St Mark’s School in Bath is celebrating a glowing SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools) report.
In addition to school Ofsted inspections, Church of England Schools are also subject to an independent Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) that assesses ‘How effective is the school’s distinctive Christian vision established and promoted by leadership at all levels, in enabling pupils and adults to flourish?’
The school was subject to a two-day inspection in December, in a similar process to Ofsted, and the recently released report – which can be accessed from the school website – was full of praise for the work of the school.
Three areas of school performance are now assessed by SIAMS, including overall effectiveness. The grades awarded at the end of the inspection were as follows:
- Overall grade: Good
- The impact of collective worship: Good
- The effectiveness of RE: Good
The report included –
- The inclusive and distinctive vision inspires school leaders to expect the best from pupils and staff… pupils and adults blossom as a result.
- Pupils and staff show a very high degree of commitment to the school.
- The vision ensures that the curriculum is suitable both for the school’s immediate context and to prepare pupils to play a role in the wider society of the future.
- There is a remarkable range of additional activities organised by staff and relished by pupils.
St Mark’s School works closely with Hayesfield Girls’ School and Beechen Cliff as part of the Bath Hub. The Bath Hub aims to ensure that students achieve their aspirations and personal growth through a high quality curriculum offer and a wide range of exciting and engaging opportunities, allowing students have an excellent experience of secondary school. The SIAMS inspection made reference to the work of the Bath Hub and the Trust, more widely:
- The Midsomer Norton Schools’ Partnership is committed to achieving higher standards and active citizenship across its schools. This chimes well with the aspiration within the vision of ‘being a force for good’.
- The Bath Hub provides pupils of this smaller than average secondary school with links to other pupils and progression routes to post-16 education.
Barnaby Ash, Headteacher at St Mark’s, said, “The bar has been raised in a very marked manner with the new SIAMS framework and we are delighted that we have once again been recognised as a ‘Good’ school. The vision of our school is focussed on promoting self-worth in students to inspire them to live well, achieve their goals and be a force for good both in school and the world beyond. This helps ensure that our students develop a strong sense of belief in themselves and encourages them to be masters of their own destiny.
“I am delighted that the inspector recognised and validated the very high degree of commitment to the school from our pupils, staff and governors. The staff team and governors really do go the extra mile for the students at the school and so I am thrilled that the inspector identified their commitment to students’ personal development. Of course, as they always do, the students shone during the inspection and demonstrated what an asset they are to the school.”