Salford City Academy

Address:

Northfleet Road
Peel Green
Eccles
M30 7PQ

Telephone: 0161 789 5359

Email: enquiries@salfordcity-academy.org

Headteacher: Mrs K Eaton

School type: Academy

Total number of places for year 7: 180

Total applications received by offer day: 286

Breakdown of offers at offer day (1 March 2025): Please contact the school for the finer detail.

Total numbers of offers made (including alternative offers): 180

Total vacancies: 0

Admission policy

1. Introductory Statement

Salford City Academy is an 11-16 school in Salford City Council Local Authority. The school is a co-educational secondary academy. The school is part of United Learning. Any reference to ‘the Academy’ in this policy refers to Salford City Academy.

Salford City Academy seeks to bring out ‘The best in everyone’. The school serves all children in the local community. All children will be admitted without reference to ability or aptitude. Children from families of all faiths, or none, are very welcome.

2. Admissions numbers

Year 7: The Published Admissions Number (PAN) for entry into Year 7 is 180. If the Academy receives more applicants than there are places, priority will be given according to the oversubscription criteria set out in section 4 below, with the final priority being given to those living nearest distance to the Academy.

3. Application process: Year 7 Admissions

Any parent wishing to apply to the Salford City Academy for a place for their child in Year 7 must use the Common Application Form published by the local authority in which the applicant resides. This is available from offices of the Council or electronically from the Local Authority website.

Applications received in any other format will not be considered. Parent(s) may photocopy the form but an original signature is required. Parent(s) are advised to make a copy of the completed form for their own records.

4. Over-subscription criteria

Students with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) that names the Academy in Section I will be given priority over other admissions. If a child has an EHCP and you require further advice on primary to secondary transfer, please contact the Special Educational Needs section of the Local Education Authority of the area you live in.

Where the number of applications for admission is greater than the published admissions number of 180, applications will be considered for Year 7 against the criteria set out below. After the admission of students with Education and Health Care Plans which names the Academy, the criteria will be applied in the order in which they are set out below:

• Admission of children in public care (looked after children) and previously looked after children - Previously looked after children are children who were looked after, but ceased to be so because they were adopted (or became subject to a residence order or special guardianship order). This includes those children who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted. A child is regarded as having been in state care outside of England if they were in the care of or were accommodated by a public authority, a religious organisation, or any other provider of care whose sole or main purpose is to benefit society. (This reflects the updated School Admissions Code, September 2021).
• Children of staff at Salford City Academy: To ensure the highest quality of teaching staff, priority will next be given to children of staff at the school, in either of the following circumstances:
  • The member of staff has been employed at the school for 2 or more years at the time at which the application for admission to the school is made, or
  • The member of staff is recruited to fill a vacant post for which there is a demonstrable skill shortage. 
• Siblings of pupils: who are either current or former pupils of the Academy. ‘Sibling’ means a natural brother or sister, a half brother or sister, a legally adopted brother or sister or half-brother or sister, a step-brother or sister or other child living in the same household as part of the same family who, in any of these cases, will be living at the same address at the date of their application for a place.
  A sibling includes step siblings, foster siblings, adopted siblings and other children living permanently at the same address. A sibling link does not apply to cousins or other more distant relations or to any sibling living at a different address. A twin or children from a ‘multiple birth’ will be given a sibling link as soon as the first child d is allocated a place. This is to avoid the situation where only one sibling of a multiple birth is successful in obtaining a place.  The Academy reserves the right to request proof of relationship.
• Nearest distance to the Academy: children whose home address is the nearest distance from the Academy. The distance which determines how close the child lives to the Academy is measured by using Ordnance Survey data to plot an address in this system. Distances are measured as the crow flies from the main entrance of the child’s home to the main entrance of the school as specified by the local authority’s GIS.
  The child’s home address is defined as the address at which the child normally resides with their parent/carer on the closing date for applications (31 October). When we refer to a child’s home address, we mean the permanent residence of the child. This address should be the child’s only or main residence which is; owned by the child’s parent(s)/carer(s) or leased to or rented by the child’s parent(s)/carer(s) under a lease or written rental agreement of not less than six months’ duration.
  When parents live separately and the child spends time with each parent, the home address will be treated as the place where the child sleeps for most of the school week (i.e. Sunday night – Thursday night inclusive). If the child spends equal amounts of time at two addresses, the parents must agree which address they wish to be the child’s main address. Documentary evidence of ownership or rental agreement may be required together with proof of actual permanent residence at the property concerned.

5. Waiting list

If in any year it receives more applications for places than there are places available, the Academy will operate a waiting list until the 31  December. It is open to any parent to ask for his or her child’s name to be placed on the waiting list following either an unsuccessful application or an unsuccessful appeal.

The child’s position on the waiting list will be determined solely in accordance with the oversubscription criteria set out above. Where places in the Academy become vacant they will be allocated to children on the waiting list in accordance with the oversubscription criteria.

6. Appeals

If a child is refused a place at a preferred school, they will have the right to appeal for that school. Parents must give their grounds of appeal in writing and will be given at least 20 school days to submit these to the local authority. Get further information about appeals.

7. Closing date for applications

The closing date for applications for applicants residing in Salford is stated on the Local Authority Common Application Form. The closing dates for applicants residing in other authorities should be checked with that authority. Applications should be posted or delivered to arrive at the address given on the Common Application Form by the time stated. Parent(s) applying after this date should attach a covering letter to explain why the application is late. 

8. Late applications

All applications received by the school after the deadline will be considered to be late applications. Late applications will be considered after those received on time. If, following consideration of all applicants, the school is oversubscribed, parents may request that their child is placed on the school’s waiting list.

9. Offer of places

Parent(s) will be notified in writing on the date stated on the Local Authority Common Application Form of the outcome of their application. For those who are unsuccessful, parent(s) will be notified in writing as to the reason(s) why it has not been possible to allow the child to attend the Academy. Parent(s) will be given more detailed information about the process for appeals at that time. The closing date for appeals to be lodged, normally 28 days after the notification of a place not being offered, will be stated clearly. Those who are accepted to the Academy will receive further information once they have been notified of their place and an invitation extended for student and parent(s) to meet with the Principal.

10. Exceptions 

The Schools Admissions Code (September 2021) sets out the limited and exceptional circumstances in which the Academy need not comply with parental preference. These are when: 

• the applicant, once of compulsory school age, has been excluded from two or more schools or when, for in year admission applications only, in specific circumstances set out in the Code, the applicant is:
• Particularly challenging. Parent(s) are asked to seek further information from the Principal if they believe their child falls into either of these categories, so that appropriate arrangements can be made through the local Fair Access Protocol. 

11. In year admissions/ Admissions to year groups other than Year 7 

The Academy will consider applications submitted for year groups other than Year 7 and applications for entry mid-year, if the year group has a place available. Admission will follow an admissions meeting with the Assistant Principal and/or Inclusion Leader. 

In Year Applications (Year 7-11) Parents of students who wish to transfer into Salford City Academy in Years 7 to 11, or those with a mid-year admission request, should approach the Salford Local Education Authority. You can find the page on Salford City Council via this website here. 

They can be contacted using the details below: 

School Admissions Team 

Children's Services, Second Floor, Unity House, Salford Civic Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton, M27 5AW Telephone: 0161 909 6508 
Email: school.admissions@salford.gov.uk

The Academy may oppose admission to the Academy of a student who has displayed challenging behaviour on the grounds that this will impact on the best interest on others in the Academy community. If this is the case the Academy will raise any concerns with the Local Authority Fair Access Protocol. Parents whose application is turned down will be entitled to appeal; they will be asked to clearly outline their reasons in writing for the governing body/local education authority. Parents who wish to appeal against decisions regarding admissions outside of the usual round should contact Mrs Hughes for further information and support if required. Mrs Hughes can be contacted on gemma.hughes@salfordcity-academy.org   

12. Out of cohort admissions 

Parents may request that their child is admitted outside their normal age group. When such a request is made, the academy trust will make a decision on the basis of the circumstances of the case and in the best interests of the child concerned, taking into account the views of the Headteacher and any supporting evidence provided by the parent. Parents should make their request in writing directly to the school specifying why admission out of normal age group is being requested.

13. Withdrawal of places  

The offer of a place at the Academy may be withdrawn if: 

• It has been offered in error. 
• It is established that the offer was obtained through a fraudulent or intentionally misleading application.

14. Fair access protocol  

Salford City Academy participates in the In-Year Fair Access Protocol managed by Salford City Council Local Authority in order to minimise the number of students who are at risk of underachievement by being out of school. This is reviewed by the local Admissions Forum on a regular basis. Managed Move requests for students from other secondary schools will also be given consideration. 

Places offered by way of IYFAP are outside of the normal coordinated admissions round. It is triggered when a parent of an eligible child has not secured a place under in-year admission procedures. Get further information on the Fair Access Protocol.

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