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St James is a sponsored academy, becoming part of the SS Simon and Jude Multi Academy Trust T/A Vantage Academy Trust family on 1st March 2015. At the heart of our vision is a shared curriculum and approach to teaching and learning across our schools. The International Primary Curriculum and its eight learning goals are deeply embedded across all of our academies – providing both rigor and internationally recognized standards for all pupils. As a trust, we are deeply committed to improving outcomes for all children and supporting schools with a history of underperformance to become both inspirational and safe places in which to learn. We do this by investing in and developing exceptional teachers, leaders, and support staff building strong relationships with parents and our local communities providing inspirational learning environments, and demonstrating high expectations for every school and every child across the trust. Here at St James, we encourage children to understand our Christian values Generosity, Compassion, Courage, Forgiveness, Friendship, Respect, Thankfulness, Trust, Perseverance, Justice, Service, and Truthfulness. We promote Christian values through the celebrations such as Christmas, Easter, and Harvest, and prayer and reflection. Through reflection and prayer, we also work to take each child on their faith journey. The curriculum is ‘what will be taught. The Government has slimmed these requirements down to enable schools to add areas they feel children need for their development. At Gorton Primary School we deliver the International Primary Curriculum as part of our curriculum provision which is closely matched to the NC requirements. The International Primary Curriculum (IPC) is an internationally-minded curriculum that is used in several countries around the world. The IPC provides opportunities for global learning – allowing pupils and staff to make links. The goal of the IPC is to nurture a love of learning through a combination of academic, personal, and international learning. Children will develop many skills which they will need to face the world of tomorrow confidently. ST James adopted the IPC in 2015 and we form part of a global learning community that uses the IPC to improve children’s learning. Children at St James learn through a series of units of work, of which there are over 130 to choose from. Each unit is carefully selected to meet the needs of our school community. The units of work have a theme which children are interested in and relevant to today’s world. Children learn many of the subjects through the theme so that their learning has meaning to them. The units of work have suggested tasks linked to learning objectives however the nature of the curriculum allows staff to be creative and focus upon the needs of our children. The development of skills is a very large part of the IPC learning activities at St James has been designed so that our children develop these important lifelong skills. The IPC has a self-review process that sits alongside the curriculum. The core purpose of the self-review is to allow schools to review and improve the way that IPC is delivered in their school. The beating heart of any educational establishment is learning. Learning can take place in many forms – academically, socially, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Our curriculum provides all our children to learn and develop in many ways. Nobody can predict the nature of work and life opportunities that will be available to our children in the future. Indeed many of the jobs of the future do not even exist today. The IPC has a strong focus upon a skills-based approach to prepare all children for the fast-changing world in which they will be living in. At St James, we encourage active and cooperative learning. Learning is central to all we do. Not only do our staff have a responsibility to ensure that our children learn and develop but we also encourage our children to take responsibility for their learning. Parents also play a significant part. We ensure that at the start of a unit of work, parents are informed about what their children will be learning and suggest ways in which they can play an active role in their child’s development. Work is celebrated and shared throughout the year with parents and the school community. The Department for Education states that there is a need “to create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.” Here at St James, we are dedicated to promoting British Values and ensuring we prepare our pupils to be global citizens of the future. Here at St James, we have a dedicated SEND team who work hard to support our children who have special educational needs or disabilities. Within our school is a special educational needs resource provision (The Blue Lagoon) that supports children with autism and specific language impairments. The provision was set up in 2011 and can support 7 children. View full school