Guidance for Schools
Children represent the hope for the future so investing in our schools is a vital part of our work.
With the potential to reach over 30,000 young people day by day, our schools represent an important area for mission and ministry. Nearly all of our 119 schools receive support from the Education Department, particularly through curriculum and management support and training, support for governing bodies (especially for senior staff appointments) and support for buildings related capital projects in voluntary aided schools.
This section aims to give all the necessary information for Headteachers Governors, and staff of Church of England Schools in the Diocese of Liverpool.
It gives you details regarding our policies and procedures, training and building project advice.
All schools must have an Admissions Policy. This is a policy that clearly set out how children will be admitted, including the criteria that will be applied if there are more applications than places at the school. The policy must comply with Department of Education regulations and consider guidance from the Liverpool Diocese Board of Education
Church Schools and Admissions
The Liverpool Diocese Board of Education encourages schools to welcome children and young people from across its communities, seeking to ensure that all staff, children, and young people experience schools as a place of “life in all its fullness” John 10:10.
Admission Authorities
The responsibility for writing, implementing, and reviewing Admissions Policies lies with the Admissions Authorities.
For Voluntary Aided Schools (V.A.) and Academy’s governors are the Admissions Authorities.
For Voluntary Controlled School (V.C) is the Local Authority (L.A.) ( The Diocese is happy to help and support the same it does for V.A and Academy Schools).
Key Resources
When writing, and reviewing polices governors MUST follow the Schools Admissions Code and take into account the guidance from the Liverpool Diocese Board of Education.
The Church of England Education Office has developed an online tool called the Admissions Builder. This allow schools to input its personal information around vision, logo and over Subscription criteria and the Admissions Builder will produce your admissions policy.
Consultation
If Admissions Authorities want to make any changes (that aren’t a requirement of the Law) to their policy then the only way to do this is via a public consultation (see below for timeline).
The law requires you to consult with (pg 18 of the Admissions Code):
- parents of children between the ages of two and eighteen;
- other persons in the relevant area who in the opinion of the admission authority have an interest in the proposed admissions;
- all other admission authorities within the relevant area (except that primary schools need not consult secondary schools);
- whichever of the governing body and the local authority who are not the admission authority;
- any adjoining neighbouring local authorities where the admission authority is the local authority
- In the case of schools designated with a religious character, the body or person representing the religion or religious denomina
Timeline
June – Sept 2024 – Governors to look at Admissions Policy, see if changes are needed, check when last public consultation was and decide if they are consulting or not consulting year.
| Consulting | Not Consulting |
| You MUST inform the Board of Education prior to public consultation (dawn.harrison@dioceseofliverpool.kinsta.cloud) | If no changes are needed, and you have consulted within the last 7 years, Admissions Policy can be determined by governors |
| 1st Oct 2024- 31st Jan 2025 – Consultation Period – more details in the Admissions Code (Sept 2021 part 1.47) | |
| 6th Feb 2025 (or before) – inform the Board of Education of any changes made in light of the Public Consultation | |
| 28th Feb 2025 – all Admission Arrangements must be determined | 28th Feb 2025 – all Admission Arrangements must be determined |
| 15th March 2025 – last date to put policy on website and to inform LA/ Diocese | 15th March 2025 – last date to put policy on website and to inform LA/ Diocese |
Further Help and Support
For further information, or to consult on proposed admission arrangements or to send determined Admission Policy’s please contact
Rev Dawn Harrison
Diocesan Schools’ Adviser (Governance and Admissions)
E: dawn.harrison@liverpool.anglican.org
Telephone – 0151 705 2177
Who To Contact
Linda Donaldson
0151 705 2134
E: linda.donaldson@liverpool.anglican.org
The role of a foundation governor provides many opportunities to support the amazing work of our schools, from supporting the headteacher to having a say in the strategic direction of the school. A Foundation Governor has a unique role in securing the Christian Distinctiveness of a school. The Board of Education is always interested to hear from people who feel called to this amazing ministry.
If you have already been in touch and are looking for nomination forms they can be downloaded from the bottom of this page. If you have any questions regarding the forms please do contact (Rev) Dawn Harrison at dawn.harrison@dioceseofliverpool.kinsta.cloud.
Ensuring good governance and strategic direction for our schools
A foundation governor is a responsible position and requires commitment, dedication and skill. Our team of foundation governors have a significant role in helping to drive up standards to ensure that schools and their pupils are performing to the very best of their ability. Furthermore, foundation governors agree to play a vital role in ensuring that the Christian principles on which our schools were founded are upheld in times of change and are lived daily in the life of the school. This begins by establishing good working relationships within the Governing Board and with the Senior Leadership of the school. These are relationships that need to be based on trust, respect and aspiration for all our pupils.
We recognise that being a foundation governor is a calling and a way of serving God in our local communities. It is to be undertaken with prayer and dedication, and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. These are key and influential roles that can help bring the kingdom of God more fully into our world, sitting as they do at the heart of a network of relationships which includes children and young people, parents, staff, clergy, the Diocese, local authorities, DfE and organisations within the wider community.
Foundation governors play a very significant role in our church schools, they provide strong and sustainable links that root the schools as part of wider communities, and as part of the Diocesan family. They assist schools in being built around key Christian values and they play a key role in ensuring the school is led and shaped by the personal faith and commitment of their leaders. Foundation governors also ensure Religious Education is at the heart of the curriculum and is a core subject. In short, foundation governors are vital to the ongoing health and well-being of our church schools.
If you have the time and skills, and Christian commitment please consider becoming a Foundation Governor by contacting:
Rev Dawn Harrison
Diocesan Schools’ Adviser (Governance and Admissions)
E: dawn.harrison@liverpool.anglican.org
About the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS)
You can find more useful information on the Church of England website
www.churchofengland.org/siams-school-inspections
An overview of SIAMS
The purpose of the SIAMS inspection is to help a school evaluate the impact of its distinctively Christian vision on both pupils and adults. This will involve exploring how your school’s Christian vision drives and supports major strategic and operational decisions and the impact that has on enabling all pupils and adults to flourish.
Church of England schools will employ a wide variety of ways of achieving a distinctively Christian ethos and character which will reflect their unique context. As a result of this, the SIAMS inspection will not look for a set model of what a Church of England school should look like. The inspector will take the context of the school into account and base their judgments on outcomes as opposed to processes.
The current SIAMS Evaluation Schedule (2018) has one fundamental question that is explored:
‘How effective is the school’s distinctive Christian vision, established and promoted by leadership at all levels, in enabling pupils and adults to flourish?’
This is then explored through seven strands
- Vision and Leadership
- Wisdom, Knowledge, and Skills
- Character Development – hope, aspiration, and courageous advocacy
- Community and Living Well Together
- Dignity and Respect
- The impact of collective worship
- The effectiveness of RE
One overall grade is awarded which reflects the contribution of each strand to the flourishing of both the pupils and adults. There is no grade for each of the individual strands.
In addition, there is a standalone judgment for collective worship and in voluntary aided (VA) and former VA schools there is a standalone grade for RE – this is based on teaching and learning.
There are four grades that can be awarded:
- Excellent
- Good
- Requires improvement
- Ineffective as a Church of England school
The inspection process
Good and outstanding/excellent schools are re-inspected every five years (in the fifth school year following the end of the school year in which they were last inspected, schools will not necessarily be inspected in the same term as their previous inspection). Schools judged to be requiring improvement or ineffective are inspected every three years. Since 2013, the timing of SIAMS has not been linked to the school’s OFSTED inspection.
Keeping on Track visits
For those schools/academies that subscribe to the Partnership Agreement a mid-point monitoring visit (Keeping on Track) is programmed in. This takes the form of a half-day school visit by a diocesan adviser/inspector. The format of the visit consists of:
- An act of collective worship
- A learning walk
- Conversations with:
- The headteacher
- The RE lead
- The CW lead
- Foundation governor(s) if available
This is followed up with a written report highlighting agreed strengths and any agreed areas for development.
Throughout a school year we offer a range of additional SIAMS support training which takes the form of face to face training and virtual.
If you require any additional information in relation to SIAMS or Keeping on Track please contact David Thorpe
david.thorpe@liverpool.anglican.org
Useful Downloads
- Spiritual Development – Interpretations of spiritual developments in the classroom
- Statement of Entitlement
- Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy Template
- Mental Health and Wellbeing Guidance
- Pre SIAMS checklist
- Questions for the staffroom and governors meeting
- SIAMS checklist for schools
- SIAMS pandemic vision
- SIAMS SEF mind map
- SIAMS self-evaluation summary
- SIAMS linking with school improvement
- Information on SIAMS for your school website
Our guidance for good staff appointments
The appointment information/guidance has been updated to reflect changes in legislation and has been developed in consultation with DBE Services Diocesan Officers.
This updated information/guidance reflects the National Standards for Headteachers and embodies the three key principles of headship namely that the work of headteachers should be: learning centred, focussed on leadership and reflect the highest professional standards. It also reflects the need for the headteacher to lead by example to ensure that the school demonstrates its Christian ethos.