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A Church School
The School’s Background
Acle St Edmund C of E Primary Academy was founded by the Church of England in 1860 to educate the children of the village of Acle. This continues to be our central purpose, and we welcome children of all faiths and none, from within our catchment area and beyond. We maintain close links with the parish church of St Edmund as well as the local Methodist Church. We aim to provide an education of the highest quality and, through the experiences we offer to all our children, seek to support them in developing their own moral, spiritual and ethical standpoint.
As a Church of England School we will be inspected against the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist School (SIAMS) evaluation schedule, with the main question being:
SIAMS Letter to Parents 31.3.2023How effective is the school’s distinctive Christian vision, established and promoted by leadership at all levels, in enabling pupils and adults to flourish?
Our Vision
Our school vision 'From a tiny seed...all things are possible' shapes our school policies, actions and our school improvement plan.
How we work with the Church and Diocese
Our school is part of the Diocese of Norwich. The Diocese support us in our ongoing improvements and provide a supportive network of other Church schools, with who we can support and be supported by, when developing our Christian character.
To find out more information about the Diocese of Norwich and the support it provides Church of England schools please follow this link:
Diocese of Norwich - Why choose a Church of England School?
In addition, we work closely with our local Church and Methodist Church. Reverend Martin Greenland and Reverend Andrew King regularly visit the school and lead Collective Worship.
We are also have been appointed a Youth Worker, by our local Church. The Youth Worker works with the school on a Monday, and supports the children to lead Collective Worship as well as leading prayer groups.
School Policies
Our school policies are shaped by our school vision. A link to the school policies is here:
Courageous Advocacy
By way of a working definition, when using the term 'courageous advocacy' we are referring to the act of speaking out against an issue of injustice, often on behalf of those whose voice is not heard. Speaking out, at whatever level this takes place, requires an element of courage!
Church of England, Courageous Advocacy, May 2021
At Acle Primary Academy, we are courageous advocates! We come together to tackle issues, support others and improve our local area through a number of ways. We aim to develop 'hope' in each member of our community, that no matter how small we are, we can make a difference!
Our hope is that our pupils 'speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves' (Proverbs 31:8).
In the past two years, each class has used our school vision to bring about change.
In 2021, we learnt about the value of generosity and linked this to our vision by asking:
'From a tiny seed... who has made things possible in our current world?'
Our children explored different role models who had been courageous and challenged injustice. Each class chose a role model to learn about and decided to be 'generous and use their time and energy to support a charity based on this role model. Each class was named after their role model.
This year, our focus is:
'From a tiny seed... we can make a difference!'
From this each class has chosen an endangered local animal as a class name. They have chosen a related charity to support over the year. Please see our class pages for more information.
Collective Worship
Collective worship is inclusive, invitational and inspiring at Acle St Edmund Primary Academy.
Please find out more information about Collective Worship here:
Religious Education
At Acle St Edmund Church of England Primary Academy we ensure pupils flourish through the provision of high quality religious education reflecting the Church of England Statement of Entitlement.
In Autumn 2022, we were awarded the Gold Award from the RE Quality Mark for embedding excellent, innovative and creative RE practice throughout the school.
Please find information about how we teach RE here:
Please find our RE policy and curriculum overview here:
RE policy and curriculum overview
Spiritual Development
In Autumn 2021, staff, governors and members of the clergy came together to develop a shared definition for spiritual development which is:
At Acle Primary Academy spiritual development is defined as the life long journey of developing as a person even through times of challenge and difficulties. Spiritual development is developing our self-identity and discovering the essence of who we are. This is influenced by our relationships with ourselves, others and the world around us in all its beauty and pain. We develop spiritually through reflecting or thinking about what we see, hear and read which leads to a changed way of thinking or a change in the way we act.
We aim to provide opportunities, right across the curriculum, for pupils to develop their curiosity, be creative, ask questions, reflect on their experiences and change their perspective.
Please find out Spiritual Development Policy here:
Spiritual Development is part of our 'Flourishing Foundations' curriculum. It is thoughtfully and carefully woven into all aspects of our broad and balanced curriculum.
Please see our individual subject guidance documents for further information on this. These can be found here: