Attendance is extremely important at Heath Mount Primary School. Your child is our top priority and they must be in school to learn if they are to achieve their full potential. We aim to have a whole school yearly attendance of at least 97%.

When a child is absent from school, they miss valuable learning opportunities which will have a knock-on effect on their education as a whole. Children who miss time off school do not achieve as well as their peers. Not only do they miss the lessons, they also miss out on social aspects of school life, including making and maintaining friendships.

It is parents' legal responsibility to ensure their children receive appropriate education. Failing to send your child to school regularly without good reason is a criminal offence.

We will not authorise family holidays, and these will be marked as unauthorised absence on your child's register. Please remember that rainy days, going shopping, visiting family, birthdays during the week and not wanting to go to school, are not acceptable reasons to be absent and will be recorded as unauthorised. If you are concerned that your child does not want to come to school, please talk a member of staff. 

Children with an attendance of 90% or below are referred to as Persistent Absentees.

Children whose attendance falls below an acceptable level will be referred to our pastoral team who will issue a letter to the family about next steps. Please remember that we are here to help your child to learn. At every stage our aim is to provide support to families and children so that children can attend school. Heath Mount Primary School offer extensive early help, in line with Birmingham City Council's 'Right Service, Right Time' framework. If there is a genuine problem in getting your children to school, let us know and we will do all we can to help without judgement. 

Children who continue to miss school after this with become part of the 'FAST-track to Attendance' programme which is co-ordinated by Birmingham Education Legal Intervention Team. This procedure, which aims to ensure children are in school, can lead to court proceedings for parents / carers.

Punctuality is also very important. Children who are late will lose out on their learning. The school will contact parents of children who are persistently late.

Good attendance is a parental responsibility and the children rely on you to get them to school each day. With parental support we know that we can reach and exceed our target of 97%, ensuring that all children achieve and excel during their time at Heath Mount Primary School.

The Impact of Non-Attendance

We cannot stress enough how vitally important good attendance is in ensuring your child makes good progress. If they are regularly late or missing days on a regular basis, this leads to the child falling behind in their learning.

Good Attendance Matters

Meet Fred Friday!

At Heath Mount Primary school, we use our school attendance mascot, Fred Friday to help children understand that it is important to be present and punctual. We provide rewards for good attendance.

We know there are times when children find it difficult to come to school, such as when they’ve been poorly, have friendship problems, are finding it difficult to settle into new routines, something exciting is happening at home or when school is new and strange, but that is when parents need to help them to feel good about coming to school. Speak positively about school and discuss all the great things your child will enjoy whilst they are here. 

Children with good attendance are happy at school, form friendships and are more likely to meet their targets. 

The link between attendance and attainment is clear. The more a pupil is in school, the more they increase their opportunity to fulfil their potential. Fred Friday encourages children to come to school every day and on time.

Fred says, “ Don’t delay! Hop to school and learn today. “