The council's School Attendance Strategy sets out our plans until 2026 to increase school attendance across all schools in the city. Evidence shows excellent attendance at school is important to ensure positive experiences and futures for children and young people. We will continue to work in partnership with Salford schools and other groups and organisations, to ensure our families and schools get the support they need so children have daily school attendance. We will work together from the earliest opportunities to help parents and carers support their children to get the most from their education, ensuring their child is understood and well supported.
School attendance is one of the biggest challenges that COVID-19 has posed to children and young people, impacting on their academic outcomes, well-being and safety.
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication in supporting our children and young people to attend school regularly. In Salford, attendance in our schools has improved but still over 9,000 pupils were persistently absent last academic year - meaning that, on average, pupils had at least one day off school every two weeks.
Evidence from the Children’s Commissioner report 2022-2023 shows that attending school at the start of September is really important, children who miss the first few days of term for unauthorised reasons have a predicted overall absence of 45% in the autumn term. It is vital that we tackle school absences jointly as regular non-attendance carries considerable short and long-term costs to both the individual and to society.
In Salford, we are asking all staff across all partners who have contact with parents and children to help to communicate the importance of a strong return to school in September.
We ask all staff to consider:
If you are working with a child or young person who may find returning to school in September, the School Attendance Team have professionals working throughout the summer who can offer some support and guidance around possible barriers to strong attendance from the first day of term.
If you would like some advice please contact ews@salford.gov.uk.
This page was last updated on 2 August 2024