SIAMS
The Board of Education offers support to schools in living out their distinctive Christian vision and preparing for SIAMS by
- Providing support in developing and applying a theologically rooted Christian vision across all areas of school life
- Offering regular training on the SIAMS framework
- Oeeping schools updated on national developments in church school education
- Offering guidance on self-evaluation
Why SIAMS?
All voluntary schools in England must be inspected under the requirements of section 48 of the Education Act 2005. In Church of England schools, these inspections are carried out under the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) framework. SIAMS inspections are a key element of the life of all Church of England and Methodist schools in England and focus on the impact of the Church school’s Christian vision on pupils and adults.
The national SIAMS framework
Full information about the national inspection framework is available from the National Society for Education SIAMS page and includes the current evaluation schedule, the framework implemented from September 2023 accompanied by transitional guidance and self-evaluation templates. (Please note that the SIAMS page on the CofE website will be closed down shortly).
SIAMS case study library
The National Society’s growing case study library is an exciting new development. It offers examples of exemplary or innovative practice that might support the development of other Church schools in the areas evaluated by the most recent SIAMS inspection.
Resources to prepare for inspection
The following documents will be valuable references in your preparation for inspection:
Self-evaluation as a church school
The process of ongoing self-evaluation enables schools to reflect meaningfully on the impact of their vision, policy and practice. Schools are free to self-evaluate – showing clear links between vision, provision and evidence of impact – in whichever way they choose.
Self-evaluation templates created by the National SIAMS team are available should your school wish to make use of them as they are, or to help shape your school’s own document. The self-evaluation templates and further details on self-evaluation (in the ‘SIAMS Information for Schools’ document) can be downloaded from the links below.
Current schedule
Schools are also encouraged to write one short, summary self-evaluation which is aligned with the SIAMS criteria. In doing this, your school may like to use the language of the Evaluation Schedule to help you to accurately demonstrate your evidence-based self-evaluation.
School websites
As a church school, you may wish to publish your SIAMS report, Mission Statement, Values and Ethos Statement and policies such as Religious Education, SMSC and Collective Worship. Read the latest Schools Team guidance here.
Further helpful information on what you should publish on your school website can be found here for maintained schools and here for free schools and academies.
SIAMS reports
Schools normally publish their inspection reports on their own websites.
If this is not the case for the school you are looking for, other ways of locating are report are as follows:
For reports on inspections carried out since September 2021, please visit this page.
For reports prior to this date, please go to A Church Near You or contact the Schools Team on schools@stalbans.anglican.org
Contact the Schools Team about SIAMS
To discuss matters relating to SIAMS and self-evaluation, please contact RE & Christian Ethos Adviser Ryan Parker by email to rparker@stalbans.anglican.org or call 07508 802 198.