Lady Nafisa School

Lady Nafisa Independent Secondary School for Girls Banklabs House, 33–41 Cross Lances Road, Hounslow, Middlesex TW3 2AD

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Satisfactory

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The new headteacher has passionately driven forward improvements in all aspects of the school’s work. Consequently, the school is now compliant with all the independent school standards and provides a good education.  Teaching is good and improving. Leaders provide teachers with good quality training. They hold them to account for the performance of their pupils. The new system to measure pupils’ progress regularly is used well by teachers in planning lessons to ensure all groups of pupils make good progress.  Pupils make good progress in their learning across a range of subjects and year groups. GCSE results attained are above average.  Pupils have very positive attitudes to learning. They conscientiously apply themselves to their work. They are curious and keen to succeed.  Pupils are courteous and behave well in lessons and around the school. Pupils have a strong understanding of how to stay safe and avoid

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

danger. Pupils’ attendance and punctuality have considerably improved.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a notable strength. They have a deep understanding of current affairs and enjoy debating controversial topics in a safe and tolerant environment. They make a strong contribution to the school and wider community. They are very well prepared for the next stages of their lives as responsible and proud British citizens.  Trustees and governors are knowledgeable about the school’s work and support school leaders well. They and other leaders ensure that there is a very strong culture of diligence in protecting pupils and ensuring their welfare. Occasionally however, they are not fully aware of changes to official guidance and new procedural requirements.  Only a few pupils make rapid progress from their starting points. Occasionally, teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are not

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

high enough. Their questioning does not consistently help pupils think very deeply.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that leaders keep abreast with the latest Department for Education (DfE) guidance and implement required changes in a timely fashion.  Improve the quality of teaching so that more is outstanding, by: – teachers learning from the best practice already found in the school – raising expectations of what pupils can achieve and setting work that challenges pupils to make rapid progress – teachers asking sharper questions to deepen pupils’ understanding.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The new headteacher, ably supported by her deputy, has raised expectations for all. Shortcomings and points for improvement identified in previous inspections have been fully addressed. Together with the trustees and governors, she has ensured that a shared vision is realised. Pupils are taught well and reach good academic standards. They are educated to live a moral life in line with their Islamic faith and become integrated in and contribute positively to society in modern Britain.  Members of staff are fully committed to the school’s ethos. Morale is high and, as one member of staff put it, `I feel that the school is always looking to improve. We are open to any advice in order to achieve that goal.’  Senior leaders regularly observe lessons and scrutinise pupils’ work. They give constructive feedback that is well received and helps teachers to improve. Last year, all teachers attended training on how to become an outstanding teacher. Appraisal

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

procedures and information gathered from the termly assessments of pupils’ progress are used effectively to hold teachers to account. As a result of these processes, the quality of teaching has improved. It is increasingly getting better with some that is outstanding.  The curriculum on offer has broadened as the school has grown. It is constantly under review to ensure that it meets the needs and interests of the pupils. A notable development since the previous inspection is the provision for physical education and sport. All pupils now attend a local sports facility each week and are taught by trained sports teachers. They make good progression in their sporting skills and learn how to be healthy. Further, GCSE courses on offer have increased. Last year, pupils were offered a GCSE in history for the first time and the most able students were entered for the challenging triple award science qualifications. This year there is a GCSE psychology

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

course on offer.  Leaders ensure that pupils are very well prepared for life in modern Britain. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils is excellent. These aspects are strongly promoted through daily worship and reflection, the ‘life skills’ curriculum, enrichment activities, tutorials and assemblies. Pupils bring in newspapers each week and listen to ‘thought for the day’. They are thus well aware of current affairs and enjoy debating controversial issues. They participate in an annual inter-faith sports event, learn about other faiths, study in depth about parliamentary democracy and visit the Houses of Parliament. They have a deep understanding, tolerance and respect for difference. In tutorials, for instance, they learn about disability and look in depth at the victimisation experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teenagers.  Parents who responded to the online questionnaire were overwhelming positive. All would

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Governance

 Trustees and governors, in conjunction with school leaders, have ensured that the school meets all of the independent school standards.  Trustees and governors are fully aware that the school premises pose considerable challenges. Minutes of their meetings show that they are actively pursuing options for moving to bigger and more suitable premises.  Trustees and governors are well informed about the quality of teaching, pupils’ progress and other aspects of the school’s work, through detailed headteacher reports. Appraisal is used well to set targets for improvement.  Trustees and governors are highly committed to the professional development of members of staff. They are supporting the new headteacher in acquiring the national professional qualification for headship and two teachers who are training for qualified teacher status. They regularly liaise with individual members of staff and take their views

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Governance

into account. As a result, staff retention is good.  Trustees have recently recruited some new governors, two of whom have a teaching background. This is intended to increase governors’ capacity to support leaders and to hold them to account for the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders and staff are highly vigilant. If they notice any change in a pupil’s behaviour, they take note and immediately report their concerns. This information is analysed and appropriate action is taken.  Leaders and staff are very aware of the potential safeguarding issues for their school community. As a result, members of staff are well trained on issues like female genital mutilation, forced marriage and honour-related violence as well as radicalisation and extremism. In addition, leaders ensure that pupils are taught about these dangers, how to stay safe and what to do if they have concerns. The chair of trustees, for instance, personally addressed the pupils and spoke to them after the well-publicised case of the three teenage girls who travelled to Syria. Parents are also invited in to workshops to help them ensure their children’s safety, such as when using the internet.

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Safeguarding

 Leaders work closely with local agencies. For instance, they alert the local authority as soon as the whereabouts of any pupil is not known in order to prevent children missing in education.  At the start of the inspection, leaders were not fully aware of the latest guidance and procedural requirements published by the DfE. They took immediate action to rectify these shortcomings. They were fully addressed by the conclusion of the inspection.  The school publishes its safeguarding policy on its website. The policy has now been updated and has appropriate regard to current government requirements. Members of staff have also read and been trained on the latest changes to the guidance.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 The quality of teaching is good and improving. As a result, pupils learn well and make good progress across a range of subjects.  Teachers are well qualified in the subject that they teach. They are therefore good role models who inspire pupils towards academic success. Teachers and pupils have very good working relationships. This results in respect, cooperation and hard work with no time being wasted during lessons.  Teachers use the new assessment and tracking system effectively to plan lessons based on pupils’ prior achievements. It is also used to identify any pupil not meeting her targets. Pupils falling behind are given additional support so that they can catch up quickly. This includes support for the most able who fall behind their targets.  Teachers generally mark pupils’ work in line with the school’s policy. Pupils say that they particularly value the guidance on how to improve as they want to do their best. This is

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

typical of the ethos in the school where teachers and pupils are keen to improve their performance.  Pupils are given homework in all subjects. This is used effectively to consolidate learning and for researching new topics.  Planning for teaching has improved. The new headteacher introduced a rolling programme of revising schemes of work. The resulting comprehensive plans ensure that teachers of all subjects have detailed lesson plans, build pupils’ literacy skills, plan enrichment activities and make links to other subjects. As a result, learning is more focused and engaging and rates of pupils’ progress have improved.  Teachers are trained by external experts on how to help the very few pupils at the school who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. As a result, support is sharply tailored, enabling these pupils to make similar good progress to their peers. This demonstrates the school’s commitment to equality.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 In the best cases, teachers have very high expectations of what all pupils, including the most able, can achieve. They ensure that once a pupil has mastered a concept she is immediately given more challenging work. Questioning is probing and shallow answers are not readily accepted. This level of challenge is not consistently found and so not enough pupils are making the rapid progress of which they are capable.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. Pupils grow in self-confidence as they progress through the school. They are articulate and freely express their views and opinions in a safe environment. They develop their curiosity and are determined to learn well so that they are well prepared for their future lives.  Pupils’ interests and ambitions are nurtured exceptionally well in the school. They are encouraged to take initiatives and to present their ideas to the rest of the school community. Many pupils develop a passion for charitable fundraising for a range of causes close to their heart. They undertake fundraising activities and seek sponsorships. Pupils raise significant sums for local, national and international charities.  Pupils are encouraged to follow up their interests. One pupil developed a thirst for understanding mental illness. She researched the topic and was invited to make a

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Personal development and welfare

presentation on the topic at a whole-school assembly to raise awareness for both pupils and members of staff.  Pupils have a deep understanding of how to stay safe. This is because they are taught openly about a wide range of dangers that exist in modern society and how to avoid these situations. For example, they have a strong awareness of the dangers of the internet including in how it can be used for grooming for extremism.  Pupils make many contributions to their school and wider society. Prefects provide a lot of support to teachers. Members of the school council were consulted on a new anti-bullying policy, for example. They insisted that the policy should include the role of bystanders.  As part of the Jewish community’s annual mitzvah day, pupils volunteered to weed and clear up a local recreational park. During Ramadan, they donated food parcels to the local food bank. Pupils learn about other faiths and visit churches and gurdwaras, for example.

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Personal development and welfare

All of these experiences make a very strong contribution to pupils’ understanding of the diversity of people living in modern Britain.  Pupils benefit from well-planned career guidance that helps them make well-informed choices. When they leave the school, they are set on the right path to meet their longer- term aspirations.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils are proud of their school. They have very positive attitudes to learning and try their best to succeed. They work extremely well in pairs and groups as well as on their own, as required. These very positive attitudes help them to be successful learners.  Most pupils take pride in the presentation of their work. In a very few cases, books and folders are scruffy.  Pupils are welcoming to visitors and treat them with courtesy and respect.  Leaders have worked very successfully to address previously low attendance. They introduced a raft of rewards and sanctions and they work with parents and agencies to ensure good attendance. As a result, attendance rates are now good in all year groups and pupils consistently arrive punctually to school and to lessons.  Conduct in lessons is good. Occasionally, there is a little boisterous behaviour as pupils walk around the school. They quickly settle down to learning, however, when they enter

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Attainment on entry to Year 7 fluctuates owing to the small size of the cohorts. However, pupils generally join the school at standards expected for their age in both English and mathematics.  Pupils, including those currently on roll, make good progress in all subjects and across the year groups.  School data shows that results at the end of key stage 3 have been on a steady upward trend over the last three years. In 2016, the majority of pupils reached above-average standards in English, mathematics and science.  In 2015, the Year 11 cohort consisted of only three pupils. In 2016, there were 12. All pupils attained at least five good GCSE grades. The most able, owing to good teaching and pupils’ hard work, attained well. This is reflected in the fact that 45% of grades were A* to A, and almost all pupils achieved the very challenging triple science award.  Pupils read widely. The headteacher introduced a scheme whereby pupils have to read as

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Outcomes for pupils Good

many books as possible from a year-by-year reading list. These texts cover a wide range of genres. Pupils are also expected to read newspapers. Consequently, pupils gain an appreciation for literature, broaden their general knowledge and are well informed of current events.  Pupils leave school at 16 very well prepared for the next stages of education, employment or training.

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School details

Unique reference number 136046 DfE registration number 313/6082

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, 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.

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School details

Date of previous inspection 13 January 2014

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Information about this school

 Lady Nafisa School is an independent Muslim day school for girls between the ages of 11 and 16 years. The school is registered for educating up to up to 60 pupils.  The school opened in 2009.  The school occupies a portion of a large office block in Hounslow; it shares the accommodation with other users.  The Bridge School Inspectorate carried out the school’s previous standard inspection in January 2014. Inspectors judged the school to be providing a satisfactory standard of education.  Since the previous inspection, the proprietorial body has changed its name from the West London School of Islamic Studies to the Ha Meem Foundation.  The stated aim of the foundation is ‘to do our part in fulfilling the communal obligation upon this blessed community (ummah) to learn, act upon and transmit to others the teaching of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger’.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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Information about this school

 The new headteacher took up her post in September, 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection was carried out with one day’s notice.  Learning was observed in 10 lessons; all of these were joint observations with the headteacher.  Samples of pupils’ work were scrutinised. The school’s information about pupils’ progress was also checked.  The inspectors spoke to the headteacher, leaders and teachers. A meeting was held with the chair of the trustees and a governor. There was also a formal discussion with a group of pupils and various informal discussions with pupils during breaktimes and in lessons.  The inspectors took account of the 18 responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for parents, and the 13 responses to the questionnaire for staff.  Documentation, policies and all aspects of the school’s work were checked for compliance with the independent school standards.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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