Jamia Islamia Birmingham

Progress monitoring school report Jamia Islamia Birmingham

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Islamic College, Fallows Road, Birmingham B11 1PL

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Context of the inspection

 This unannounced progress monitoring inspection visit was made at the request of the Department for Education, the registration authority for independent schools, to check the school’s progress in implementing its action plan following the full inspection in May 2015.  The Department also requested that this inspection check that the school premises and accommodation are maintained to a standard that ensures the health, safety and welfare of pupils.

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Curriculum, teaching and learning

 The full inspection in May 2015 found that a number of requirements relating to the curriculum, teaching and assessment were not met. Policies were not implemented and schemes of work were not being followed; the provision for pupils in Key Stages 3 and 4 was not meeting their needs, and there were too few opportunities for pupils to practise and develop their literacy and numeracy skills in different subjects. Too few pupils, particularly the most able, were making the progress they should. Academic teaching did not take sufficient account of pupils’ starting points or meet their specific needs; pupils did not research widely, analyse their findings or apply the skills they had learnt to other work. Teaching did not ensure that pupils made the best possible progress; in particular, teachers were not making best use of learning resources to support pupils’ learning or giving pupils sufficient guidance as to how they could

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Curriculum, teaching and learning

improve their work. Resources for teaching and learning were inadequate. School leaders were not monitoring teaching and learning or providing guidance and support for teachers.  The school drew up an action plan to address these failings; this was evaluated by Ofsted in September 2015 and found to require improvement because it did not provide sufficient information about what teachers and leaders were doing to meet the requirements.  The action plan included proposals to: — ensure that schemes of work and plans would take account of pupils’ differing needs and aptitudes — make provision to develop pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills and provide opportunities for them to apply these in different subjects — provide courses for sixth-form learners to re-sit GCSE mathematics and English — adopt and implement an effective assessment and tracking system — regularly monitor teaching and learning, and plan for leaders to meet teachers regularly to

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Curriculum, teaching and learning

plan lessons and discuss and share good practice — ensure that teachers marked pupils’ work regularly and that marking would help pupils take the next steps in learning — train staff to meet all pupils’ needs — display pupils’ work in classes and around the school — purchase digital and other resources and provide training so that resources were used effectively. Monitoring report: Jamia Islamia Birmingham , 16 December 2015 2 of 7

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Curriculum, teaching and learning

 The appointment of an external educational consultant as interim headteacher from the end of August 2015 and the reorganisation of the school’s leadership team to drive improvement forward have been instrumental in moving the school forward. The interim headteacher acted swiftly to address the issues with the curriculum, teaching and assessment. He has built upon the action plan proposals and, in some cases, revised or replaced them in order to accelerate the school’s progress in meeting requirements.  The curriculum policy, schemes and plans have been reviewed and revised. Staff have received training in taking these into account in their medium-term and short-term planning. Pupils now have experience in all the required areas of learning and suitable courses are run in the sixth form for learners who did not achieve grade C or above in English and mathematics at GCSE. Teaching now takes sufficient account of pupils’ differing needs and rates of progress.

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Curriculum, teaching and learning

 Schemes and plans have been thoroughly examined and their implementation is regularly monitored by the interim headteacher. In addition to classroom observations, he has regularly undertaken a scrutiny of pupils’ work. This triangulation of evidence has provided a secure basis for driving improvements in teaching and learning. Observations in classes during this inspection visit confirm the interim headteacher’s written findings. In lessons, learning objectives and outcomes are shared with pupils; these are suitably adjusted to take account of pupils’ differing needs.  These monitoring activities have highlighted where further training and support are required, and these have been provided in the weekly training sessions held for all staff. For example, the interim headteacher has provided training for all staff in ensuring that pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills are promoted across all subjects.

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Curriculum, teaching and learning

 In the classes visited on this inspection visit, teachers were providing regular opportunities for pupils to apply and develop their literacy and numeracy skills in different subjects. Scrutiny of pupils’ work showed that teachers are providing appropriate feedback about spelling, punctuation and grammar in their marking of pupils’ work.  The interim headteacher has successfully implemented a new and effective assessment and tracking scheme in Key Stages 3 and 4. This produces targets based on pupils’ Key Stage 2 performance in English and mathematics, which are then used to predict their performance at key points leading to GCSE examinations at the end of Key Stage 4. A similar system is used to track the progress of learners re-sitting GCSE examinations in the sixth form.  The interim headteacher has provided training for staff in implementing and administering the scheme. He has followed this up with monitoring of teachers’ records and pupils’ work to check

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Curriculum, teaching and learning

that information is being accurately gathered and recorded. Scrutiny of the school’s records shows that this scheme is working effectively. Pupils who are falling behind or who are at risk of falling behind are being promptly identified and additional help is being provided to help them catch up. The information gained from this process is being used to inform teachers’ planning.  Observations in classrooms during this inspection visit indicate that pupils are responding positively to improved teaching. They are gaining increased confidence to apply the skills they have acquired across different subjects. They are also displaying more confidence in working independently to review problems and find solutions to these. Improved planning and assessment systems are helping to accelerate pupils’ progress.  Multimedia equipment is now standard in nearly all classrooms and sufficient new subject resources are in place. Improved awareness of the different ways in which pupils learn has

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Curriculum, teaching and learning

increased teachers’ use of internet-based resources. There are good-quality displays of pupils’ work in classrooms and corridors. In addition, there are displays of pupils’ work and information about themes such as British values.  The interim headteacher’s monitoring is accurate and perceptive; his priorities for staff training are well grounded in what is going on in classrooms. As a result, he has brought about significant improvements to teaching and learning in a relatively short time. While there is more to be done to ensure that teaching and learning are consistently good, all the requirements for the curriculum, teaching and assessment are now met. Monitoring report: Jamia Islamia Birmingham , 16 December 2015 3 of 7

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils, including the suitability of staff

 At the time of the full inspection in May 2015, statutory requirements for safeguarding were not met and safer recruitment processes were not rigorous enough. Although most checks were carried out according to requirements, some aspects of recording the checks were inaccurate. Leaders had not kept up to date with recent developments in relation to safeguarding checks. In addition, attendance records were not rigorously maintained and absences were not regularly monitored.  The school’s action plan proposals to update policies and procedures and to provide training for staff and leaders in current safeguarding practice were evaluated and accepted by Ofsted in September 2015.  The safeguarding policy now in place reflects the latest statutory guidance published in ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (July 2015); it is published in full on the school’s website. The policy includes information about the mandatory reporting requirements introduced on 31

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils, including the suitability of staff

October 2015.  Staff have received training from the local authority on radicalisation. They have also received briefings about female genital mutilation (FGM) and the procedures to be followed when pupils are missing from education. The interim headteacher is trained in safe recruitment and multi- agency working. The school’s designated person and another senior member of staff have been trained at the higher level in safeguarding. The Chair of the Governing Body has also undertaken safe recruitment training.  The systems for checking the suitability of adults to work with pupils have been reviewed and revised. Appropriate medical questionnaires are now completed by new staff prior to taking up their appointment. All the required prohibition and disqualification checks are now made and recorded, as required.  The school has successfully devised and implemented a new attendance policy. Attendance is

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils, including the suitability of staff

now monitored on a daily basis and procedures are promptly implemented to check on the absence of any pupil. The school now uses the standard absence codes and leaders check that registers are completed daily. The school policy makes clear to parents and carers that term- time holidays are not encouraged and that such absences will be classed as unauthorised.  All the requirements for these standards are now met.

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Provision of information

 The inspection in May 2015 reported that not all of the required information was supplied to parents, prospective parents and others.  The school included proposals in its action plan to address these failings. These were evaluated by Ofsted in September 2015 and found to require improvement as they did not deal specifically enough with the requirements.  The interim headteacher has successfully implemented revised plans in order to meet all the requirements for this standard, including the updating of the school’s website. The school’s curriculum and safeguarding policies are published in full on its website, which also makes clear the availability of all the required policies and procedures. The school has made the report of the last inspection available on its website.  All the requirements for this standard are now met.

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Leadership and management

 The inspection in May 2015 judged the leadership and management of the school to be inadequate. The proprietor and senior leaders were not ensuring that all regulatory requirements were met. Governors were not challenging leaders to account for historic underachievement and school outcomes. The monitoring of the school’s work was not rigorous enough and targets set for teachers were not directly linked to pupils’ progress. The proprietor and senior leaders were not ensuring that pupils were properly safeguarded and that their academic and personal development were the best that they could be. Monitoring report: Jamia Islamia Birmingham , 16 December 2015 4 of 7

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Leadership and management

 The school’s action plan proposals were evaluated and deemed to require improvement in September 2015. This was because insufficient information was provided in the action plan to demonstrate that all of the required action was being taken to ensure that all regulations would be met consistently.  The interim headteacher is working two days each week at the school and he is supported by senior leaders who work there on a full-time basis. This arrangement is effective; the interim headteacher provides well-focused training for leaders and teachers during his days at the school. He has put in place robust systems for monitoring and developing the quality of teaching and learning. These include establishing an effective system of assessing and reporting pupils’ progress, and for setting and supporting teachers’ achievement of performance targets. These initiatives are raising the quality of learning and accelerating pupils’

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Leadership and management

progress. The proposals for revising the governing body structure are work in progress.  The interim headteacher has a good knowledge of the independent school standards and has taken incisive action to ensure that the school complies with all requirements, including those to ensure the well-being of pupils.

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Additional matters

 The premises and accommodation are maintained in a clean and tidy state. No health and safety issues were identified during this inspection visit. The proprietor has taken appropriate steps to deal with environmental health matters, including regular inspection of the premises by external specialist contractors.

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The school meets The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014

and associated requirements. Monitoring report: Jamia Islamia Birmingham, 16 December 2015 5 of 7

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Inspection team

Michael Best, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Information about this school

 Jamia Islamia is an independent Islamic day school for boys aged 11 to 19 years old and is part of the Jamia Islamia (Birmingham) Trust Ltd. It opened in 2000 at Jamia Qur’ania and Shahjalal Masjid, moving to its present premises in 2005.  All pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds, which is well above average. The largest ethnic group is Bangladeshi. No pupils speak English as a second language.  The school has 129 pupils, which is smaller than the average-sized secondary school.  There are no pupils with disabilities or who have statements of special educational needs or education, health and care plans. No pupils are in the care of the local authority.  No pupils attend off-site provision.  The school aims to: ‘Gain the pleasure of Allah by producing scholars with deep knowledge of Sharia along with modern education.’  The last standard inspection of the school was in May 2015, when its overall effectiveness was

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Information about this school

judged to be inadequate and a number of the independent school standards were not met. In August 2015, the school submitted an action plan outlining its proposals to address the failed regulations. This was evaluated by Ofsted in September 2015 and found to require improvement.  An interim headteacher was appointed from the end of August 2015. He currently works two days a week at this school. Monitoring report: Jamia Islamia Birmingham, 16 December 2015 6 of 7

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School details

Unique reference number 134571 Inspection number 10009843 DfE registration number 330/6106 This inspection was conducted at the request of the registration authority for independent schools. It was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008.

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School details

Type of school Secondary School status Independent school Age range of pupils 11–19 Gender of pupils Boys Gender of pupils in the sixth form Boys Number of pupils on the school roll 129

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sixth form

Number of part-time pupils 0 Proprietor Jamia Islamia (Birmingham)Trust Ltd Chair Rezaul Haque Headteacher Akhmed Hussain (interim headteacher) Date of previous school inspection 5–7 May 2015 Annual fees (day pupils) £1,800 Telephone number 0121 772 6400 Fax number N/A Email address jamiabham@hotmail.co.uk guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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sixth form

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sixth form

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted.

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sixth form

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sixth form

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sixth form

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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