Netheravon All Saints celebrates glowing praise from SIAMs inspectors

Netheravon All Saints Church of England Primary School has been praised for overcoming a period of turbulence and using their clear Christian vision to drive improvement so that ‘pupils and adults flourish together’.

In early November, Netheravon All Saints Church of England Primary School received a Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMs) to assess how the school’s theologically rooted Christian values drive its work and how leadership is used to enable its staff and 146 children to thrive.

Although SIAMs inspections have moved away from public gradings, the school was found to be ‘living up to its foundations as a Church of England School’. This transformation has been driven by the school’s new Christian vision, which has provided clarity and focus to the whole school community.

New Headteacher Mrs Lucy Jones, appointed in September, worked with parents, pupils and staff to redesign the school’s Christian vision to ensure it fully reflects the needs and aspirations of the whole school community.

Although inspectors noted that the new vision, ‘Loving and learning, striving and caring: Together we flourish and grow’, has room to become further embedded in the school, they commended Netheravon for using it as the driving force of their every action, highlighting that it was already having a positive impact on the whole school.

The report confirmed that ‘loving and caring is lived out in the life of the school through the way in which adults and pupils treat each other. Relationships are strong and pupils are confident that staff listen to them and take the time to get to know them really well’.

It goes on to compliment Netheravon as an ‘open and inclusive’ school, stating that ‘leaders at all levels, including those responsible for governance, are committed to implementing the new vision’.

Collective worship was also found to now be central to the school day, with pupils and adults benefitting from starting each day with the opportunity to be calm and listen to inspirational stories from the Christian tradition. The report highlighted that ‘pupils take part enthusiastically’ and that ‘no-one is left out and all hear the key messages for the day ahead’.

Inspectors also found that staff ‘go over and above’ for pupils and are ‘ambitious for all, including those with Special Educational Needs and/ or Disabilities (SEND)’. The report commented on the school’s regular reviews of their broad curriculum, with Religious Education (RE) highlighted as a subject that is ‘well planned by leaders who are trained to a high standard’.

Mrs Jones, said: “We are proud to be a church school and this report highlights how close our community is, with our welcome and inclusive nature shining through. During the inspection, all of our children were wonderful representatives of our school, speaking proudly about what happens here every day and treating everyone with dignity and respect.

“I would like to say thank you to the entire Netheravon school community for their contributions to this process and for helping drive positive change within our school. I am so proud to have our achievements recognised in this way and look forward to building on our fantastic work as a proud church school.”

The report also highlighted that the school, now firmly established as part of the Acorn family, benefits from the vision, structures and processes the Trust provides, which further ‘enhance all elements of life as a church school’.

Max Burr, Executive Head at Acorn Education Trust, added: “Congratulations to Netheravon for such an inspiring SIAMs report, which is great reflection of the hard work and dedication of the whole school community.

“Acorn Education Trust are a family of schools that continually help each other to prepare young people for their world in their time. It is wonderful that this inspection has confirmed that the Trust’s support is assisting in providing the best experience for Netheravon’s children and support for school staff.”

Click here to read Netheravon All Saints' full SIAMs inspection report