Purpose and Focus of SIAMS Inspections

All Church of England dioceses and the Methodist Church use the Church of England Education Office’s framework for the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) under Section 48 of the Education Act 2005.

SIAMS inspections focuses on the impact of Church school’s Christian vision on both pupils and adults. This involves looking at the school’s Christian vision, the provision the school makes because of this vision, and how effective this provision is in enabling all pupils to flourish.

Church schools will employ a variety of strategies and styles appropriate to their particular context in order to be distinctively and effectively Christian in their character and ethos. SIAMS inspectors therefore do not look for a set template of what a Church school should be like, but rather take the particular context of the school into account and base their evaluation on the outcomes rather than the process.

The school is awarded one overall grade which reflects the contribution of these strands to the flourishing of pupils and adults in a Church school. In addition a standalone grade is awarded in all schools. In addition a standalone grade is awarded in all schools for collective worship and in voluntary aided (VA) schools and former VA schools for religious education (RE). This grade is based on teaching and learning alone.