Date: 16 June 2022
School inspections can be a daunting prospect for pupils and staff alike. Many will be aware for being told to ‘be on your best behaviour’ when the word Ofsted was muttered, with SIAMS being the Church Schools equivalent.
To achieve an Excellent award takes dedication, belief and a lot of teamwork. St Martin’s Schools in Epsom were recognised for just that recently.
St Martin’s is a federation of two schools (infant and junior) located in the centre of Epsom in Surrey serving 630 pupils, 47% of whom have a Christian faith.
Statutory Inspections Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) are carried out on all Church of England and Methodist schools, in addition Ofsted inspections, focussing on their Christian distinctiveness.
The inspection examines seven strands, including Vision and Leadership, Wisdom, Knowledge and Skills, Character Development, Community and Living Well Together, Dignity and Respect, Impact of Collective Worship, and Effectiveness of Religious Education.
Executive Head Teacher, Anthony Marsh, says “Our achievement of Excellence is a by-product of what we do. We are highly inclusive, actively celebrate difference and are deeply reflective about our practice and achievements.”
Having a deeply embedded culture of high expectations and aspiration has resulted in the children achieving highly across all areas of St Martin’s enriching curriculum.
The staff at the schools are relentless in their efforts and care in providing the highest quality of Church of England education for the children.
It is this constant effort, pre-pandemic, adapting swiftly and quickly throughout the pandemic and then adjusting once more now we are ‘living with covid’ that has seen their work justifiably recognised.
Anthony adds “Our recruitment and retention of high-quality staff is key. This aligned with a commitment from us all to meaningful professional development stands out as the reason why we have continued to build on our previous successes and have justly been acknowledged as ‘excellent’ in this inspection process.”