Azhar Academy Girls School

Azhar Academy Independent school standard inspection report

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DfE registration number 316/6064 Unique Reference Number (URN) 134417 Inspection number 361414 Inspection dates 13–14 October 2010 Reporting inspector Michèle Messaoudi achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you

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give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann’s Square Manchester M2 7LA

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk No. 090070 Independent school standard inspection report

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Purpose and scope of the inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as amended by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school. 1, 2

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Information about the school

Azhar Academy is an independent Muslim day school for girls between 11 and 19 years of age which opened in September 2003. It is located in Forest Gate, in the London Borough of Newham. It is situated on two sites on opposite sides of the road, one of which is a Grade II listed Victorian church. The proprietors are actively seeking additional premises to allow for more practical activities. Admission is by entry examination. At the time of the inspection, there were 283 students on roll. No student has a statement of special educational needs. The school serves a diverse community and most students are bilingual. The school’s aim is that ‘through a sound education our children will learn and develop an understanding about their Deen’. The school had its first inspection in November 2007.

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Evaluation of the school

Azhar Academy provides a satisfactory quality of education and meets its aims. A good curriculum enables students to develop a broad range of basic skills and ensures their good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Teaching is satisfactory and improvements that secure an increasing proportion of good teaching enable students to make at least satisfactory progress. Most students enjoy school life and their behaviour is good. Although the staff provide satisfactory day-to-day care, significant shortcomings in safeguarding procedures result in inadequate provision for students’ welfare, health and safety; the proprietors are already remedying these deficiencies. The school has made good improvements in the curriculum and teaching since the last inspection but it does not comply with three regulations relating to students’ welfare, health and safety.

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Quality of education

The overall quality of education is satisfactory. The curriculum is good and has improved since the last inspection. Its main strengths are its breadth and balance. In Key Stage 3, it includes most of the National Curriculum subjects, and Arabic is taught as a modern foreign language. In Key Stage 4, it enables students to take the GCSE examinations in 10 subjects. The provision for English, mathematics, religious

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Quality of education

1 www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2002/ukpga_20020032_en_14#pt10-ch1-pb4-l1g162 2 www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts2005/ukpga_20050018_en_15#sch8 Independent school standard inspection report studies, personal, social and health education (PSHE) and citizenship is strong. The provision for physical education (PE) is satisfactory. The programme of PSHE reflects the Islamic ethos of the school. The premises, however, impose restrictions on practical courses that require specialist rooms and the proprietors are seeking additional teaching accommodation to satisfy student demand for more creative subjects at GCSE level. In addition to National Curriculum subjects, students can choose to follow an Islamic studies course, or a more academic and intensive alimah (Islamic theology) course. In response to parental demand, the school now teaches the alimah course, hitherto taught in Urdu, through the medium of English which

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Quality of education

makes it immediately accessible to all students. In the sixth form, students choose between English, mathematics, biology, chemistry and information and communication technology (ICT) as a core and they are offered additional subjects on demand. Students are generally satisfied with the range of courses in the sixth form but PE is non-existent and students rightly consider this as a priority for further improvement. The curriculum is planned well throughout the school to support the teaching and the school has the expertise to support students who have moderate special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school forges appropriate links with outside agencies to provide a good programme of careers education. While the enrichment programme is satisfactory overall, the range of after-school clubs is not sufficiently wide to develop students’ physical skills.

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Quality of education

The quality of teaching and assessment is satisfactory. Effective monitoring of teaching and learning, combined with a coherent training programme, has led to a significant increase in good teaching since the last inspection. However, peer observations by teachers are not carried out with sufficient rigour to ensure the sharing of best practice. While heads of department monitor the quality of education in each subject, their appointment is still too recent to have had a positive impact on students’ progress. Good teaching is characterised by expert knowledge of the subject, of examination criteria and of students’ prior attainment. This informs the planning of work that matches students’ needs closely. Good use of probing questioning by teachers makes students think more deeply. Occasionally, the teaching is outstanding when it communicates enthusiasm for the subject and maintains a very high level of challenge for all students throughout the lesson.

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Quality of education

Where the teaching is satisfactory, the pace of learning slows because the teacher talks for too long, or uses an insufficient range of methods to involve students in their learning. Most teachers use effective strategies to help students develop their literacy skills in subjects other than English. The school has a suitable framework to assess students’ learning and to monitor their progress. However, students do not gain a sufficiently clear picture of what to do to improve because their learning targets are not always subject-specific or measurable, and the quality of marking is inconsistent. The senior leaders track the progress of individual students but they do not use the information from assessments sufficiently sharply to ensure that students progress at the fastest possible rate.

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Quality of education

As a consequence of the good curriculum and satisfactory teaching and assessment, students make satisfactory progress. They achieve particularly highly in their English, Independent school standard inspection report mathematics, religious education and citizenship GCSE examinations. However, the more able do not always attain appropriately high grades in their GCSE examinations, reflecting insufficient challenge for them. In the sixth form, some students achieve well.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils

Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. Most students enjoy school life, their attendance and behaviour are good, and they have responsible attitudes to their learning. However, a small minority do not display the expected level of self-discipline and self-awareness. Students form very positive relationships and work harmoniously together. Instances of bullying are rare. Students develop a strong sense of community and spirituality through daily assemblies and congregational prayers. The alimah and Islamic studies courses deepen their knowledge of their own faith and cultures. The religious studies programme helps them to develop a good understanding of diversity by teaching them about the values and practices of religious groups other than their own.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils

Students learn about British institutions through PSHE and citizenship, and they have opportunities to practise being responsible citizens. They contribute to school life through roles of responsibility, for example as prefects and head girl, and through communal activities such as recycling and producing the termly school newsletter. While sixth form students are happy with the way the school consults and listens to them, over half of the students in the main school feel very strongly that the school does not take their views into account. Students contribute to the local and global communities by organising entertainment activities for older people in the neighbourhood, and by raising funds for various charities. These activities also develop their team-building and leadership skills which, alongside the sound basic skills which they acquire, prepare them satisfactorily for their future well-being.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils

However, despite regular opportunities for making presentations, their communication skills are underdeveloped and some say that they have insufficient access to computers, which hinders the development of their ICT skills.

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils

Despite satisfactory day-to-day care, the provision for pupils’ welfare, health and safety is inadequate as the school has not kept up to date with guidance on child protection and it does not have robust recruitment procedures. The school has not obtained references on a few staff. While the designated persons for child protection have received the appropriate training in child protection, the rest of the staff have not. The child protection policy is not sufficiently detailed and clear enough to support the staff in fulfilling their duties and responsibilities. The school is already taking action to remedy these deficiencies. The policies and procedures aimed at minimising risks in all circumstances are implemented satisfactorily. Good behaviour is promoted effectively and instances of bullying are rare. Students say that they feel safe. First aid procedures are good, accidents are recorded carefully and a high

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils

Independent school standard inspection report proportion of staff have received first aid training. The school has a satisfactory level of fire safety. Admission and attendance registers are maintained correctly.

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils

Students gain a good understanding of how to keep healthy and stay safe through PSHE, science and Islamic studies, and through the provision of healthy options in the tuck shop. However, their access to fresh air, outside play and opportunities for physical exercise, other than in PE lessons, are limited. This has been noted by some parents and a high proportion of students.

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils

The school fulfils its duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, as amended.

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Suitability of staff, supply staff and proprietors

The school’s recruitment procedures are not sufficiently robust. While all the required checks have been carried out on the proprietors and on all staff employed by the school, List 99 checks have not been carried out on a few members of staff before they started their employment. The proprietors are already taking steps to ensure that future checks are carried out on time. The school records the checks on a single central register in the correct manner.

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Premises of and accommodation at the school

The two sites provide teaching accommodation that is fit for purpose, in good decorative order, and a safe environment for effective learning. However, the students’ toilets are not always maintained in a tidy, clean and hygienic state throughout the day; the school is already addressing this issue. The limited outdoor space does not offer much scope for physical exercise but the school makes effective use of local community centres for PE and swimming.

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Provision of information

Parents and others receive a wide range of information, mainly through the school’s website, the prospectus, the information pack and newsletters. Most of the information is accurate, clear and up to date. The child protection policy that is posted on the website requires updating. Parents have two formal annual opportunities to discuss their children’s progress with teachers. They also receive two detailed academic reports that comment on what their children can do in each subject but do not always make it clear what students need to do next to improve. Most parents say that they feel well informed of their children’s progress. However, not all parents feel that the school takes account of their suggestions or concerns.

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Manner in which complaints are to be handled

The school has suitable procedures for dealing with complaints fairly and promptly. Independent school standard inspection report

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The proprietor has ensured that the school meets The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010, schedule 1 (‘the Regulations’), with the exception of those listed below. 3

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of provision for welfare, health and safety of pupils (standards in part 3) and must:  ensure that arrangements made to safeguard and promote the welfare of students at the school have regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State by obtaining references on all staff and volunteers at the school, updating the child protection policy and procedures and monitoring that all staff receive the appropriate level of training in child protection (paragraph 7).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of suitability of staff, supply staff and proprietors (standards in part 4) and must:  ensure that no member of staff carries out work, or intends to carry out work, at the school in contravention of any direction made under section 142 of the 2002 Act, or any disqualification, prohibition or restriction which takes effect as if contained in such a direction by carrying out, where appropriate, a List 99 check on staff before they start working with children (paragraph 19(2)(a)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the premises of and accommodation at schools (standards in part 5) and must:  ensure that the students’ toilets are kept in a tidy, clean and hygienic state throughout the day (paragraph 23(m)).

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What the school could do to improve further

While not required by regulations, the school might wish to consider the following points for development:  provide more opportunities for physical exercise throughout the school, especially in the sixth form  accelerate students’ rate of progress by: showing students exactly how to improve through marking and the setting of subject-specific and measurable targets; improving the quality of academic reports; and using the information from assessments more sharply to track students’ progress with more rigour  ensure that students in Key Stages 3 and 4 feel that the school listens to their views and takes them into account to further improve the provision.

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What the school could do to improve further

3 www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/1997/contents/made Independent school standard inspection report Inspection judgements outstanding

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The quality of education

How well the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of pupils 

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The quality of education

How effective teaching and assessment are in meeting the full range of pupils’ needs 

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The quality of education

How well pupils make progress in their learning 

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The quality of education

Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development Quality of provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils

The overall welfare, health and safety of pupils  Independent school standard inspection report

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School details

Number of pupils with a statement of special educational needs

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School details

Address of school 235A Romford Road, Forest Gate, London E7 9HL

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School details

Email address girls.school@azharacademy.org

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