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Inspection
The 2005 Education Act introduced new OfSTED Inspection arrangements. Section 48 of the Act also introduced new arrangements for the denominational inspection of Church of England schools: Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools
The National Society provides a Framework for Inspection, which explains the process more fully.
Purpose of SIAS
As well as fulfilling statutory requirements, SIAS aims:
- To provide an evaluation of the distinctiveness and effectiveness of the Church of England school
- To verify the outcome of the school’s self-evaluation
- To make a significant contribution to improvement in Church of England schools
Core Principles of SIAS
- To provide a strong focus on the impact of provision on learners
- To work with the self-evaluation of the school in its own context (The Self-Evaluation Form is central to both inspections)
- To apply the highest possible standards of inspection practice
Key questions schools will need to answer:
- 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?
- How effective are the leadership and management of the school as a church school?
The National Society self-evaluation Toolkit helps schools to develop their self-evaluation processes. It defines the key questions into smaller and provides:
- a format enabling schools and governors to establish a regular process of self-evaluation based on a range of evidence
- an evidence base for comments relating to the school’s distinctive Christian character, for inclusion in the appropriate sections of the SEF
- support for judging the impact of the school’s work on learners
- support for judging how well the school’s distinctive Christian character and values ensure the development and achievement of the whole child.
Self-evaluation is an ongoing process, and it is important to regularly update the SEF in readiness for an inspection. As a measure of good practice, governors should ensure the report also feeds into the school’s planning for development.
Final reports are written to a set format and all Salisbury Diocesan schools’ reports are available on this and The National Society website The Diocese provides a quality assurance service and regular training for the SIAS inspectors. It is the responsibility of the school to send a copy of the report to parents.
Onwards and Upwards
