My Child
Punctuality
Good punctuality at school is essential for students to achieve their full educational potential. It is also vital for students to form good habits for later life. Punctuality records form part of references passed onto employers or higher educational institutes.
All students are expected to arrive punctually for school in the morning at 8:30 and to arrive punctually for each lesson. A register is taken at the start of the day and during each lesson. Students arriving late are recorded as thus on the register, along with how many minutes late they are.
Lateness To School
If the lateness is due to a legitimate reason e.g., a medical appointment, the absence can be authorised. Otherwise, the session is marked as an unauthorised absence. A letter is sent home to parents informing them of this and the fact that they could be liable for a fixed penalty notice if the child receives 10 or more unauthorised absence sessions.
The School’s Support for Good Punctuality
We place a strong emphasis on good punctuality; we support this by: -
- Giving sanctions to students who arrive late to school or lessons.
- Informing parents, by automated call, if their child arrives late for school.
- Awarding tutor points to tutor groups where all students have arrived punctually over a period of time.
- Senior staff patrolling the local shops first thing in the morning to encourage students not to loiter in these areas and make themselves late.
- Sending attendance records home to parents each term so that parents can monitor any lateness.
- Addressing issues of poor time keeping with individual students and their parents.
Parents’/Carers' Support for Good Punctuality
We would ask parents to support us in maintaining good punctuality by:-
- Ensuring that their children get up in plenty of time to be ready and prepared for school.
- Ensuring their child has organised their bag and equipment the night before so that this does not delay departure in the morning.
- Discussing any issues of lateness to ensure this does not become a habit.
- Monitoring their child’s attendance record when it is sent home and looking for patterns of lateness
Parents And Carers: FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
See our frequently asked questions by clicking on the panels below.
If you have any questions about punctuality, please get in touch with Ms Maher via email nikki.maher@oasisarena.org
- My child was only a couple of minutes late. It seems harsh that he/she/they should get a late mark.
- Our whole family overslept, and it is not my child’s fault that he/she/they are late. Will they receive a late mark?
- Would you make any allowances for lateness if, for example, there were major traffic problems in the area perhaps because of an accident, so my car/the bus was unavoidably stuck in traffic?
- My child has to catch the bus to school which is sometimes late. Will they receive a late mark?
- What if I phone up/email to say my child is going to be late? Would he/she/they still get a late mark?
- If I know my child is going to be late, do I need to ring/send in a note?