SIAMS

An outline of self-evaluation advice ahead of a Statutory Inspection for Anglican and Methodist Schools, (SIAMS).

The Board of Education is dedicated to supporting all our church schools and school communities to flourish as they seek to understand the opportunities the Statutory Inspection for Anglican and Methodist Schools (or SIAMS) schedule can bring as a tool for self-evaluation as well as a tool for inspection. 

The following information and guidance will help schools and academies to self-evaluate as an ongoing process, which has several advantages.

Why self-evaluate?

• The key purpose of ongoing self-evaluation is to enable a school to reflect meaningfully on the impact of its vision, policy, and practice. It is, first and foremost, a process that is for the benefit of the school community and will be most useful when conducted in a rigorous, robust, and evidence-based manner. ​

• Self-evaluation can refer to provision but should have an overwhelmingly evaluative focus on impact to be of maximum use to the school. ​

• Rigorous and meaningful ongoing self-evaluation will result in one ‘organic’ and ‘live’ document that is shaped by the school and formatted in a meaningful way. There is no longer an expectation that schools will produce a summary specifically for an inspection. ​

• Whilst a SIAMS SEF is likely to look different in every school, a helpful blank template is available in the downloads below. Further guidance and supporting materials are available on request, through attendance at SEF writing training and school/trust visits.  ​

• It is recommended that self-evaluation documents are written with close reference to the inspection framework, linking to further sources of evidence where helpful, e.g. surveys, Floorbooks, displays, etc. Answering the Inspection Questions (IQs) by responding to the sub-questions within each IQ is a useful strategy. ​