About Us

Big Life Schools Vision

Our vision was developed in partnership with staff, families, pupils, governors and trustees from our schools and nurseries, identifying key approaches that bring us together.

• Outstanding: We provide aspirational teaching and learning, helping all children to reach their full potential.
• Inclusive: We welcome and celebrate the lives of children and families from all backgrounds and faiths. We cater for diverse educational needs
• Continuity: We support children and families throughout their lives by supporting continuous learning and providing a smooth transition through children’s centres, nurseries and school.
• Focused on Language and communication: Language and communication underpins our curriculum to ensure the best outcomes for children.
• Involve parents and carers: We take every opportunity to place parents and carers at the heart of our schools, and maximise their involvement in their child’s education.
• Connected to our communities: We create schools that benefit our children, their families and the whole community, offering training, volunteering and employment opportunities.
• Promote wellbeing: We promote and deliver wellbeing initiatives to benefit children and the whole family. We believe excellent teaching, emotional and mental wellbeing lead to the best start in life for children. We always have the highest educational aspirations and employ staff committed to achieving this for our children. We have developed a bespoke emotional wellbeing programme for our children and families (with Manchester University) which builds resilience.

How Big Life Schools have evolved 

Big Life Schools work as part of the wider Big Life group, a social enterprise which works in partnership with communities to build on local strengths, develop resilience and widen opportunities.

Our first school grew out of the community-led Longsight Children’s Centre. Families were frustrated with the lack of primary school places locally and were having to travel out of area to find schools for their children. Big Life helped them grow their own school, and families have continued to be at the heart of the way our schools have developed.

Big Life is a values-led group, and Big Life Schools shares those values of being courageous, creative, honest, inspiring, thoughtful and valuing difference.

All Big Life services work with people and in communities to identify what matters to them and help them remove the obstacles to changing for the better. We help people see the skills and strengths they already have so that they can build on it. To do this, we work in the Big Life Way. 

Big Life Schools Strategic Objectives

To help us achieve our vision we have identified five key strategic components. Each component has an overarching objective which is supported by priority areas. Annual plans are developed each year for delivery and monitoring of the priorities.