SIAMS Annexe 1
National Society Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools Report
North Marston Church of England Combined (Voluntary Controlled) Primary School
School Hill,
North Marston,
Buckingham,
MK9 1LA
Diocese: Oxford
Local authority: Buckinghamshire
Date of inspection: 25th April 2013
Date of last inspection: June 2008
School’s unique reference number: 110412
Headteacher: Cathy Gouldstone
Inspector’s name and number: Alan Thornsby NSIN 137
School context
North Marston is a smaller than average village school with 105 pupils on roll. Most pupils are white British, with a small percentage of ethnic minority groups. There has been a recent increase in the small percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals.
The distinctiveness and effectiveness of North Marston as a Church of England school are good
North Marston is a good school with many well-established strengths. The whole community is committed to the successful development of each individual. This results in high pupil achievement and an exciting learning environment in which adults continue to strive to provide the best for each and every child
Established strengths
·  The values of love, care and respect that drive the ethos and inform the decision making of the headteacher, staff and governors
·  The impact of the ethos on the academic and personal development of pupils
·  The links with the clergy, church and wider community
Focus for development
·  Explore, recognise and celebrate throughout the school the specific Christian values that are integral to and underpin the practice and policy of the school.
·  Create a realistic plan to inform development as a church school
·  Continue to support the spiritual understanding of pupils through the introduction of reflective and prayer areas.
The school, through its distinctive Christian character, is good at meeting the needs of all learners
North Marston has a Christian ethos of love, care and respect seen in action in the practice and policy of the school. Everyone is seen as a unique individual who is given the challenge and support to achieve academic and personal success. The welcoming ethos, sense of belonging to a family and leaning together reflects how pupils enjoy being in school. This results in good attendance and effective systems support unavoidable absence. The high expectations of staff, securely founded on Christian values, enable pupils to consistently achieve above national expectations. More able pupils are given extra challenge, often supported by parents, governors and other members of the community who work in school. Pupils are mature, articulate and well mannered. They show love and respect for each other, valuing each other’s opinions and recognising their achievements. In the playground they play well together and ensure that everyone is involved and happy. A typical comment from pupils is ‘here we are all friends who help each other.’ The ‘Values Tree’ gives an opportunity for adults and pupils to nominate pupils in recognition of displaying Christian values. Pupils are given responsibility, working together in mixed ages, as reading and writing buddies. This culminates in the ‘take over day’ when Year 5/6 pupils are responsible for planning and teaching the whole school. In addition to showing the trust of adults in school, this is a further example of how the school develops confidence and the mutual respect between pupils. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development is a strength of the school. Examples of pupils’ work and photographs of a range of activities and reports from local newspapers clearly express its high profile. Religious education (RE) has a high priority in the life of the school extending spiritual development and the understanding of bible stories and ‘the qualities that Jesus had and how we can be like him.’ Pupils recognise the importance of faith as a guide in life and the need to respect other faiths. They have a good understanding of the global dimension of Christianity and of Christians who ‘may think of others before themselves.’ Pupils also reflect Christian values in the Eco council who ‘look after the world that God has made’, their support for the schooling of Evans in a Kenyan school and their service to the community in the village tidy up.
The impact of collective worship on the school community is good
Worship is central to the life of the school in exploring Bible stories and developing spiritual awareness of children. Pupils readily explain ‘we learn about Jesus and know how to behave to be like him.’ They have a growing understanding of the Trinity, explaining ‘God the Holy Spirit is with us now, God the Son was Jesus on the Earth and God the Father created the world.’ They also readily relate the main festivals of the liturgical year, including Advent. Lent and Pentecost. Children enjoy worship and enter quietly to music with a sense of anticipation. They sing with meaning and listen attentively. Acts of worship give pupils opportunities to consider Biblical messages. For example, after a retelling of the houses and the sand and rock, with a child demonstrating the stability of sand and rock, children reflected on how they can follow the example of Jesus to have a secure foundation for life. Worship is well planned using a three-year cycle of themes, relating Bible stories to the lives of pupils. They experience a range of formats including whole school, key stage and singing praise. There is a weekly celebration assembly attended by parents to recognise and share achievements. The vicar leads worship each month and the church is used at the end of each term. Pupils often plan and deliver worship. For example, shared discussion and writing partners provide framework for a regular input into worship themes as well as the Easter service. The school uses a range of monitoring including observation by foundation governors and staff, informal comments of adults and termly staff discussion. Pupils and the school council also provide feedback through questionnaires. These had resulted in developments such as the use of microphones in church and reorganised seating. Although pupils are familiar with the purpose of prayer, using the ‘helping hand of prayer’ to guide their own prayers and recite the school and Lord’s Prayer, the school has identified the need to further the spiritual awareness of pupils through establishing prayer and reflection comers.
The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the school as a church school is good
The school is well led by a dedicated headteacher and proactive governors. They are committed to the development of each child as an individual child of God, responsible for achieving his/her personal best, respecting and understanding each other. Governors, staff and parents fully understand the Christian ethos of the school and the sense of community with the local church, explaining ‘this is a Christian family school where there is love and care in and out of school.’ The governing body is effectively led and understands the ethos of the school through focussed visits, and reports by the headteacher and foundation governors. Foundation governors have a high profile in the life of school attending services, visiting classes, worship and RE lessons. This ensures the high profile of Christian values in the ethos of the school and enables all governors to provide greater challenge at all levels. Christian values are key in the work of governors providing ‘an umbrella over all our work to ensure we are a church school.’ However, these are often not expressed in specific or explicit terms. Governors are linked to each class and have explored evidence of the impact of values in action in school, giving them a secure knowledge. Involvement of staff and governors in self-evaluation has raised their awareness of the background to Christian values and the development of spirituality throughout the curriculum. Although there are elements of the Christian character in the school development plan and action plans for RE and worship, the school has identified the need to create a development plan for the school reflecting its church school status. Parents are justly proud of the school and explain its success as ‘this school is a church school and is in fact simply an extension of the church community.’ They know that children are always cared for and loved, in and out of school, commenting ‘the head and staff go over and above the call of duty to support both parents and children. They know all of our children and provide a great education and build confidence in our children.’ The school enjoys an active parent teacher association and strong links with the church, parish council and wider community.

SIAMS report April 2013 North Marston VC MK9 1LA

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NS 02 2013 SIAMS Inspection School Report