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Truancy officers are increasingly being called to see pupils who turn up to school late.
Alfriston School in Manurewa is among the latest to take a hard line on student lateness - issuing "late letters" to pupils who arrive after the morning bell.
Principal Jim Ball said that after five late letters in a term, a "truancy letter" would be issued and an appointment arranged with the truancy office.
"If you take five minutes late every day and multiply it by five days in a week, that's 25 minutes of good, educational learning - good education - they are missing out on," said Mr Ball. "All those minutes add up, you can't replace them."
A rise in the number of students regularly arriving late prompted the move.
Mr Ball said parents were part of the problem, as about 90 per cent of the school's 330 pupils were dropped off. He said no pupils had been late five times since the scheme started last month, an indication it was working.
The initiative is linked to a wider crackdown on tardy students.
The Manurewa Enhancement Initiative just completed an attendance and lateness survey of its 32 member schools. The findings, expected by the end of the month, will form part of a major campaign by the Ministry of Education funded group next year.
Shirley Maihi, principal of Finlayson Park School and a member of the initiative's student engagement and attendance group, said a brochure for parents would be produced as part of the drive. "It's quite a prevalent problem," said Mrs Maihi. "They [late students] come in behind the eight ball anyway.
"They need to be caught up either by a peer or caught up by the teacher. And that takes valuable teaching time away from others as well."
Mrs Maihi said the actions of some schools were tougher than Alfriston School.
She had sent a letter home after a student was late three times and referred the case to the truancy office on the next incident.
