To think 1 minute isn't late?

[AnArrowToTheKnee]

DS1 starts school at 8.50, we got there at 8.51 and were told we had to sign in at the office. AIBU to think that we weren't actually late?

Around 20 per class, seperate doors for each class, and when the doors open they all just go in - no lining up or anything. So they can all be in the door within a minute

I assume that with that system with such a short entrance time, the children in the playground get some sort of signal/whistle/bell to warn them a minute or two before to let them know that the door is about to open? Otherwise it's impossible for all the kids to notice the door is open, get their bag and get inside in less than 60 seconds.

When I was at school we had 25/30 in a year and all primary classrooms had a classroom door directly into the playground via the class cloakroom as well as one into the internal corridor. The outer doors automatically locked on closing, and can only be opened by the teacher's swipe card and the inner door could only be accessed if you were inside the building. The school gates opened at 8:30 for general drop off and we had to be lined up at our door at 8:40, when the teacher would let us in, so we got a warning bell at 8:39 that told us it was a minute to walk in time. Anyone that arrived after 8:40 would be late, but we all knew that if you weren't in the playground by the warning bell, you would be late and sent to the office to sign in.

Even if you got to the door as it was closing, you'd have to go to the office because the teacher would open the door, and then as the students came into the cloakroom the teacher would walk back through to the classroom to supervise as students came in and got settled at their desks etc ... they couldn't keep to-ing and fro-ing to swipe the door open for every student who was late.

It is a small school ... By the time I got round to the office and signed him in it was nearly 9. It just seems so uptight for primary school children - and not fair to make him more late for the sake of 60 seconds.

It's not about being "uptight" it's about safeguarding ... the doors close at a certain time and anyone not in the classroom at that point is officially late and not signed in under the teacher's care, and a record was required to show that the student was then signed in late, at the office, where all the records are kept.

"Nearly 9" ... now is that 8:56 or 8:59? it's rather vague for someone complaining about being one minute late ... Either way it's your fault he was one minute late for normal going in time, and therefore it's your responsibility to get him properly signed in, even if that then makes him five or eight minutes late in total.

theothercatpurred Your school seems to have a flawed system, in that a few minutes late but present in the building is not being differentiated from absent and therefore never in the building at all ... If they are using that same register as their safety record then I'd be concerned because, for example, if there was a fire at 11am your child is still showing as absent in the records even though they actually arrived at 9:01, just after registration.

In our school registers we had a code: "/" marked you as present; O marked you as an unauthorised absence; Ø signified that you were late to registration, but arrived before the register was sent to the office; and an O with an X through it signified that you weren't at registration but arrived later in the morning/afternoon and were signed in at the office. If a child is off school, once we got a note/call from the parents then a number would be put inside the the O that corresponded with the specific "authorisation" required (eg medical appt/illness/injury etc)

You have to have a cut off at some point. It's better to make the cut off the actual time that you're supposed to be there. What's the point in saying you have to be at school by 8.50 but you're not actually late until 8.55? It makes the 8.50 start time meaningless. Whenever the cut-off is, some people are going to be a fraction late for it. That's their problem.

You were late. It's disruptive for the other children if children come in late. It's not just a case of slipping in unnoticed, children have to take off coats etc.

Being late is sometimes unavoidable but there are some people that just can't be arsed getting their kids to school on time and constantly stroll in late .(Saw one parent dragging her kid in after 9 am but still had a greggs pasty in her hand ... got to the butty shop on time then!)
So if you say "just one minute" should be let slide what about the person who's two minutes? Three? Four?
There has to be a cut off point and o don't blame schools being rigid about them.
As it stands, if every other day of the school year you're on time it's unlikely to count against you on this occasion.
A good rule of thumb to help with arriving by the skin of your teeth is
Early = on time
On time = late
Works for me lol

OP don't let it bother you.
It's only a minute.

OP is this a P1 class by any chance and the teacher is usually the last to let the kids in?
If so, I totally agree with you 😉

it's the cut off.. if there was 1 min grace, the 8.52 people would say the same, if there was 2 mins grace, the 8.53 people… and so on.

It was late. If a train departs at 8.50 you won't get on it if you step on the platform at 8.51.

And arguably there is less excuse for being SLIGHTLY late than being very late, because if you can get there for 8.51 you could have gotten there for 8.49!

Also, people who cut it very fine can be far more annoying than people who stroll in proper late. The former are usually so "flappy"

I'm slightly perplexed as to why you care. 8.50 is the start time, you arrive late at 8.51, you have to sign in. So what? It's like not even a thing

In the days of paper registrations, in the schools that I have worked in, there has been a registration period, say from 8.30 - 8.35. At 8.30, students were marked as present (diagonal line) and those absent got a circle. If a student arrived before 8.35, they would get a diagonal line through the circle, and after 8.35 would get a "L" in the circle. With electronic registration, they are either present or absent (subsequently late) at the designated moment of registration.

If your school locks the doors/gate on the stroke of the end of registration, then you have to go to the office. There has to be a cutoff, otherwise there would be a whole string of parents dropping off by the minute until well into the assembly (they probably have as much respect for assembly as they do for timekeeping).

We have soft start where the kids come in from 0830. The bell goes at 0845 when the register is taken. It closes at 0900. Officially if a child isn't there by 0845 when the bell goes they are marked late in the register although someone running through the door would probably just be marked in! After 0900 a child has to go to the office as the register is closed and the child will have been marked absent. If you start at 0850, then I would expect any child before 0900 to be marked late and any after that to go the the office. If lessons begin at 0850, registration is probably at 0840 so would have closed by 0850. You need to get the school to clarify their policy as it goes on your educational welfare form.

It was late. If a train departs at 8.50 you won't get on it if you step on the platform at 8.51.

Well in reality if you arrive at 8.51 your likely catch the 8.39 train

You were late, but it does sound a bit of a harsh punishment if they pretty much slammed the door in your face and made you go to the office

But their school house their rules. I suggest or and try not to sweat it

I was a few minutes late pretty much every day of my school career. Then when I reached the sixth form, some comedian amongst the staff appointed me to be the Late Monitor.

Brilliant!

I teach and most morning lessons feature 3-4 students coming between 1 minute and many minutes late. It disturbs the class, the late ones (normally the same kids) miss out and at some point I have to stop the lesson to update the register. If you're habitually late (1 minute is at least 5 by the time student actually starts working or 10 if they need the loo) you should think about the impact on others! Also consider that missing 10% or so of all period 1 lessons is quite a lot! The only really effective sanction is to be always in the middle of working, so they are conspicuous. YABU, students need to be there 5-10 mins before.

Another school here with a soft start system. Door opens at 8:40am. Parents bring children into the classroom (EYFS-Y2), and can either leave or stay around with their child and work with them on their morning task. Bell goes at 8:50 and children come to the carpet. Parents should have all left by then.

We do the register straight away after that - if someone comes in during the 3 or 4 minutes it takes to fill it in and hit save they are marked as L - late before register closes. Once save has been hit they have to go to the office to sign in. So we probably have about 3/4 minute leeway before it is 'properly' late. However, 1 or 2 minutes late after the bell, it is still late. Just recorded slightly different on the register.

This reminds me of Catherine Tate's character Lauren.

Am I late though? Am I? Am I late though?

Boverred. Am I boverred though?

I'm almost always 1 minute late as I have 2 children to drop at two different doors and there's 1 minute walk between them. Also the first door often opens a minute or two late anyway. The way they phrase it is - school starts when the doors open at 8.40, doors close at 8.50, register at 9. So if the doors are closed you're actually 10 minutes late and can't possibly quibble about it. A subtle psychological difference but I do think it is a difference.

It's a bit like speed limits. The limit is 30, but no-one is prosecuted for doing 31 or 32. So if you're prosecuted there's no arguing it was an error in the measurement.

Yes. YABU.

all

I agree there has to be a cut off and signing in at reception isn't the end of the world but I do find it odd that some schools have no window for when you can arrive. My DS's school has a twenty minute window so you don't have to arrive early and stand in the rain and wait for the doors to open or you can drop off more than one child.

I don't see being late as a bad thing when it's a couple of minutes. I find, therefore no scientific study that people who care about a couple of minutes in a meeting are also those who relate being present at work relates to volume of work being done. Very rarely the case. I find it hard to believe 60 seconds can disrupt a class. If it does the teacher is not managing the class effectively.

All the other kids had lined up, walked in and closed the door? Amazing for 1 minute.

I bet official arrival time is 8:40. Bit of leeway and 420 dawdling kids queuing up and being led in means 8:51 is labelled as late.

Training children to be punctual for when they go to work is quite a depressing scenario.