Some key messages about coming to school on time:

School starts at 8.50am but we have found that opening the doors at 8:40am has made it easier for parents to get their children here on time. The teachers take the children into class at this time so they are ready to start learning.

Unfortunately, some children still arrive late for school and warning letters have been given to those parents whose child has been late on several occasions.

Please make sure you give yourselves plenty of time to travel  and particularly to park your car safely if you come by car.

Children don’t like being late as they miss the start of a lesson, sometimes feel embarrassed, miss out on you being able to talk to their teacher in the morning or they miss out on finding about what they are learning.

Registration Times 

Lessons start at 8.50am at Spinney Hill Primary School. Teachers arrive in the playground at 8.40am and take their class into school  so pupils are in class and ready to be registered for 8.50am. Therefore, any child who arrives in class after 8.50am will be registered as Late while the Register is open ('L' code in the register). 

The registers are legally closed by the office 30 minutes after the start of the school day. This means that is any child who arrives late after the Register is closed at 9.20am will be registered as an unauthorised absence ('U' code in the register). This counts as half a day’s absence.

If your child is going to be late due to an urgent medical appointment please ensure that the office is informed and have seen proof of the medical appointment either before or after they have attended.

The only way to ensure that your child is not marked as late in the register is for them to be in their class line for when the teacher arrives to collect their class at 8.40am.

In the Nursery, sessions start at 8.30am for the morning group and at 12.30pm for the afternoon group. You should bring your child straight to the nursery at these times so they can be registered straightaway. It is really important that Nursery children are brought to school on time. 

If your child arrives late on several occasions, you  may receive a warning letter and be asked to attend a meeting with the school's attendance officer (Mr Ranzetta) or other senior member of staff to explain the reasons for your child's lateness. The school will work with you in finding solutions if there are genuine difficulties. However, if lateness persists, you will be invited to a further meeting with the local authority's educational welfare officer (EWO) and the persistent lateness may well lead to the issue of a fixed penalty notice.

Please arrive at school every day at 8.40am.