St Chad’s Church of England Primary School has been praised for creating a “joyful and aspirational” learning environment in a glowing report by inspectors.
The SIAMS report highlighted excellent feedback from staff, pupils and parents on the inclusive, nurturing nature of the school, which is part of the respected Arthur Terry Learning Partnership (ATLP).
A SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) report is different from an Ofsted report, in that it primarily focuses on the impact of the school’s Christian values on pupils and adults, and pastoral and spiritual care.
Headteacher Jennifer Aitken explained: “The Inspector asked about the school’s visions and values, and how they enable all pupils and staff to flourish.
“She spoke to many pupils, parents, school advocates, staff and Revd Chris Davies at St Chad’s Church. She said the same thing kept coming up in all the conversations – that everyone felt heard, valued and cared for throughout the school.”
At the centre of the report was the school’s key values of faith, kindness and honesty.
The Inspector wrote: “The school’s vision is deeply embedded and sustains a harmonious community where individuals are known, loved and cherished.”
This vision shapes the school’s curriculum, which the Inspector said “develops the whole child”, with particular care given to “nurturing pupils’ spirituality and helping them discover their gifts and talents”.
The report praised the school’s innovative system of having seven ‘spiritual pathways’ which help children identify and celebrate things they are personally passionate about.
The pathways – justice fighters, quiet seekers, caregivers, worshippers, thinkers, nature lovers and creative minds – encourage the children to explore activities and values that appeal to them.
Mrs Aitken explained: “The pathways help our pupils understand how they flourish spiritually – we help them identify when they feel happy and when they are having a spiritual moment, which can sometimes be a hard concept for a child to grasp.
“We first started the programme by introducing it to the staff and asking what their pathways are. The staff really connected to the idea, which means they were able to model and communicate it effectively to the children.
“I’ve noticed the pathways are making a massive difference to children’s wellbeing. We hear them talking about what they enjoy and can give them the opportunities to develop their passions more and express themselves – something which the report really reflected.”
The Inspector also praised how worship is conducted at St Chad’s, noting that dedicated prayer spaces are available throughout the day for those who wish to use them.
The report states that the children’s “curiosity is nurtured” through close connections with the local church, St Chad’s Church.
Mrs Aitken said: “Our relationship with St Chad’s Church is central. The Church run workshops for our Year 4, 5 and 6 children across the academic year.
“The children take on responsibility to plan the activities, and the rest of the school come down to the Church and participate. We now have seven different activities on offer for each of the spiritual pathways – the children get to reflect not only on Christian values and teachings, but on their own personal spirituality.”
The Inspector further commended how the school encourages children to ask big questions about religion, philosophy and the world, such as in the ‘Seekers’ group run by Church clergy for older pupils.
Mrs Aitken said: “In our spiritual curriculum, we’ve introduced ‘big questions’, which allows children to explore more esoteric and philosophical questions they might have, like why we’re here and the nature of good and evil. They surprise us with the depth of their answers and interpretations of the questions!”
“We were quite overwhelmed with just how positive the feedback was from staff, parents and children,”
– Headteacher Jennifer Aitken
According to the report, one of the strongest aspects of St Chad’s Primary School is their commitment to making children understand justice and responsibility, while also making them active citizens in their community.
The Inspector wrote: “Pupils see themselves as having a meaningful role to play in improving the world around them and take action to do so. Inspired by collective worship and by what they learn in lessons, they speak out when they feel things are unfair or unequal.”
Examples given include volunteer work for food banks, setting up compost bins in school to combat food waste and organising litter picks.
Deputy Headteacher Andy Jones said: “When talking about injustices, we get children to think about what is in our power and what we can do to make a difference.
“The children are increasingly steering these conversations which is wonderful – we’ve discussed food waste, pollution, deforestation and much more, with the children coming forward with solutions and ideas. They’re taking the initiative, becoming courageous advocates and agents of change.”
Lastly, the report highlighted the strengths of St Chad’s Religious Education (RE) curriculum, which the Inspector wrote was “exciting, engaging and accessible.”
Mr Jones said: “The Inspector was impressed by a drop-in RE session, where children showed off their knowledge not only about Christianity but also about other worldwide faiths.
“She was especially impressed by how creativity is central to our RE curriculum, as we believe art and poetry are a great way to get children to connect to ideas of spirituality and religion.
“We were only given one development point in the report, which is that we need to teach children more about the diversity within Christianity around the world. We’re going to pick up on this immediately – we have Interfaith Week coming up in November, which we’re going to centre around this topic.”
Staff are delighted by the report, which praises how St Chad’s pupils “shine with curiosity, ambition and confidence to be themselves”.
Mrs Aitken said: “The inspection process was really enjoyable – the Inspector made it a very enjoyable day, and it felt like a supportive process.
“We were quite overwhelmed with just how positive the feedback was from staff, parents and children. We knew we were working as hard as we could to provide them with opportunities to flourish, but to actually see that recognised by everyone in our school community was incredible and quite emotional!
“We’re so proud to have this beautiful school community which nourishes everyone, and encourages pupils and staff alike to strive to be their best, true selves.”
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