Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think 1 minute isn't late?

332 replies

AnArrowToTheKnee · 07/02/2017 12:02

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?

OP posts:
user1469914265 · 07/02/2017 14:25

I'm amazed that anyone would want to push back on this and teach their kids it's alright to be late and that you should fight it if you are.

I hire a hell of a lot of 15/16/17 year olds in their first jobs and each and every year there are a handful who can't grasp that they must arrive in time, not ON time.

So you start work at 0900? I expect you to be ready to work at 0900 not wandering in with a coffee and a coat on ready to have a ten minute chat with everyone before starting work.

Gileswithachainsaw · 07/02/2017 14:26

So basically late is OK as long as your not recorded late and there's no extra work involved ?

People should not need 10 mins Lee way to make it to school on time. And just because no one does anything about it does not mean it's actually ok to he repeatedly late

BeMorePanda · 07/02/2017 14:26

Well you weren't early, and you weren't on time - so yep you were late.

Our primary school is like this now too. It's a PITA but the classes start on time every day now days.

Camelopardtoes · 07/02/2017 14:27

Late, but pedantic rule

Upanddownroundandround · 07/02/2017 14:28

It's called a cut off point. And the cut off time is 8.50am. You arrived one minute after this. I actually can't see how you don't understand this concept.

FurryLittleTwerp · 07/02/2017 14:28

A miss is as good as a mile

Grin
Lweji · 07/02/2017 14:28

Slamming the door shut at 8.51 won't mean people won't be 1 minute late. It's just pragmatic, innit? There should be a cut off but, no, not 8.51, come on, be serious, realistic etc etc

So, then the deadline becomes 8:51, then 8:52, then 8:53 and so on.
It will always be pragmatic, realistic, etc
At some point, kids will arrive when school closes, perhaps.

ForAllWeKnow · 07/02/2017 14:30

It's a PITA but the classes start on time every day now days

Yep, and more than that, there will usually be a Morning Activity that practices or consolidates a recently learnt skill from Reception class upwards, as soon as they walk through the door. So even being a couple of minutes late means children miss out on learning time.

fairraid · 07/02/2017 14:35

A bit pedantic to say the least. Whos to say your clock time was right and their time was wrong?

Lweji · 07/02/2017 14:38

You might find this interesting.

How Twitter took on Trump's bot army—and won

mashable.com/2017/02/02/trump-bots-twitter-replies-change/#Ppys5WWD_kqA

Or they are no longer worth paying for.

Gileswithachainsaw · 07/02/2017 14:38

Well you'd have that figured out the first day then surely? And altered your arrival time accordingly?

Even reception kids have been there 5 months now. Does it take 5 months to realise your watch is a minute slow?

Lweji · 07/02/2017 14:39

Ups. completely wrong thread. Blush

DeleteOrDecay · 07/02/2017 14:39

It is a bit pedantic. My dd attends a school nursery and they always open their doors at around 8:32 by my watch rather than 8:30 on the dot. Maybe their clocks are slower than mine or something but either way there should be a couple of minutes leeway on either side as this sort of thing can happen.

riceuten · 07/02/2017 14:39

One wonders how amused the parents would be if the school opened one minute late.

steff13 · 07/02/2017 14:45

At my daughter's school, the kids can come in as early as 8:30. School starts at 9. At 9:01, the doors lock automatically. If you're not there before 9:01, you have to be buzzed in at the office. Late is late, it doesn't matter if it's 1 minute or 30 minutes.

gandalf456 · 07/02/2017 14:46

I wouldn't even notice. In fact, I think it does on occasion. I wouldn't notice my watch being 5 mins slow either. Five mins, yes, 1 no. Does everyone really? ?? How can one be sure of the exact time? I could set it by the News but then, for all.I know, it could run 10 secs slower than the school clock

Topseyt · 07/02/2017 14:50

It might seem pedantic but the cut off has to come sometime and that happens to be at 8.50.

When my youngest was still at primary school the cut off was at 8.45. However, the school secretary at one point took it into her head to sit out by the gates with a desk, chair and the late book from 8.30 onwards trying to intimidate those of us who walked past her at that time (i.e. 8.30, and well before the cut off) to sign it. She tried to bulldoze me at 8.35 once. I just said "No. We are not late" and left.

KurriKurri · 07/02/2017 14:51

A cut off point is just that.

If you failed an exam by one mark, would you tell everyone you'd passed ?

ForAllWeKnow · 07/02/2017 14:52

I think the point is that there is usually a 10-15 minute window when the door is open. Arriving to school on time means arriving in that timeslot.

If the doors are closed when you get there, you are either early or late. Being early doesn't matter, being late does.

It doesn't really matter whether your watch is a minute faster or slower than the school one. The point is probably that you shouldn't be aiming to be arriving at school at a time which means you run the risk of being late.

It's not that hard.

Stopandlook · 07/02/2017 14:54

They lock the doors of our school at 8.50 ( there is a 10 min window to arrive: 8.40 to 8.50). So yes, it's a bit like missing a train and you were late. Is signing into the office a big deal?

AlexanderHamilton · 07/02/2017 14:55

Perhaps you should ask when they last had their clocks calibrated?

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 07/02/2017 14:55

Re. the train analogy.

Yes, trains can be late. You may arrive on the platform after the scheduled departure time, and get lucky, and your train is late too, so you don't miss it.

But if the scheduled departure time is 08.50 and you arrive on the platform at 08.51 to find you have missed the train, it doesn't matter that it is late 9 times out of 10, you missed it because you were late.

Re. school start times - plenty of posters have explained why there are safeguarding issues that are behind the policies on late arrival at school - the times may be different, and the policies may not be identical, but if your school has a policy that anyone arriving after a set time has to sign in via the office, and you and your child arrive after that time, even by a minute, you are late and have to sign in via the office.

When the dses were at primary school, I used to make sure they were in the playground in plenty of time - I didn't just want them to be on time for school, I also wanted them to have time to run around with their friends before the bell went, to burn off some energy so they were ready to go in and settle down in class. The vast majority of parents did the same thing.

We even managed to be on time for school when I overslept one morning - we'd had a power cut the night before, and whilst I had reset the time on my alarm clock, I had forgotten that I needed to reset the alarm too - so I snoozed on happily well past the time I should have got up. I was only woken when ds1 came into my room and put the light on - and I snapped at him to switch it off again, only for him to switch it off and then say 'It's 8.17, mum, shall I switch it back on again?' - we left for school at 8.25am!!

I leapt out of bed and into my clothes - and bless them, all three boys were dressed, breakfasted and ready to go - and we dashed up the road and got to school in good time.

gandalf456 · 07/02/2017 15:01

Good idea, Alexander. I might do that if feeling pedantic

Gileswithachainsaw · 07/02/2017 15:01

Do people really aim for exactly so bang on time that of their watch is a minute out then they are late/miss bus etc

Surely that's why people aim fir at least 5 mins early. So they are there?

God having no margin fir error at all must be exhausting. What if the dog takes 30 seconds longer to poo than usual? You'd be late.

Why not just leave five mins earlier and save yourself the hassle and worry

gandalf456 · 07/02/2017 15:05

Let's all just relax shall we. I m normally at least 5 mins early. I am just arguing for one minute . Are people really that passionate that it warrants so many pages? I think the first few posts were sensible then it went bonkers