Attendance and Punctuality

Attendance

At George Salter Academy we take attendance extremely seriously and expect all students to aim to achieve an attendance target of 100%.

We believe that in order to facilitate teaching and learning, good attendance is essential. The academy aims to raise standards in education and to ensure that students achieve their full potential. We recognise that this aim is not possible if they do not regularly attend the academy, or are persistently late.

Students are expected to attend the academy every day. It is the responsibility of parents to perform their legal duty by ensuring their who are registered at the academy attend regularly and are punctual. The academy endeavours to support parents and students in this.

Attendance and punctuality issues can have a detrimental effect on the education that a student receives. Evidence shows that missing out on lessons leaves students vulnerable to falling behind and the tendency for them to achieve less than those students with a good attendance record.

We are committed to:

  • Promoting good attendance and reducing  absence.
  • Ensuring every student has access to full-time education.
  • Acting early to address patterns of absence and poor punctuality.

When a student’s attendance begins to fall below the Academy target, the Academy will intervene to support the child and the family in reversing this trend.  Once attendance hits the 90% threshold the child is considered to be Persistently Absent (PA) and this equates to them:

  • Having half a day off every week of the school year.
  • Meaning that out of a 38 week year the child would miss out on a total of 19 days of education.
  • At 6 lessons a day that’s a total of 114 lessons missed or 95 hours of education.

Students are reminded of their attendance on a weekly basis by their tutor and are expected to know what their attendance is and why it is so important.

To report absence or speak to a member of staff in regards to attendance please contact the Academy on 0121 553 4665 ext 5230.

Punctuality

The Academy day starts at 8.40am for registration and students are expected to be in their registration room or assembly hall by this time.  To enable a prompt start the Academy gates are closed at 8.38am, giving the student time to get themselves to their registration location.

Any amount of minutes late to the Academy add up to learning time lost and therefore students are issued with a same day 30 minute after school detention for the 1st two times they are late that week.  If they are late a 3rd, 4th and 5th time in the same week then they are issued with a same day 60 minute detention.

Any student arriving late must report to the Attendance Officer and they will be marked as present in the Academy but Late.  Any student arriving after 9.20am will be recorded as being in school but will be recorded as being absent from the AM session.

Attendance Service

The Academy works in partnership with the Attendance Service to ensure regular attendance from all of its students and to assist and support students and their families. If your child is not attending the Academy regularly, the absence has not been authorised by the Academy and there has been no improvement following the Academy’s attempts to get an improvement, an Attendance & Prosecution Officer may visit you. This may result in legal action being taken.