To be late for school once a week?

[Latelateshowz]

(Writing this from DC POV.)

I am in year 13 at school. My school’s late policy is that you can be late once a week without any penalty. If you get two lates you get put on a report and have to turn up early for 2 weeks.

I don’t see the point of getting in on time just to sit around in form time or to go to an assembly. So I choose to make the most of the system that is in place and deliberately go in late once a week.

In case it is relevant, I have the second highest voluntary service hours in the school (this is for things like helping younger students, doing clubs etc) and I am predicted the highest grades. I’ve never had any detentions for behaviour etc.

My form tutor mentioned my punctuality in a recent parents meeting and my parents think I should just be on time. My view is that I am just making the most of the system the school has set up.

YABU: get yourself to school on time
YANBU: fair enough, be late if you want

⬆️

I have a couple of relatives and at least one former colleague who are exactly like this. Colleague used to have her annual two week “sinusitis” which is what was recorded on the system, but she didn’t pretend to be ill and nobody thought she was. She just regarded it as like annual leave and couldn’t understand why everyone else didn’t do it.
DH’s brother and his DW had the same attitude- always made sure they took their full “allocation” of sick leave.

I do actually agree with this.

When I was in sixth form, we didn't have to be on-site when we didn't have lessons, but we did have to attend form, which was each morning and afternoon. So even if I didn't have a lesson until 11, I had to be in at 8.30. And if I finished at 11, I had to stay until 1.30 to attend afternoon form (and thus had to have lunch on-site as a result).

Form, in our case, was not a lesson. A register was taken, it was 10 minutes, and we either chatted, heard a story about our form tutor's life, or took it in turns to tell jokes. Sometimes the form tutor just bobbed his head in to submit the register, and then wandered off again. It was never, at any point, useful - as we had specific lessons on the timetable for UCAS, personal chats with head of college, and other skills related stuff. It was largely there because we were attached to a school and had the same timetable/bells etc. They had form, so we had form.

Towards the end of my first year, I stopped attending form, and something was said to me only once. I said I would have a much better chance of getting good grades if I could study from home, in an empty house, rather than in the computer room or canteen there, which was always noisy.

I did to do the work. I can understand that others might not have, but by sixth form they're more than old enough to make that decision, and shouldn't have to be kept on-site to work. Anyone who requires that level of babying will never complete a university course.

Sounds like my son, who told the school, at a meeting about his lateness, that registration was pointless as all information came to him via email!
They politely told him that his part of the contract was to be on time, and they weren't obliged to accommodate him since he was over 16.
He's very successful now, but massively irritating at the time!
I think she's making a point of it on purpose and should just turn up when expected.

Can't believe any parent would even publish this post. Ffs.

Think yourself lucky there is such a policy, in that you don't get penalised for being late once a week. My son's school doesn't have that - you're late, you're late, it's a detention! These policies are in place to help a student who may be late once, but it shouldn't be abused. If it is, then the school may decide to change their policy. In the world of work, if you're late once a week, you will not only have to make the time up by working later but if it happens too much, you'll likely end up with a verbal warning, followed by a written warning and then fired. There's consequences, in all behaviours. Get to school on time, there's no excuses.

I wouldn't get worked up about this. They are year 13 and learning their way in the world.

I absolutely did this in sixth form. They didnt have the one day a week policy either so I did it every day. Well done to your daughter for being an independent thinker. Why, as an almost grown adult, should someone have to go in before classes to go and sit in form or assembly? What purpose is it serving?

It's not the minimum though is it? Highest grades in the year isn't the minimum effort!
I don't understand people who place such import on punctuality when it isn't impacting anything....obviously I understand importance when it does.

They need to stop being full of self importance and get to school on time.

Probably an unpopular opinion but I think if you can keep the rest of your standards up, it’s fine. This is how the real world works mostly imo. There is a very British thing of always aiming to be morally perfect / superior; I think often actually that’s to people’s detriment. We see many posts on mn about people working to the bone trying to balance everything and be the best at everything simultaneously; in reality they are on the brink of burn out and if they took some sick leave to recharge themselves it would be very beneficial to them; sometimes being selfish is fine. It’s not fine if it’s hurting someone else or impacting important things very negatively or long term. I think in this case it’s fine to put yourself first if there’s no damaging consequences.

Sounds like a sixth form college might have been a better fit rather than a school sixth form with lots of school rules.

Yup. The crux of the issue.

A 17 or 18 year old is perfectly capable of posting to an online forum if they want views. I guarantee that this particular Year 13 gives precisely zero fucks about the MN Jury's view of this situation. Strange thread.

I’m confused who this post is from?

Because performance isn’t everything in any team is it. Behaviours are equally as important

Not to mention his lack of a moral compass!

There’s a new and unwelcome trend on MN of people telling off others for starting threads on things.

God, isn’t there just.

‘Why do you care?’

’I wish I only had problems as stupid as this to worry about.’

’And you thought this deserved a thread on MN?’

’Get a grip,OP.’

Ad nauseum. It’s a tedious little pastime for some in its own right these days, notably those who won’t read OP’s responses to questions and updates because they ‘don’t like reading drip feeding’.

Has anyone else been here long enough to remember the 'cutted up pear' thread? This feels like a bizarre sequel.

It's childish, but harmless. I doubt any of the school staff cares one way or the other. If mine did that, I'd find it slightly irritating but leave them to it.

I suppose it depends how much compulsory worship & singing & moaning on about the 5th form’s poor PE attendance on Tuesdays is involved, and if ‘essential school notices’ are available online anyway.

He’s Year 13! He’s in top of things. He can do what he likes as far as I’m concerned!
In upper sixth, how is there even such a thing as ‘being late’ and assemblies?! Doesn’t he just go in for his timetabled classes?

Yes there is this trend. People policing whether they think a topic is appropriate or not. Too much time on their hands. I can see exactly why you’ve posted this. You wanted to put your child’s point across and guage what the responses would be so you can hopefully share with your child. Not that hard.

I think it’s a stupid rule that’s bound to encourage lateness on one day of the week and I doubt your child is the only one.
They can’t have a rule like this AND berate your child for keeping within it!
If they don’t want lateness they need to scrap it.
While I don’t necessarily agree with what your child is doing, they aren’t breaking any rules and as long as they aren’t missing any lesson time or struggling to be punctual at other times, I’m not sure there’s much you can do!

I think the YP in this case needs to understand that there is a difference between being a little late (measured in minutes) due to a bus or transport issue and intentionally missing registration and tutor time. The rule is there to not penalise individuals who may rely on buses or parents who perhaps struggle to get them in on time and to allow them to grace to rectify it on other days. It’s to cover brief lateness.

It is not a pass to skip the boring bits at school because they cba. The YP in this case has misinterpreted the purpose of the lenience being offered - and is leaving themself open to sanctions if an unavoidable lateness occurs on a later day on the week. TLDR: She/He’s being a pratt.

The school is unreasonable for having such a stupidly slack policy then trying to make it your problem at parents' evening.

If they have a problem with being late once a week, they should amend the policy that says students can be late once a week. It's not rocket science.

Can't decide if your kids is smart for making the system work for him, or taking the piss. Probably both. Either way, this is a problem of the school's making and it would fall low down my list of things to think about - but I'm very busy with a million things to think about. A kid that's doing really well at school being needled at by school for a situation they engineered wouldn't be a top 10 issue for me.