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?

Sorry, just saw no lining up and only 140 kids. Still impressive if 8:50 is mass arrival and 8:51 everybody is inside, door closed.

You were late.albeit not by much.but still late

It isn't about just one minute is it . It is about where the cut off point. In this case the window was likely 8.40 - 8.50.

We don't know if this mum is late regularly or first time it has happened as she has ran away from the thread.. I can say for my DS to settle which he would of not done in one minute , if the classroom got disturbed it would them take him twice as long to resettle.

Life does happen and although We have never been late for school in 5 years , I cannot guarantee there won'y be a day where something goes wrong.

School is at the end of dead end road. Parents etc amble down the road and still potter along when the whistle is blown. Once the line is on you are late. Parents will walk down the length of the road (past the office) to argue at the gate that they shelould be let in because they were "at the top of the road" when the whistle went. All the while people are still pottering down the road to hinkong it's okay to be late.

Meanwhile inside me and a TA are trying to check reading records, register the children, check meal selection, record homework. This has to be done in the ten minute slot I start lessons at 9am. Lateness to start lessons is not accepted just like lateness to school is not accepted. All the while with habitually late children puttering in and having to be asked for meal choice, reading record, meal choice.

So yes one minute late is exactly that, LATE.

You were late. End of.

We have been told in no uncertain terms that the school's clock is correct and we would be advised to set our watches to it.

8:51 is late, no argument! If you were asked to sign it was to inconvienience you and make you aware to be on time next time . Most children hate being late and told off by teacher for being late - had you thought of that!

Those of you referring to trains - do you use trains? You might not 'expect' to get the 8.50 train at 8.51 - but if put money on the fact you're still stood waiting for it at 8.52 and beyond!!!
Our school has a 5 min leeway whilst registration is still open even if the door is shut.

Let's pretend we mean German trains then

Once the teacher has closed the register any child arriving after that has to sign in at office as late. Late is late.

Being late (you was late) and then signing in at reception is pretty standard in most schools.

Thing is, you can get on the 8.50 at 8.57 every day for a month, but the day you are running late and arrive at 8.51 you can bet the fucker will be pulling into the middle distance by the time you step, panting, on to the platform.

Which is also how school gates seem to work. It's always the one day you're running late that they are on time

Yes, even 1 min is late.
Your job would class it as late, why not school?
Agree with PP it's about having a cut off point. They have to stick by it for everyone even as a one off as I'm pretty sure in a class of 20+ there will always be someone having a bad day/morning and running late which means everyday they would be starting late due to disturbance of parents 'popping' in with that one child.

An inch is a good as a mile.

Why did you cut it so fine?

It depends on their clocks as to whether you are actually late, that's why one minute is a bit ridiculous. At DSs school we often arrive at 8:50 (by my phone, which is obviously correct) but their clocks are not. So the kids are already going in. They have been known to ring the 8:50 bell at 8:47 before which means that if you are struggling up the hill with a very heavy pushchair you start panicking and rushing very unfairly. A great distance can be covered in 3 minutes if you are muttering under your breath, "We're going to be late..."

Why not leave 10 minutes earlier, Frizzy? Why put yourself through that amount of stress every morning??

Getting there early also means the children get a chance to run round and let off some steam before they go into class, so they are better able to settle down and study, @FrizzyMcFrizzyface.

That's what I don't get flogging

I mean why put yourself through the he stress and the position of arguing over a minute or two.

If people put as much energy into getting ready and leaving their house as they do into arguing technicalities about clocks and leeway and their right to be late without actually being recorded as late they'd be fine.

Seems such a waste of everyone's time.

You were late, and you are being unreasonable to think that being only minute late makes any difference in this case. If I am invited for a drink at "about 8.30" I would never arrive early but never later than 8.40: but if I am down to catch the 10.32 I wouldn't expect them to hold the train until 10.33. Being late, in the last analysis, is a form of bad manners as well as causing inconvenience to others: odd, though, how most of us are punctual when it matters to us. My late ex-wife on a number of occasions drove me to nearly to physical violence on this score.

Its can be hard though,most school clocks all show different times and how many times has your phone and tablet/ laptop time been out by a minute or more. You are late by the schools timing, so ... Just suck it up if its a one off. Good time keeping means really you should be well before the set time. Not always possible.

This reminds me of working for British airways and the millionth person getting upset that the check in closed and they were only a minute late. It costs the airlines £1000 per minute to keep check in so a minute can be more important than you think.

Better analogy than bus or train as generally they are the worst for time keeping.

Our school has gates open at 8.30 and whistle to line up at 8.45am. You can usually judge if you can slip your child in on the end of their line or if you have to go into the office by the huge crowd of parents coming the other way towards the gates. Our receptionist is lovely and waves me off at say 8.47 maybe, but usually if I'm later, I'll have to sign in.

I suppose it is a little mean to not just open the door if they had only just shut it, but you were late.

Haven't read the whole thread yet, but I've read about a hundred comments and there's something that no one else has mentioned yet. Part of this strictness in timekeeping in schools is to teach children a valuable skill: punctuality, which as adults they will need to know.

Do you tell your employer "Well, I'm only a minute late, so you're BVU to pull me up" or do you say "Sorry I'm late, I'll try not to let it happen again?"

What you are currently modeling for your children in a sense that the rules don't apply to you. However arbitrary you may think they are, they are what they are, and they have to apply to everyone or chaos reigns. If you teach your children that "this rule is inconvenient so we will fight the consequences for having broken it", that's what they will learn. They will not thank you if, as adults, this is what they know and their working lives are plagued with written warnings for lateness and belligerence when called out.

Okay, this is an extreme scenario, but as PP have said, there has to be SOME cut off, some line drawn in the sand between acceptable and unacceptable. You were late. The correct thing to do is to apologize for being late, follow the school's procedures, and attempt to do better next time. Then that is what your child learns, as opposed to this "I didn't do anything wrong" nonsense you're currently modeling.

Guess it will make sure you're on time tomorrow! I used to be always the late one until an ex pointed out I was assuming I was more important than him in that I could keep him waiting. Made me more punctual.

One minute I would expect to be ignored...Who is to say their watch is accurate and yours isn't!

Watch time isn't relevant, the time the register was taken and either sent to the office or closed electronically does.