Attendance & Punctuality

The school day starts at 8.25am and we expect your child to be in school at that time. Arrival after 8.30am will mean the child is late. Lateness means they miss out on important routines which help get their day off to a positive start. Late arriving pupils also disrupt lessons during the day for others. 

At Salford City Academy we have the highest expectations across all areas of school life including attendance. We value positive relationships between both staff and pupils, and want all pupils to feel they belong here and are valued. We work with our pupils to ensure that they have the highest possible attendance at school. We believe that this is the best way for them to succeed and to get the most out of all we have to offer.

There is a clear link between academic outcomes and school attendance. We want all pupils to achieve excellent outcomes to give themselves the very best chance in life.

There are 175 non-school days per year for holidays, shopping and appointments. There is no need, except in extreme circumstances to miss a day’s education. If you miss one session in a week (remember, there are two sessions per day) your attendance is 90%. This means you miss 19 days of education in a year and risk dropping one grade in your GCSEs.

It is vital we work together to teach our pupils the value of attending school each and every day. However, we do appreciate that at times, pupils may not be able to attend school. We ask our parents and carers to follow the processes below. They support our safeguarding procedures.

Should you have a concern about your child’s attendance, then we ask that you contact us to discuss this. We believe in strong partnerships across all parts of school life. This includes attending school.

It is also important to us that pupils arrive to school on time, and they must be at school by 8.25am. 

Call the school (0161 789 5359) or email (scasa@salfordcity-academy.org) before 8:20am on the first and any further days of absence. If you need to leave a message, we ask that you leave your name, your child’s name, their form, and the reason for their absence. Do expect to receive a call back from the school to discuss your child’s absence and to see if we can support in any way. If pupils suffer any form of injury, then we ask that you contact the school to make us aware. This is so we can do a risk assessment with you. It will identify impacts of the injury and the support your child may need. See section 7.3 of the full policy for further information.

Please schedule dental and non-urgent medical appointments outside of school hours. We know this might be tough for hospital visits. If rescheduling fails, your child must bring a medical letter or appointment card. This should be brought into school prior to the date of their appointment wherever possible which we will keep on our records. Pupils must be picked up and returned to school if their appointment ends during the school day. For more details, check section 6.2 of the full policy.

In exceptional circumstances, your child may need to miss school. If this is the case, parents/carers should complete the request form linked below. Where possible, this should be made at least four weeks before the required date. The form should be completed and emailed back to scasa@salfordcity-academy.org. If such a request is made, the school expects it to be short. But even then, they may not be able to approve it.

If the period of absence is not authorised by the school, then any absence is 'unauthorised' and can incur a penalty.

All schools including Salford City Academy must follow national legislation for school non-attendance. Therefore, we cannot approve holiday requests during term time. Additionally, we may issue penalty notices. For more details, please see the attached information from Salford City Council detailing changes to penalty notices that came into force on 19 August 2024.  For more details, please check the Attendance Policy and Procedures (section 6.1).

We take absence very seriously. We are committed to supporting any child who is finding it difficult to attend school regularly. We will target support for any pupil whose attendance falls below 95%. Further information on support can be found in the full policy. 

Mr D Nicholls – Assistant Principal
Mr I Mclellan – Senior Attendance Manager
Mrs H Jackson – Attendance Manager
Mrs E Turton – Attendance Officer