Vantage Academy Trust is a family of values-led primary schools in Bolton, Manchester and Knowsley. It grew out of SS Simon and Jude Church of England Primary School in Bolton, which converted to academy status in 2012, and now has a total of nine schools.
Their aim is to ensure that all children have the opportunities they deserve to thrive as learners and, ultimately, as global citizens. The trust's role is to enable the schools to share best practice and benefit from economies of scale, while allowing them to maintain their individual distinctiveness.
Staff and management have a vocation to help the less advantaged. Senior leaders work hard to provide additional opportunities for personal growth and to aid staff and pupils in their own spiritual journey. Leaders support local causes and go above and beyond to deliver events and support sessions for parents and carers, ensuring that the schools are at the heart of their communities.
The trust has mastered the use of technology to ease the impact of Covid-19 on schools and pupils. Staff meetings have been held online and a questions@ mailbox set up to give all employees a direct link to senior leaders. Assemblies are streamed online, and new pupils have been offered virtual tours of their schools to help them settle in.