Trinity Primary School pupils

There are 185 church schools in our Diocese, 50 are voluntary aided, 132 are voluntary controlled and three are Church of England foundation schools.

We aim to support the teachers, headteachers and governors who work in these schools and members of the church communities in which the schools are located.

We offer extensive advice and training, both at the Old Deanery, our Diocesan base, and in schools, covering all aspects of school improvement, organisation, governance and inspection.

Supporting your school

School Improvement

Our School Improvement Advisers, Pauline Dodds and David Williams are pleased to visit schools and lead training in all aspects of church school distinctiveness, religious education, collective worship and spiritual development. We also work closely with advisers from our three Local Authorities on headship appointments.

David has a particular responsibility for church school leadership and succession planning as well as planning the termly continuing professional development programme. Pauline coordinates SIAS inspections for the Diocese and works with inspectors. A particular focus is development of the RE curriculum in schools.

School Development

Suzanne McDonald, our School Development Adviser, offers support and advice to schools on matters relating to school governance, school admissions, school buildings and capital investment and school organisation. She works at a strategic level with all three Local Authorities as well as offering concrete advice and operational guidance directly to schools. Matters relating to pre-schools and extended services provision also fall within the school development remit, as well as support for schools with a children’s centre on their site.

Additional support

 We have a team of associate advisers to give further support for clusters of schools, particularly for secondary schools.

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