What Is a Church School?

All Saints’ CE Primary School is a Church of England school for everyone.

Our Christian identity is an important part of who we are, but families do not need to be Christian to join our school community. We welcome children and families of different faiths and those of no faith.

Respect is one of the values we teach throughout school life. This includes respecting the beliefs, traditions and views of others while helping children develop their own understanding of the world around them.

Our aim is to provide an education rooted in Christian values where every child feels Included, Involved and Inspired.

Collective Worship is an important part of life at All Saints’.

Each day, pupils and staff come together for around 30 minutes to reflect, sing, hear stories, explore our values and, where appropriate, pray.

Throughout the year we mark important occasions including Christmas, Easter, Harvest, Remembrance and Epiphany, as well as welcoming a variety of visitors and speakers into school.

Each half term we focus on a particular value and explore what it means in everyday life.

Participation in prayer is always a personal choice. Children are encouraged to say ‘Amen’ only if they wish to make a prayer their own.

Religious Education has an important place within a Church of England school.

At All Saints’, our pupils helped us shape the way we talk about the subject, leading us to call it Beliefs, Religions and Values Education — BRAVE.

Although Christianity has a central place within our school, BRAVE gives children opportunities to learn about and understand a wide range of religions, beliefs and perspectives.

We want pupils to become thoughtful, curious learners who can ask meaningful questions, consider different viewpoints and develop the knowledge they need to make informed decisions later in life.

The CE in our name stands for Church of England.

Like many Church of England schools, All Saints’ was originally founded to make education available to local children.

We continue to enjoy a close relationship with All Saints Church, which is just around the corner from school. The church and school regularly work together, and pupils visit the church for special whole-school services throughout the year.

Families are warmly invited to join us for these occasions.

Since 2018, All Saints’ has also been part of the St Edmundsbury and Ipswich Multi-Academy Trust, which shares our commitment to strong values and high-quality education.

Church of England schools are inspected through SIAMS — the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools.

SIAMS considers how effectively a school’s Christian vision influences the experience of pupils and adults.

All Saints’ was inspected by SIAMS in May 2024.

The inspection concluded that:

“The inspection findings indicate that All Saints’ Church of England Primary School is living up to its foundation as a Church school.”

The report highlighted strengths across the school including our inclusive Christian vision, curriculum, Collective Worship, relationships across the school community and Religious Education.

We are committed to continually developing as a Church school and ensuring that our vision remains meaningful for pupils, staff and families.

The inspection identified an area for further development around creating more planned opportunities for pupils to explore injustice and inequality and use this understanding when taking part in social action.