen where the sun don't shine !
All the letter did was highlight the fact that Eloise isn't the same as her peers, it just reminded me of her medical conditions. We try to make every day normal as Eloise is just Eloise. Yes she takes medication every day, twice a day but that's the only difference on a day to day basis. My child isn't a failure she's a bloody miracle, every day she gets up in the morning alive is a bonus for us. She's doing well at school, she's a hardworking, conscientious, and enthusiastic student, who despite needing time off hasn't fallen behind with her studies.
That school is lucky to have my Eloise as one of their students, she's a digital leader and even helps tutors with IT issues, she's redesigned parts of a website and is the only student in her year to have passed Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel exams so far , she's now studying for other qualifications. Let's celebrate what she has achieved this school year not focus on something that's out of her control.
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