Punctuality
Dear Parent/Carer
I am writing to let you know that we are changing the way we manage punctuality to school.
I wrote to you during the first week of term regarding the importance of attending school every day. I now want to outline the importance of being on time to school every day too.
At Co-op Academy Walkden, lessons start at 8:30am. Any pupils who arrive later than this time will miss out on vital content of their lesson and disturb the learning of others when they arrive to lesson late: this is not fair. Pupils who are late regularly will miss chunks of curriculum content, which will lead to gaps in their knowledge and damage their chances of GCSE success.
Currently, all pupils who arrive at the Academy after 8:30am are given a break time detention. Pupils who arrive after 8:50am must complete 2 hours in Reset. These sanctions will remain in place. However, in addition, we will review pupil lateness each every 2 weeks and the following interventions will take place:
Punctuality Stage 1:
As described above:
- Break detention on the day that they arrive between 8:30am and 8:50am
- Two hours in Reset for pupils who arrive after 8:50am
Punctuality Stage 2:
Pupils who have 2 lates over 2 weeks will receive:
- Break detention on the day that they arrive between 8:30am and 8:50am
- Two hours in Reset for pupils who arrive after 8:50am
- A parental ClassCharts alert that your child’s punctuality needs to improve urgently
Punctuality Stage 3:
Pupils who have 3 or more lates over 2 weeks will receive:
- Break detention on the day that they arrive between 8:30am and 8:50am
- Two hours in Reset for pupils who arrive after 8:50am
- A parental ClassCharts alert that your child’s punctuality needs to improve urgently
- A formal meeting with your child’s Head of Year to agree a solution to your child’s poor punctuality
It is important to note that any student arriving after 9:30am, when the morning register closes, will be given an unauthorised absence. This will contribute to your child’s overall attendance score and may result in legal action being taken against you with the support of the local authority. Obviously, this is not what we want, but we cannot let poor punctuality continue.
During your child’s time at Co-op Academy Walkden, we promise to deliver a broad and ambitious curriculum where pupils are challenged and supported with the best care in order to leave with the best possible outcomes. We also promise to prepare them for life after school in college and employment. Making great attendance and punctuality a habit helps pupils to establish life skills that will enable them to succeed far beyond school.
We need your help to make sure that your child does not miss out and we appreciate your understanding and support. If there are any unique circumstances that you need to make us aware of, please do not hesitate to contact me, so that we can ensure that your child is treated fairly.