Children arriving after 9am

School starts at 8.50am. Classroom doors and registers close at 9.00am.

As we are constantly striving to improve our safeguarding and attendance procedures, from Tuesday 20^th the internal gates that lead onto the playgrounds will be locked from 9am.  If you arrive after this time, please use the main pedestrian gate on Firbank Rd or the park gate to enter school grounds. All children arriving after 9am must be taken to the School Office and signed in. Children arriving between 9.00-9.30am will receive a late mark. Any child arriving AFTER 9.30am will receive a mark of absent for the morning session (this is a legal requirement).

In accordance with current guidance, the attendance registers are closed at 9.30am.  This means that any pupil who arrives after the registration period (8.50 to 9.00am) but before the registers are closed (9.30am) will be given a late mark (L) in the register.  This code is classed as a present mark, but displays that the pupil arrived late for school.  Any pupil who arrives after the registers have closed (9.30am) but before the end of the morning session will be given a "late after registers closed" mark (U) in the register.  This code is classed as an unauthorised absence but displays that the pupil was physically present in school for part of the session.

In addition to using the L and U codes, office staff may also use the facility within the SIMS attendance module to record the number of minutes late for each pupil, on each occasion.  This facility will allow school staff to monitor and manage developing patterns of lateness more effectively and make a clear link between lateness and missed curriculum; and share such information with parents.

The fact that the U code is classed as an unauthorised absence means that when it is used pupils are likely to be missing significant amounts of schooling; putting their educational progress at risk.  For this reason the use of this code will be considered as serious as any other unauthorised absence and will attract the interest of external agencies, including referral to the local authority attendance team and consideration of the use of legal measures, in just the same way.