A MUM has revealed she’s been referred to the police after her teenage daughter missed a few days of school due to being ill.
Mum Sara Louise took to TikTok to rant after being notified that the authorities would be coming to do a welfare check on her child, who is in Year 10.
The furious mum explained that her daughter has ”some additional needs” – which Sara felt like were ”not met by the school”.
In the video, Sara said that before the incident, her daughter had been off for three weeks ”because she was unwell” – and during this time, the school allegedly never phoned the parent for a welfare check.
”I only had phone calls to check in and see if she was okay. Some of them I didn’t even answer,” Sara said in a recent clip on TikTok.
The outraged mum went on: ”This term, she’s been off for 11 days and they’ve rung me twice in the 11 days.
”And today, when I answered the phone call, she asked me if she could come out and do a welfare check – and I kindly declined.
”I said ‘No, I don’t want you to come to my house’,” Sara said, adding that her teenager was ”absolutely fine” and didn’t ”want any interaction with the school”.
Under the Education (Penalty Notices) Regulations, schools usually consider a welfare check when a child has missed 10 school sessions (equivalent to 5 days) of unauthorised absences within a rolling 10-week period.
Schools may conduct a welfare check sooner if they have concerns about a child’s wellbeing, even if the absence is shorter.
Before a home visit, schools will usually try to contact the parents first to understand the reason for the absence.
”I’m fuming. Because I have now declined, they’re telling me that they have a duty of care – which is fine – and safeguarding and all the rest of it, to come out and do this check.”
Sara, who is in the process of moving her daughter to another school, noted that getting the police involved felt as if she was ”hiding” and ”abusing” the child.
”I know they haven’t said that – but the way that comes across is, like, sinister.”
Despite the school notifying Sara, the mum said there was no chance she was going to the child’s school to let them know the daughter was fine ”when she’s fine”.
”And there’s not a cat in hell’s chance that they’re coming to my house to see that she’s fine.”
The furious mother, who insisted the school had never given ”a s**t” about her daughter, knew there’d be backlash after posting the clip – but said she didn’t ”give a crap”.
If the authorities do show up, Sara said she’d be having the conversation with the police from her camera.
”This is what you get for doing what’s right for your kid.”
Is my child too ill for school? NHS advice
All schools have set rules and guidelines when it comes to a pupil’s illness. But the NHS shares the following advice…
High temperature – If your child has a high temperature, keep them off school until it goes away.
Coughs and colds – It’s fine to send your child to school with a minor cough or common cold. But if they have a high temperature, keep them off school until it goes.
Chickenpox – If your child has chickenpox, keep them off school until all the spots have crusted over. This is usually about five days after the spots first appeared.
Cold sores – There’s no need to keep your child off school if they have a cold sore.
Conjunctivitis – You don’t need to keep your child away from school if they have conjunctivitis, unless they are feeling very unwell.
COVID-19 – If your child has mild symptoms, such as a runny nose, sore throat, or slight cough, and feels well enough, they can go to school. Read more on what to do if your child has Covid here.
Ear infection – If your child has an ear infection and a high temperature or severe earache, keep them off school until they’re feeling better or their high temperature goes away.
Head lice and nits – There’s no need to keep your child off school if they have head lice. You can treat head lice and nits without seeing a GP.
Measles – If your child has measles, they’ll need to see a GP. Call the GP surgery before you go in, as measles can spread to others easily.
Keep your child off school for at least four days from when the rash first appears.
Sore throat – You can still send your child to school if they have a sore throat. But if they also have a high temperature, they should stay at home until it goes away. A sore throat and a high temperature can be symptoms of tonsillitis.
Vomiting and diarrhoea – Children with diarrhoea or vomiting should stay away from school until they have not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least two days (48 hours).
There are government guidelines for schools and nurseries about health protection and managing specific infectious diseases at GOV.UK. These say when children should be kept off school and when they shouldn’t.
‘At least they ARE checking’
Despite Sara’s fury, many social media users didn’t agree with her, with one viewer writing: ”A welfare check is VITAL to ensure the safety of the child. This should be applauded, not frowned upon.”
Someone else commented: ”As a social worker I really wish people would understand why this is SO necessary.
”You probably are a very loving caring mother but that is not the case for every child, and god forbid something was.”
”At least they ARE checking. So many children slip through the net and we moan, we can’t moan when they do check. Can’t have it both ways,” wrote a third.
”11 days is two weeks and one day so that plus the three weeks is a lot of missed schooling. Good on them for caring,” chimed in another.
Hitting back at those criticising her, the mother said: ”It’s frowned upon simply because they’ve only done this cos they know they’ve failed her.
”It’s just ridiculous and there’s bigger crimes been committed where police are actually needed.”
