'This small but adventurous and forward thinking school is a place of joy and flourishing. New leadership breathes life into the work of the school.'
Siams Inspection July 2024
We are delighted with our latest SIAMS inspection report and we are very pleased to announce that we have been recognised as 'living up to our foundations as a church school.'
The inspection was an opportunity for us to highlight how our Christian vision enables our children and staff to flourish. I would like to thank our children, staff, parents, governors and Revd Nicky who each played a part in the inspection which took place on Tuesday 2nd July 2024. Thank you to everyone who was involved not only during the inspection but in helping us to live out our Christian Vision each and every day - we hope you enjoy reading it as much as we have.
Highlights from the July 2024 report:
School Strengths:
• Through exceptionally strong relationships, leaders ensure the Christian vision and values are woven into all aspects of the school’s work. It is a place of flourishing for all.
• The vision and values anchor and shape the bespoke curriculum. Spiritual development opportunities feature throughout. Leaders effectively identify barriers to learning and successfully ensure that provision is tailored to meet individual pupil needs.
• Daily collective worship creates a strong sense of unified reverence. Central to the life of the school, it encourages pupils and adults to understand the significance of the vision and values in daily life.
• A strong culture of love, respect and trust between all members of the school community enables everyone to learn and grow together.
• Religious education (RE) has high priority in the curriculum. It is well led, challenging and relevant. Pupils value and enjoy their learning. They comprehensively deepen their understanding of Christianity as a worldwide faith.
Inspection finding comments from the report:
- This small but adventurous and forward thinking school is a place of joy and flourishing. New leadership breathes life into the work of the school.
- The curriculum echoes the vision. Pupils apply the vision to themselves and describe flourishing as ‘blooming in learning like a flower’ and ‘spreading our wings’.
- A harmonious culture of learning is created in which pupils learn and grow.
- A restorative approach to behaviour management enables pupils recognise mistakes, encourage forgiveness and start afresh.
- Parents speak highly of the nurturing staff and compassionate support offered particularly for those vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils.
- Pupils demonstrate powerful voices due to the wide range of leadership roles they undertake. They cite their school’s value of love as an inspiration to guide treatment of others.
- Worship is intrinsic to the life of the school. It provides a rich source of opportunities for stillness, reflection and prayer.
- A strong sense of togetherness with community is felt.
- The RE leader ensures a well structured curriculum.
- Transformational leadership ensures a well chosen Christian vision rooted in scripture, is understood by everyone.
- Productive Trust and diocese partnerships provide quality staff development.
Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools
All Church of England dioceses and the Methodist Church use the National Society's framework for the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) under Section 48 of the Education Act 2005. The framework sets out the expectations for the conduct of the Statutory Inspection of Anglican, Methodist and ecumenical Schools under Section 48 of the Education Act 2005 and provides a process for evaluating the extent to which church schools are "distinctively and recognisably Christian institutions".
Inspection focus
SIAMS inspection focuses on the effect that the Christian ethos of the church school has on the children and young people who attend it. Church schools will employ a variety of strategies and styles, which reflect their particular local context or church tradition in order to be distinctive and effective. Inspectors will, therefore, not be looking to apply a preconceived template of what a church school should be like.
The principal objective of SIAMS inspection is to evaluate the distinctiveness and effectiveness of the school as a church school.
Towards this objective, inspectors seek answers to four key questions.
- How well does the school, through its distinctive Christian character, meet the needs of all learners?
- What is the impact of collective worship on the school community?
- How effective is the Religious Education? (in VA schools and academies)
- How effective are the leadership and management of the school as a church school?
The National Society's Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) framework is used in all Section 48 inspections of Church of England schools and in the denominational inspection of academies.
