Context

St James Primary School, located in the Worsley Mesnes estate in Wigan, celebrates a diverse and vibrant school community. An important part of our school vision is to ensure all children and their families feel a sense of belonging and feel valued.

Children and families are at the heart of all we do and recognising the barriers that some of our community face is important to ensure that we can overcome these.

Some of these include:

• Significant Socio-Economic Disadvantage: Our school serves a community with high levels of socio-economic deprivation, with many pupils experiencing financial disadvantage. We recognise the potential impact this can have on access to resources, experiences and wider opportunities, and are committed to ensuring that disadvantage does not limit any pupil’s achievement or future aspirations.
• High Levels of SEND: A significant proportion of our pupils have identified special educational needs and/or disabilities. Inclusion is central to our approach, with a strong focus on early identification, removing barriers and providing the right support to enable every pupil to participate, belong and achieve.
• High Aspirations: Families within our community bring a wide range of lived experiences, strengths and aspirations. We are committed to broadening horizons, raising aspirations and ensuring pupils develop the confidence, knowledge and experiences to see ambitious possibilities for their futures.
• High Levels of EAL: A significant proportion of our pupils speak English as an additional language, contributing to the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of our school. We prioritise language development and ensure pupils are supported to develop proficiency in English and access the full curriculum successfully.
• Religiously and Culturally Diverse Community: Our school is enriched by pupils and families from a wide range of religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. We celebrate this diversity and ensure our curriculum develops pupils’ knowledge, understanding and respect for different faiths, cultures and perspectives.
• Safeguarding and Vulnerability: Some pupils and families experience significant challenges and vulnerabilities within their lives. Safeguarding, early identification and strong pastoral support are therefore fundamental to our provision, ensuring pupils feel safe, supported and ready to learn.
• Parent and Carer Partnership: We prioritise positive, trusting relationships with parents and carers, creating accessible opportunities for them to engage with school and support their children’s learning, development and wellbeing.We recognise that families may experience a range of barriers to engaging with school.