Hi everyone,

Hope that things are not going to badly for you - remember - you are not alone.

Just thought I'd share new laws coming in here regarding attendance in Victoria (Australia) that might be of interest.
The school will be able to fine the parents $70 if their child is absent for more than 5 days per year without a reasonable excuse. Reasons for absence that can be accepted include illness, disability and interestingly enough School Refusal. Excuses not acceptable are visiting relatives, shopping with parents or helping at home or no real excuse (not in those words).
Whilst this all sounds pretty reasonable...I think it has potential to penalise those like ourselves - who struggle to explain to the school why our children cannot attend. It will be up to the individual school to decide - which can also be a good thing - but again - depends on the Principal's attitude. It will also penalise recent migrant groups who sometimes have no option but to ask the older child to stay home and look after a sick younger child. Hopefully Principals will be flexible in their attitude.

To me the approach is totally the wrong way round. Money should be spent on increasing student welfare officers, pastoral care - student/parent support etc and then maybe they'd find out why kids are away from school.
As for going shopping or visiting relatives....personally.....who cares!!! For us who deal with absences on a daily basis - surely if other kids are missing more than one week of school a year it is no problem. It does not address those who cannot attend school at all. Parents who have mental health issues themselves, those who are struggling to make ends meet, those who do not yet know their child has school refusal....the directive from government should be to put support networks in place. The one good thing is - it is meant to keep all lack of attendance out of the courts. So knowing the system in the UK - I can't complain. But I think no matter what system they put in place...it is all dealt with in terms of 'school is compulsory' and nothing about family situations and children suffering anxiety/depression or numerous other issues are ever taken into account. It is just numbers they seem to deal with - not human beings.

In relation to schools not understanding school refusal and therefore parents getting fined despite it being exempt - an email I received yesterday from my son's coordinator backs up my concerns. He sent me a table that showed the amount of time/classes my son had missed (as if I don't keep a record) and asked me to explain if my son had been unwell during the times indicated. He knows my son has School Refusal - he does not accept anxiety as an excuse for non-attendance. When I ring up in a morning I always tell the attendance officer that my son is 'sick'. It seems that they are not really accepting my excuse. They might have to extend the meaning of 'sick' to include mental as well as physical symptoms.
Good luck to everyone this week - we all plough on : )
Take care
Linda

Thank you, Linda - plenty food for thought there.