11 Plus Exams Forum

Just heard on tv that there are proposals to charge if pupils are late for school.

pheasantchick wrote:Just heard on tv that there are proposals to charge if pupils are late for school.

Did I hear that it was just a couple of local authorities? I think it would be unfair on those who are occasionally late, with good reason, but I do find myself irritated by those who are constantly late for no other reason than not getting themselves into gear on time. After all, that won't wash int he workplace will it? And it must be a pain for teachers, pupils arriving half way through registration or even later, requiring marking in and lunch choices etc.
Each case needs to be looked at though and I would imagine it will be very hard to enforce. Plus does this kind of punitive fine actually make things better? Not sure.

Mine are sometimes late because we do some 11 plus work and if it's not being done well i announce that it is going to be done priperly even if we are late. Oops.

mystery wrote:Mine are sometimes late because we do some 11 plus work and if it's not being done well i announce that it is going to be done priperly even if we are late. Oops.

Lol! Time to be strung up Mystery

When we all went to our local school, kids that were often late were walked in by other mums while their mum was struggling with new babies, illness, getting in a pickle or whatever. I know this, as my mum was poorly, my dad was tardy and overwhelmed too, so suddenly I was walking in with friends mums instead. This sense of community is really falling by the wayside in the UK.

Fining parents...presumably under the unauthorised absence law, won't chivvy them, it will just lead to stress, arguments, and blame apportioning in the family home. I suppose it potentially fills the L.A. coffers, whereas helping parents organise a schedule or co-coordinating lift shares and pick ups, costs time and therefore money.

How would they get the money from those who could not afford the fine?

Tardiness annoys me so much, really it does.

When DD was in primary there was one family (two girls, both parents worked) who were late every single day. I knew that every single day DD's class wold be disrupted by these children coming in late, being unsettled by said children settling themselves into class and getting organised, then the teacher having to re-iterate what was happening in that lesson. That's not to mention the register, dinner money etc.

I take on board SB's comments about new babies and illness, but anything outside those instances, and certainly in the case I'm speaking of, deserves some form of fine. How can it be fair that whole classrooms of children are disrupted and lose out day after day for such a minority? Some may say but it's only five minutes. I say five minutes five times a week add up to one whole lesson. Over the course of a term/a year x seven years in primary adds up to a heck of a lot of lost schooling.

Being late once or twice in a blue moon is acceptable. Being consistently late once a week or more is not. It's not rocket science, just set your alarm to get up earlier. Oh, and make the effort, like everyone else does.

Rant over (well not really, 'cos it still blinking well annoys me, it shows a lack of respect for others).

It was mentioned on Daybreak I didn't hear the full report. However, one of the commentators did say that if the school bus was late, who would be to blame, the bus company or the child. Good point.

At dc's junior school, it was the same parents late every time, and as also mentioned on the programme, it's usually those who live closest to the school!

pheasantchick wrote:It was mentioned on Daybreak I didn't hear the full report. However, one of the commentators did say that if the school bus was late, who would be to blame, the bus company or the child. Good point.

At dc's junior school, it was the same parents late every time, and as also mentioned on the programme, it's usually those who live closest to the school!

Currently our don't get a late mark if the school bus is late.

Of course there shouldn't be a fine if the school bus is late! That can't be helped, if you get your child to a school bus on time, how can they be blamed if they are late in? Traffic is a different matter, once or twice, or an unexpected delay like a road blockage, but blaming the amount of traffic each day would not be acceptable, because, as has been said, get up and leave earlier like the rest of us do!
Of course there are exceptions and no one is fining the struggling mum with newborn etc, but even then, most get themselves sorted pretty quickly and arguably are often up early and only to glad to be able to offload one or two of their little darlings, so they are often well on time!
Habitual, unnecessary lateness, based on a kind of arrogance that the rules simply don't apply to them, is not on.

The report I read said this was aimed at persistent offenders, rather than those who are occasionally late.

DDs school send a text to parents if their Dad is late, unless it's due to a train delay or something beyond their control. A few weeks ago flooding caused travel disruption for some and it was excepted that it was beyond their control.

However they don't excuse lateness when the parent is driving them to school.