Jamiatul Ummah School

Jamiatul Ummah School 56 Bigland Street, Shadwell, London E1 2ND

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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 Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Inadequate

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Strong and principled leadership has led to rapid improvement since the previous inspection.  Leaders and governors ensure that the school meets the requirements of the independent school standards.  Leaders, governors and staff work together effectively to create a strong community that values learning and achievement.  Leaders’ and governors’ commitment to promoting fundamental British values prepares pupils well to take their place in society as British Muslims. As a result, pupils’ personal development is outstanding.  Pupils’ achievements are strong. During their time at Jamiatul Ummah, most pupils make considerable progress to deepen their learning.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are especially positive. They are keen to learn and aspirational for their future.  Teaching is mostly effective. Teachers’ high expectations and well-planned activities ensure that pupils enjoy learning new ideas and facts.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 All staff contribute to ensuring that pupils’ welfare, health and safety are at the heart of the school’s work. As a result, the care pupils receive is excellent.  In a few cases, teaching does not stretch the most able pupils enough. As a result, these pupils do not achieve the highest levels in all their subjects.

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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 achievement further so that more pupils, especially the most able, reach the very highest standards by: – ensuring that the school’s assessment procedures are used consistently to stretch and challenge pupils – sharing the most effective practice in classrooms more widely.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Leaders, including governors, are ambitious for the school and its pupils. They have high expectations. Leaders have acted swiftly and decisively on the findings of the previous inspection to establish robust systems and processes. As a result, improvement since the previous inspection is impressive.  Leaders ensure that the school now meets the independent school standards in full. This is a significant improvement because it has required leaders to tackle the school’s administrative arrangements from top to bottom. As well as introducing systems to track pupils’ progress and achievements, leaders have also upgraded the facilities and accommodation, revised policies and developed the curriculum.  Throughout these developments, leaders have maintained the school’s positive culture. Teachers and pupils alike praise the school’s sense of family. Two particular aspects make the school’s culture unique. The first is the secure environment in which pupils are able to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

express themselves and discuss sensitive issues. Second, leaders have maintained the school’s outward-looking approach. They welcome ideas from others while still maintaining the school’s unique identity. This ensures that pupils leave the school as well- rounded young people.  The system to track pupils’ progress provides leaders and teachers with reliable information on which to base their planning. Regular and frequent assessment means that staff know which pupils are not doing as well as they should. This enables staff to provide well-directed extra support, for example through after-school sessions or suitable work in classrooms.  Leaders evaluate the school’s strengths and weaknesses accurately. For example, they identify that the most able pupils should be doing even better and that more should achieve the top grades at GCSE. To tackle this, they are taking effective action to improve assessment further and give pupils clear advice about how to improve their work. This is

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

beginning to have a positive impact although leaders recognise that it remains work in progress.  The procedures for checking the quality of teaching are suitably robust. Leaders collect information from a variety of sources to identify strengths and weaknesses, including classroom observation, checking pupils’ books and the assessment of pupils’ work. This information enables leaders to provide feedback to teachers and support improvements.  The way the curriculum is planned is another significant improvement. All subjects now have thorough plans that set out the programme of work for each class. Significantly, the programmes identify how each subject promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including fundamental British values. For example, work in history on the Holocaust includes references to other human tragedies of the 20th and 21st centuries. A very well-written article by a pupil in the school’s termly newsletter

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

illustrates, extremely effectively, the positive impact of the school’s work to promote fundamental British values.  The curriculum meets pupils’ needs and prepares them thoroughly for the next stage of their education. Leaders are currently reviewing the breadth of the curriculum and plan to extend the opportunities for pupils’ creative education and to introduce an additional foreign language. Nevertheless, the current curriculum provides pupils with the experiences and achievements they need to progress on to post-16 education.  There is a small range of after-school activities that enable some pupils to develop new skills and understanding. However, the variety of trips to places of interest and visitors to the school who represent the local community is wider. For example, pupils visit the House of Commons, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. Visitors to the school include the Mayor of Tower Hamlets. As a result, pupils gain a secure

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

understanding of life in modern Britain.  The personal, social and health education (PSHE) programme and religious education contribute to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Pupils know about the main religious traditions in Britain and show respect and tolerance for those who are different from them, including gender and sexual orientation. The careers education programme for Years 10 and 11, including links with other schools in the locality, prepares pupils well for the future. Talks by previous pupils enhance this provision considerably. Leaders recognise that careers provision will need to extend to Year 9 next year.

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Governance

 Improvements to the arrangements for recruiting and vetting new staff mean that these are effective and meet requirements. Leaders and governors ensure that they carry out all the necessary checks for all staff, governors and the proprietor.  Governors know the school well and understand its strengths and weaknesses accurately. This is because they receive useful information about the school’s performance. They use this information to support leaders and hold them to account for the school’s performance. However, governors do not ask searching questions routinely enough to challenge leaders fully. They work closely with leaders to improve the school, for example in the refurbishment of the accommodation and implementing the new assessment system. In addition, governors are diligent in setting clear targets for the principal.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Improvements to the procedures for safeguarding ensure that pupils are safe and well cared for. The clear procedures to identify those pupils experiencing difficulties ensure that support is available quickly. Leaders have positive relationships with outside agencies, especially Tower Hamlets local authority. They also liaise with other local authorities where appropriate.  Staff are clear about their safeguarding responsibilities. They understand the school’s child protection procedures and also how to refer pupils who they have concerns about. Staff receive regular training and thus keep their understanding up to date and relevant. For example, they have a thorough knowledge of the issues related to radicalisation and extremism, female genital mutilation and forced marriage. This enables staff to prepare pupils effectively for the wider world. Policies are relevant and up to date, and provide

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Safeguarding

helpful guidance for staff, taking into account current government guidance. This, together with leaders’ intimate knowledge of pupils and their families, ensures that safeguarding is a constant focus for all staff.  Leaders ensure that the safeguarding policy is available to parents and carers on the school’s website.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teachers’ knowledge of their subjects is strong and they use it thoughtfully to ensure that work motivates pupils to reach high levels of achievement. For example, many teachers use question and answer sessions to correct pupils’ misconceptions or to deepen learning. Learning activities are well organised and methodical. This enables pupils to build their knowledge in a logical way and deepen their understanding effectively.  Teachers establish classroom routines quickly, enabling learning to take place efficiently. For example, pupils are rarely without the necessary equipment and are diligent in bringing pens, rulers and their homework to school each day.  Relationships between pupils and their teachers are strong and a spur to learning. Pupils recognise teachers’ expertise and, as a result, show them great respect. They trust their teachers and are confident that they will help them to learn well. This enables pupils to

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

make strong progress with their learning.  Teachers have high expectations of pupils and provide clear explanations about what they want them to do. In most cases, teachers set work that challenges pupils to achieve to their level of capability. As a result, nearly all pupils make strong progress to extend their knowledge and deepen their understanding. However, a few of the most able pupils do not make as much progress as they should. This is because the work does not stretch them to the full. These pupils do well but could do even better.  Pupils’ attitudes to work are very positive and they are keen to do well. They are diligent and have high expectations of themselves but retain a sense of humour that helps them to enjoy their work. These positive attitudes have a considerable impact on their learning and enable them to achieve well. The good presentation in pupils’ books shows the pride they take in their work.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Improvements to the school’s assessment practice mean that teachers give pupils precise feedback about how to improve their work with more precision. In many cases, this is having a positive impact on achievement because it enables pupils to take their work to the next level. Similarly, self and peer assessment help pupils improve their work. However, the impact of these approaches is not entirely consistent and some pupils do not use their teachers’ advice as effectively. As a result, a few pupils are not taking the opportunity to stretch themselves fully.  Teachers promote literacy and numeracy well. One of the school’s current initiatives is getting pupils to read more widely. This is proving successful and pupils’ reading skills and appreciation of different types of writing, from poetry to fiction, are improving well. Pupils use their mathematical skills confidently in subjects such as science.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. As a result, pupils develop their personal skills most effectively and receive high-quality care.  The school’s systems to ensure pupils’ welfare are robust. There are clear procedures for identifying pupils who may be vulnerable and for providing support. Close partnerships with parents, as well as teachers’ knowledge of their pupils, ensure that no pupils are missed or left without help. This ensures that staff pick up and act upon concerns quickly.  Pupils’ positive attitudes to school mean that they get the most out of what it has to offer. They respond readily to their teachers and are attentive in class. Even where a few pupils become a little distracted, this does not disrupt learning because the others are involved fully in their work. Strong relationships also contribute to this positive climate for learning.

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Personal development and welfare

 There are no pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. However, staff help pupils to overcome any barriers they may have to learning. For example, they provide extra help to pupils after school and work closely with parents. Consequently, nearly all pupils make strong progress.  Pupils have good opportunities to take responsibility around the school. Pupils are keen to describe the process for being elected to the school council or as a prefect. Those pupils spoken to were clear that the school council played an important role in helping leaders develop the school’s provision. For example, pupils said that they have asked leaders for a wider range of after-school activities.  Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe. They know about online safety and have a clear understanding of how to avoid difficulties on the streets to and from school. The school is vigilant about raising issues related to radicalisation and extremism, and boys

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Personal development and welfare

speak sensibly about the dangers of online grooming. The PSHE programme and assemblies ensure that a range of questions, related to bullying, racism and British values, are properly considered by pupils.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  Pupils’ conduct in classrooms and around the school is excellent. They are polite, courteous and welcoming to visitors. Pupils need little encouragement from their teachers to get to lessons on time but, if they are a little slow, they respond quickly to instructions. Break and lunchtimes are well organised and managed, ensuring that there is a calm and respectful atmosphere around the school.  Attendance is above that for other schools in England and continues to improve each year. This is partly because the school has well-managed procedures for recording and following up absence. However, more significantly, the school’s positive culture ensures that pupils enjoy school a great deal and want to learn. As a result, pupils are keen to come to school every day.  Pupils confirm that there is very little, if any, bullying. They are clear that they feel safe in

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Behaviour

school but are also confident that if they were to experience a problem, staff would sort it out very quickly. Evidence from the school’s records show that it deals with the very rare incidents of unacceptable behaviour effectively.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils’ outcomes are strong. When they start school, their achievements are broadly average although there is a range of abilities in each class. As they move through the school, most pupils extend and deepen their learning well to make strong progress. There are, however, a few of the most able pupils who do not make quite as much progress as they should. This is because there is sometimes a lack of challenge to enable these pupils to reach the highest levels.  Pupils’ achievements at GCSE are typically high and have been so for the last four or five years. The school’s assessment information about current pupils shows that they also do well. This is confirmed by the work in pupils’ books, which shows that pupils are tackling increasingly complex work as they move up the school. Their achievements are strong in all their subjects, including English, mathematics and science. Pupils read fluently and use

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Outcomes for pupils Good

a wide range of technical vocabulary well. They have good literacy skills partly as a result of their Arabic studies which give them an appreciation of language.  Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education. When they leave at the end of Year 11, all pupils go on to study at a sixth form, sixth-form college or a further education college.

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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

Email address principal@jamiatulummah.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection October 2014

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Information about this school

 This is an Islamic secondary school for boys. The school is registered for up to 250 pupils; there are currently 163 on roll.  The current headteacher was appointed in February 2016.  The school was last inspected in October 2014 when it was judged to be inadequate. A monitoring inspection in November 2016 judged that the school met the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 and associated requirements.  The school uses no alternative providers.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in lessons across all year groups and subjects. Some of these were jointly observed with school leaders.  Inspectors looked at arrangements at break and lunchtime.  Samples of pupils’ work were scrutinised.  Discussions were held with senior leaders, including governors, subject leaders, new staff and pupils.  A range of documentation and policies were scrutinised including the school’s self- evaluation, records of pupils’ behaviour and attendance, meetings of the governing body, assessment information and school newsletters.  Inspectors scrutinised records relating to the quality of teaching, the school’s website, including information about extra-curricular activities, trips and visits.  Inspectors reviewed records, policies and procedures relating to safeguarding.  There were seven responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents.

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Inspection team

Brian Oppenheim, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Amanda Carter-Fraser Her Majesty’s Inspector 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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Inspection team

Parent View You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

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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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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