Lateness

Lateness

The teaching staff has raised some concern that many students are arriving late for school on a fairly regular basis. Unfortunately this is a situation that can have a negative effect on the education of not only those students who are late, but also the other students in the class.

 

What impact does being late have on the student?

Students who are late miss a lot of instructions and information about what is happening, not to mention important learning sessions. They also miss out on catching up with their friends in the playground before school. Students can feel unsettled, disorganized and unhappy for the rest of the day and it can take them some time to complete and understand the work that they have missed. It’s similar to being late to see a movie and not being able to understand what’s happening because you have missed out on who the characters are and what the plot is.

 

How does it affect the other students in the class?

Students who are late have an unsettling effect on the rest of the class. Because not all late students arrive at once, the interruptions go on until the last student is settled. Students who are late often have things that need to be done prior to them joining the class and this causes even more disruption. Sometimes other students have to wait to get the teachers attention and important issues can be forgotten.

 

Why does student lateness cause difficulties for the teacher?

The teacher has a certain amount of material and activities to cover each lesson. Also, organizational issues are usually dealt with at the beginning of the day. Teachers can become increasingly frustrated when late students continually and repeatedly interrupt their planned routines, as they have to stop teaching to deal with the issues involved.

 

We are all human. Cars can break down and unexpected situations can occur. We know that family morning routines are not always straightforward. If you are experiencing problems, speak to us, as we may be able to offer suggestions to help.

We are happy to accept that students will be late on the odd occasion because of unforeseen circumstances. However, arriving late on a regular basis is not acceptable

 

Remember

A student who is half an hour late each day misses the equivalent of 16.6 days of learning each year