School to charge parents Rs 90 for every 5 minutes they're late to pick up their kid

A school in Kent will begin charging parents for being late to pick up their child. Currently, the fine has been laced at 1 pound equivalent to Rs 90 for every five minutes after closing time. The school has also announced that if the parents arrive half an hour late, the school will be calling child services.

Penalty for tardiness

This penalty was introduced by Holy Trinity primary school in Gravesend and was done in hopes of encouraging children to be punctual. According to the school, all the parents are given a 10-minute window after school to come to pick up their ward without any penalty. The penalty will only be levied after 3:40 pm.

According to the head-teacher of Holy Trinity School, Denise, the new penalty system was introduced to tackle the problem of increasing lateness in many schools that was becoming common. According to reports, many children remain uncollected from school even after 30 minutes after school ends. The staff is forced to stay back until parents can come to pick them up and for this, the Holy Trinity has to pay their staff overtime. It was this cost that grew to a level that was unsustainable by the school. In order to tackle this growing problem, the school decided to implement this penalty.

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The school has also clarified that parents will not be penalised under 'reasonable circumstances' like illness, flooding, and accidents. In addition, the parents will also be issued warnings before the fines are issued against them.

There were mixed reactions to the school's decision to fine parents, with some agreeing to the decision while others were sceptical.

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