Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mrs S Anwar-Bleem Principal Iqra Academy Drummond Road Bradford West Yorkshire BD8 8DA

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No formal designation inspection of Iqra Academy

Following my visit with Karine Hendley, Her Majesty’s Inspector, and Ofsted Inspectors Peter Marsh and Natasha Greenough, to your school on 17 April 2018, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave me and the time you took to discuss safeguarding in your school.

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No formal designation inspection of Iqra Academy

This inspection was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for inspecting schools with no formal designation. The inspection was carried out because Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector was concerned about the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements at the school.

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Evidence

Inspectors scrutinised the single central record and other documents relating to safeguarding and child protection arrangements. They scrutinised the local authority audit, minutes of governors’ meetings and attendance records. Inspectors met with the principal, senior and middle leaders, teachers, groups of pupils and parents. A telephone meeting was held with the chair of the governing body.

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Evidence

Having considered the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time:

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Context

The school is much larger than similar schools. It has 653 pupils aged 3 to 11 years old. Most pupils who attend the school are of Asian, Asian British or Pakistani heritage. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is very high compared to the average nationally. The proportion of pupils who require support for their special educational needs and/or disabilities is well above the national average. However, the proportion who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is below average. Around a third of pupils are known to be eligible for support through the pupil premium funding and this is above average. The school converted to become an academy in September 2013, and the predecessor school was judged outstanding at its last inspection in October 2010.

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Safeguarding

You and your leaders and governors place great emphasis on the safety, nurture and care of pupils. Together, you keep safeguarding under regular review and have prioritised work over the last year to improve and develop procedures further. Safeguarding is fit for purpose and enshrined within the culture of the school.

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Safeguarding

Governors ensure that when staff are appointed all the required checks are made and staff are thoroughly vetted to ensure their suitability to work with children. A record of these checks is held centrally within school and is signed and dated in accordance with requirements. The school ensures that all new staff receive a thorough induction to identify pupils who are at risk of neglect or abuse.

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Safeguarding

You provide effective specialist leadership for safeguarding. You are one of a team of three designated safeguarding leaders, and together you ensure that staff are trained, aware of their responsibilities and are vigilant in identifying concerns. School procedures are clear and staff know what they have to do if they have concerns about a child. However, a few staff are confused about how the training is applied in practice using the existing paper-based systems and since the introduction of electronic systems for notifying concerns. Nonetheless, the school are swift in how they respond to concerns, and the reporting systems show that pupils receive timely support to address their needs. The school works effectively with other agencies to ensure that individual pupils and their families receive support.

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Safeguarding

Systems for logging concerns and incidents about pupils’ safety, well-being and behaviour are detailed. They enable senior leaders to analyse patterns and trends and take action to strengthen systems for identifying risks. Individual staff are clear about potential risks to pupils’ safety and welfare within school and in the local community. You have responded to concerns about swimming and around community deprivation and the social and emotional needs of some pupils. You keep these aspects under very close review and look for ways to improve and develop them. For example, staff are quick to identify vulnerable pupils and those in need of a greater level of care and help. Targeted support through breakfast clubs and opportunities for pupils to talk about their feelings, and to self-refer to ‘surgeries’ with a counsellor, are helping to help pupils. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive effective support for their complex

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Safeguarding

needs. Staff are skilled in how they work with children and aware of their needs. Parents and carers are very positive about the help their children receive. For example, in the Busy Bees class, staff are skilled in using language to develop pupils’ social and emotional needs. Some staff told inspectors they were attracted to work at the school and like it because they feel it is community minded and family centred.

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Safeguarding

School values and the importance of pupils’ well-being and learning to be safe and healthy are exemplified in the curriculum and in the way staff and pupils conduct themselves around the school. Risk assessments for activities and trips are extremely detailed and staff comprehensively assess risks and put in place reasonable measures to mitigate them. Pupils who experienced a recent visit to London explained what this meant for them. For example, they knew what to do to keep themselves safe and why they wore high visibility jackets and bracelets with the name of the school. In early years, children are taught effectively how to assess risks for themselves in using play equipment and they are taught how to use wheeled vehicles safely. The orderly play of large numbers of four-year-olds, and considerate drivers of these vehicles, demonstrated the exceptional work that had taken place to support children in learning to stay safe.

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Safeguarding

In discussions with inspectors, key stage 1 and 2 pupils said, ‘We are taught that, in Britain, we value everyone and we all have a responsibility to be kind.’ Expectations of behaviour are clear and consistently implemented. As a result, there are few incidents of poor behaviour. The school site is secure and orderly. Pupils respond to the clear boundaries and routines that are age appropriate and implemented with great consistency by dedicated staff. Pupils are happy and very many are keen to come to school and arrive on time. They are protected and helped to keep themselves safe from bullying, homophobic behaviour and racism. Discriminatory behaviour of any kind is robustly challenged.

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Safeguarding

Pupils told inspectors that they feel safe and there are no areas where they feel unsafe. This is because school leaders and governors have been proactive in identifying and addressing overcrowding. For example, you have introduced different lunch times for pupils in each key stage and this is helping to reduce congestion. The atmosphere in the dining hall is engaging and kitchen staff use the medical information shared with them to provide safe meals to those pupils who are at risk of allergic reactions to specific ingredients. Supervision levels are high at lunch, breaktimes and before and after school and there is always an adult close by when needed. Play is safe and well supported, especially for the youngest children. Older pupils are trained to become playground pals who help any child to find someone to play with or help very young children to cut up their food at lunchtime. They also know how to refer anything they are worried about so that others get

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Safeguarding

help if they have a bump or fall. These actions, together with greater staff involvement in organising games and activities at lunchtime, are helping to reduce the risk of accidents through play.

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Safeguarding

The regular checks and audits that you and governors undertake help you in evaluating how well all safeguarding measures are implemented. For example, you are aware that a few staff know the procedures to follow but are not always sure about how to apply them in particular circumstances. As a result, a focused programme of training is underway to support and deepen the understanding of a very small number of staff. Governors are aware of the congestion as pupils leave the school site. They have worked with the local council to provide a school crossing patrol. Nonetheless, some parents still remain concerned about the safety of their children.

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Priorities for further improvement

 Continue to work with the local authority to address the traffic congestion and the safety of pupils leaving the school premises.  Make sure that all members of staff are fully aware of what safeguarding process and school recording system to follow in all circumstances.

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Priorities for further improvement

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body and the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Bradford. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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