Ofsted and SIAMs

What is a SIAMS inspection?

SIAMS stands for the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools. All Church of England dioceses and the Methodist Church use the National Society's framework as a process for evaluating the extent to which church schools are "distinctively and recognisably Christian". All Church of England Schools receive a Section 48 Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) in addition to the regular Section 5 Ofsted inspection.  These inspections take place on a five year cycle.

A new and more rigorous schedule for SIAMS inspections was introduced in 2018. Under this new schedule, the bar for schools has been raised with the old ‘outstanding’ grade being merged into the new ‘good’. Good is now the 'gold standard' for church schools.

This new evaluation schedule has one overarching inspection question: How effective is the school’s distinctive Christian vision, established and promoted by leadership at all levels (including governors), in enabling pupils and adults to flourish?

This question is evaluated through seven strands:

• Strand 1: Vision and Leadership
• Strand 2: Wisdom, Knowledge and Skills
• Strand 3: Character Development: Hope, Aspiration and Courageous Advocacy
• Strand 4: Community and Living Well Together
• Strand 5: Dignity and Respect
• Strand 6: The impact of collective worship
• Strand 7: The effectiveness of religious education

Voluntary aided (VA) or former voluntary aided schools,  also receive an additional, standalone judgement for Strand 7 (the effectiveness of religious education).

We had a SIAMs Church of England School Inspection in November 2021.

Useful Documents

SIAMs Inspection Report, November 2021

2021 SIAMs Frameword