Mansfield church school praised for Christian vision helping pupils flourish

Queen Elizabeth’s Academy has been rated good in its newly published Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools report, following a visit by Church of England education inspectors.

A SIAMS inspection focuses on the impact of a church school’s Christian vision on students and adults within the school community. Queen Elizabeth’s – a church school under the Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham – was last inspected in 2015, when it was graded satisfactory.

The new report, following a two-day inspection at the start of February, says: “The distinctive Christian vision drives the work of the academy and is enabling pupils and adults to prosper.

“Pupils are valued and the most vulnerable are flourishing in their learning. Collective worship is instrumental in driving positive change at QEA.”

The Chesterfield Road South school, part of the Diverse Academies Trust, said the new good grading “reflects the huge strides the academy has taken to improve standards and embed Christian values into everyday life, so that students live and breathe core principles of kindness, truthfulness and forgiveness”.

Staff and students a ‘real blessing’

Donna Percival, QEA principal, said: “I’m incredibly proud to be the principal at Queen Elizabeth’s. The staff and students deserve this fantastic report, they’re a real blessing. Our academy goes

from strength to strength and the report confirms that.”

Inspectors praised the academy’s approach to using nine Christian principles which have driven character development work, and which is ‘preparing pupils well to live life to the full and is enabling the whole community to live increasingly well together’.

Other positive aspects in the report focused on leaders’ passion for driving forward the Christian vision, the exceptional pastoral provision for students, and how staff care deeply about the wellbeing of pupils at the academy – a fact which parents spoken to as part of the inspection greatly appreciated.

The school was urged to further improve its religious education teaching.

The report said: “The quality of RE is improving although recent changes are not yet fully embedded. High-quality RE provision is not yet prioritised for all pupils.”

Dave Cotton, Diverse chief executive officer, said: “This inspection reflects the hard work of staff at the academy to ensure our students receive the highest standards of care and that their wellbeing is paramount in all we do.

“The Christian principles instilled in students’ daily lives at the academy are helping them become well-rounded citizens of the future prepared to approach life ahead with kindness and thoughtfulness.”

To read the full report, see queenelizabeths-ac.org.uk/our-academy/siams