Attendance and Punctuality

At Burnside Primary School, excellent attendance and punctuality are essential for every child to reach their full potential. Time spent in school not only drives academic achievement, but also keeps children safe, nurtures lifelong friendships, and provides access to rich extra-curricular opportunities and dedicated pastoral care. In our modern, warm, and welcoming school, every day is designed to help pupils be safe, be smart, be kind, and truly thrive, achieve, and belong.

Every Moment Matters

From the first day of term to the last, every single day counts. The small moments built into daily school life make a lasting difference to your child’s learning, well-being, and personal growth.

• Arriving On Time: Our school gates open at 8:40am to ensure all pupils are settled and ready for learning to begin promptly at 8:45am. Arriving on time provides your child with a calm, confident start to their morning. When a child arrives late, they miss crucial introductory teaching and can feel unsettled.

• Minor Illnesses & Colds: We understand that children occasionally pick up seasonal bugs. If your child has a mild cough, cold, or sniffle, please be reassured that our staff will look after them closely. Children usually feel much better once they are in their routine, surrounded by their friends and teachers.

 

Every day of school matters. Moments matter, attendance counts!

 

Going to school every day will help your child learn, develop and achieve. Every school day offers new opportunities to grow. Regular attendance supports academic success, strengthens emotional well-being, and lays the foundation for a bright future.

oing to school every day means your child can:

• Learn & Discover: Enjoy engaging, hands-on lessons and play-based learning.

• Build Friendships: Develop strong, lasting relationships and social confidence.

• Participate Fully: Take part in sports, creative arts, clubs, and exciting enrichment activities.

• Achieve Potential: Stay on track with learning steps to build lasting academic success.

It is important to recognise that, on average, a 90% attendance rate means that your child misses:

• One half day every week
• Nearly four school weeks every academic year
• Over one school year in a child’s school career

 

Definition of Regular Attendance from the Department for Education, ‘Working together to improve school attendance’: Where parents decide to have their child registered at school, they have an additional legal duty to ensure their child attends that school regularly.  This means their child must attend every day that the school is open, except in a small number of allowable circumstances such as being too ill to attend or being given permission for an absence in advance from the school.