TRANSIENT AND LATE STUDENTS

Beware the student who is often late. Your school may have policies dealing with late arrivals. Notification to the front office, if required, need to be followed. Careful marking of the roll also helps to identify children who have a habit of being late to school.

Children who are frequently late do little for their educational opportunities and can detract from the learning entitlement of others. This is because teachers have to go over what has been covered in order to bring latecomers up to date. Teachers may elect to catch children up in their own time. However, this takes away from their refreshment breaks and down time.

One method that might be employed is assigning worksheets to children who are late, with the requirement that missed activities be done as a part of homework tasks. This has the added benefit of making parents or carers aware of the problem. Children could also be required to undertake catch up activities in the school library during recess or lunch time.

Lateness means lost learning. The habit of tardiness needs to be overcome with regularity being the norm.

Not accepting lateness and positively recognising those who are regular and punctual attenders can be a wise move. There are various ways of managing this including certification for those students who have perfect attendance and punctuality records. These students might be recognised at class or whole school level. One of the very best ways of helping to overcome poor attendance is recognising those who are regular always punctual and on time.

___________________________