About Us
Voluntary Aided School
Did you know that St. James' is a Voluntary Aided School?
What does it mean to be a Voluntary Aided School?
St James’ is a Voluntary-Aided (VA) school. Voluntary-Aided schools are local authority maintained schools which often, but not always, have a religious character and where the body which set up the school owns the land and buildings.
In Voluntary-Aided Schools, the trustees, or “governors”, have certain rights and responsibilities. For example, at St James’ the Church appoints the majority of our governors, who are known as ‘Foundation Governors’, and our Christian ethos is based on the teachings of the Anglican church.
The governors also appoint the staff and set the admissions criteria.
Although Voluntary-Aided schools tend to be mainly religious, or 'faith', schools, anyone can apply for a place according to the admissions criteria of the school and this is the case here at St James’. We are first and foremost a school for the local community.
What are the benefits of a Volunatry Aided School?
Our VA status is especially important in the spiritual and moral life of the school.
We teach our children about a variety of world religions, and we actively promote the beliefs and values of the Christian faith through our RE Lessons and our daily assemblies. We have close links with the Holy Innocents Church in Fallowfield. In addition to Ofsted inspections we are also subject to regular statutory inspections of Church schools.
At James’ our vision is to engage the whole of our school community in enabling all children to excel and enjoy and to feel a sense of worth and achievement.
Christian values underpin all that we do. We foster the values of love and kindness, forgiveness and respect, and we work with all members of the school community to make a positive contribution to all aspects of our life and to make the world a better place. Having VA status therefore carries with it many freedoms and advantages and this is part of what distinguishes our school
What can you do to support us?
As stated above, responsibility for work to the school premises is the responsibility of the governing body. We are eligible for capital funding by grant from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). We are paid on a similar basis to other categories of school, but the governing body must pay at least 10% of the costs of any capital work.
To enable us to contribute to the cost of works where a 10% contribution is required we ask that all families consider contributing at least £10 per family per term to our VA Fund. Of course, if families are able to, we would appreciate as much as they are able to offer. But, if all families contributed £10 per term we would be able to fulfill our financial obligations as regards any refurbishment, building work and grounds improvement that we wish to carry out.
We are always looking to the future and ways in which we can improve the facilities at St James’ to create the best environment for our children. Without the support of parents, carers and friends we will be at a disadvantage compared to other schools in the area in terms of the projects we can carry out.
Thank you for your continuing support of our special VA school!
What does it mean to be a Voluntary Aided School?
St James’ is a Voluntary-Aided (VA) school. Voluntary-Aided schools are local authority maintained schools which often, but not always, have a religious character and where the body which set up the school owns the land and buildings.
In Voluntary-Aided Schools, the trustees, or “governors”, have certain rights and responsibilities. For example, at St James’ the Church appoints the majority of our governors, who are known as ‘Foundation Governors’, and our Christian ethos is based on the teachings of the Anglican church.
The governors also appoint the staff and set the admissions criteria.
Although Voluntary-Aided schools tend to be mainly religious, or 'faith', schools, anyone can apply for a place according to the admissions criteria of the school and this is the case here at St James’. We are first and foremost a school for the local community.
What are the benefits of a Volunatry Aided School?
Our VA status is especially important in the spiritual and moral life of the school.
We teach our children about a variety of world religions, and we actively promote the beliefs and values of the Christian faith through our RE Lessons and our daily assemblies. We have close links with the Holy Innocents Church in Fallowfield. In addition to Ofsted inspections we are also subject to regular statutory inspections of Church schools.
At James’ our vision is to engage the whole of our school community in enabling all children to excel and enjoy and to feel a sense of worth and achievement.
Christian values underpin all that we do. We foster the values of love and kindness, forgiveness and respect, and we work with all members of the school community to make a positive contribution to all aspects of our life and to make the world a better place. Having VA status therefore carries with it many freedoms and advantages and this is part of what distinguishes our school
What can you do to support us?
As stated above, responsibility for work to the school premises is the responsibility of the governing body. We are eligible for capital funding by grant from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). We are paid on a similar basis to other categories of school, but the governing body must pay at least 10% of the costs of any capital work.
To enable us to contribute to the cost of works where a 10% contribution is required we ask that all families consider contributing at least £10 per family per term to our VA Fund. Of course, if families are able to, we would appreciate as much as they are able to offer. But, if all families contributed £10 per term we would be able to fulfill our financial obligations as regards any refurbishment, building work and grounds improvement that we wish to carry out.
We are always looking to the future and ways in which we can improve the facilities at St James’ to create the best environment for our children. Without the support of parents, carers and friends we will be at a disadvantage compared to other schools in the area in terms of the projects we can carry out.
Thank you for your continuing support of our special VA school!
