Olive High

Olive High Ltd 63a Colne Road, Burnley, Lancashire BB10 1LJ

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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 Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The proprietor’s vision of providing an outstanding education and inspiring pupils to leave this school with the highest of hopes and ambitions is embraced by all governors, staff and parents and carers.  Governors and leaders have rapidly transformed an empty building into a thriving school where pupils are happy, safe and keen to learn. They have been rigorous in ensuring that the school meets the independent school standards.  Pupils’ personal development is at the heart of their education. Already, the promotion of pupils’ spiritual, moral, cultural and social development is excellent.  Pupils’ excellent attitudes to learning and personal development ensure that their behaviour is outstanding.  Pupils feel safe and well looked after. Leaders have created a genuinely caring culture, leading to excellent provision for pupils’ welfare and safeguarding.  Leaders have ensured that the curriculum is broad, balanced and engaging. The additional

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

experiences and opportunities pupils have are extensive, varied and rich.  Leaders have instilled high expectations in pupils to achieve well, and in teachers to teach well. Good teaching and pupils’ excellent attitudes ensure that pupils make at least good progress. Teachers are developing the skills they require to evaluate accurately the progress made by their pupils.  Leaders have rapidly developed a wide range of systems to support school evaluation, planning and the tracking of pupils’ progress. Currently, their evaluations lack rigour because they do not focus sufficiently on the effect of the school’s work on pupils’ outcomes. Similarly, their evaluations of how well pupils are progressing do not yet take sufficient account of the rates of progress that pupils make nationally.

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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?

 Raise achievement by: – leaders continuing to refine the accuracy with which they track the progress pupils make – leaders using this information to help them accurately evaluate the progress pupils make and the quality of teaching, while bearing in mind the rates of progress pupils make nationally – teachers using this information to evaluate how well their pupils are learning and act promptly when they identify a pupil is underachieving.  Increase the rigour with which school leaders evaluate all aspects of their work, with a greater use of pupils’ achievements and their personal development.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Parents and staff alike wholeheartedly subscribe to the proprietor’s clear vision of providing local, high-quality secondary education for Muslim girls. He seeks to inspire girls to achieve great success in their futures, both professionally and personally.  School leaders have created a culture in which girls thrive. Leaders believe that for their pupils to be highly successful beyond school, their personal development is as important as their academic development. So, they systematically seek to provide a diverse and extensive range of enriching opportunities, as well as a broad and balanced curriculum. Pupils speak excitedly about the experiences they have. For some, sport is really important. Others are enthused by the opportunities to express themselves through drama. Importantly, school leaders seek opportunities that inspire all pupils.  The school’s ethos is instrumental in promoting pupils’ excellent personal development.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

Pupils adopt the highest of moral codes, which they use to guide them through everyday decisions and when making critical life choices. Pupils have the confidence to express themselves when they perceive an injustice. School leaders systematically broaden pupils’ cultural experiences through a diverse range of opportunities. These have included simple interaction with small farm animals brought to the school, and a visit to the House of Commons organised by the community’s Member of Parliament.  Pupils are spiritual and reflective. They have an excellent understanding of the world’s great religions, their beliefs, similarities and differences. Pupils are happy, enthusiastic and social. The school ensures that its pupils have a very good understanding of people identified as having protected characteristics. The girls of Olive High are respectful and tolerant, and are building an excellent foundation from which they can go on to make full

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

and positive contributions to their communities and far beyond.  Leaders are developing systems to enable them to evaluate how well the school is performing and, based on these evaluations, to plan for further improvement. They have made a good start in tracking the progress pupils make in different subjects. The accuracy of this system is currently dependent on the accuracy of teachers’ assessments. Leaders have identified this as an aspect that requires further investigation and staff training. Within the programme of training events planned for this term, are several sessions on moderating teachers’ evaluations supported by teachers from other schools. Currently, leaders do not have sufficiently accurate information about the progress pupils make. Consequently, they are not able to make robust and accurate evaluations on how well the school is performing. The lack of this secure information is also limiting the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

precision of leaders’ evaluations on the impact of a wide range of developments on the outcomes for pupils.  Leaders have a comprehensive training plan for all staff in the school. In the first two terms, training focused mainly on the safeguarding and safety of pupils, equality and diversity and mental health. The programme for the current term extends training to improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Governors and leaders have suitable systems in place to appraise the performance of staff.  Parents say they find it easy to communicate with governors, the proprietor and other members of staff. School leaders are keen to help parents get involved with their children’s education. The principal thrust of this is by providing homework to pupils through which parents can support their child.  Leaders have ensured that they meet all of the independent school standards, including making the school’s compliant safeguarding policy easily available on the school’s website.

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Governance

 The small group of governors provide a vital function in guiding the proprietor and senior leadership team. They ensure that developments remain consistent with the school’s ethos and aspirations. Governors maintain good communication links with parents enabling them to voice their views of the school. To date, these have always been positive.  Governors have a good range of skills and expertise, which they give freely to the school. They find a good balance between supporting senior leaders and holding them to account.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  All staff, and senior leaders in particular, are well trained in safeguarding children. All staff are highly tuned to the potential dangers their pupils could face and all know how they should respond if they have any concerns about a pupil. Despite the school not yet having cause to inform other agencies regarding concerns about a pupil’s welfare, school leaders have established good links with these agencies.  Olive High pupils have a strong sense of justice and are profoundly caring of each other. These qualities ensure that pupils would speak to a trusted adult if they had concerns about another pupil or indeed if they themselves felt threatened. This is a critical aspect to ensuring that pupils remain safe.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Pupils find lessons are engaging because teachers introduce a variety of stimulating learning activities. These range from role play to practical science work. Teachers are well qualified and they use their strong subject knowledge to deepen pupils’ understanding through good questioning.  In mathematics, the teacher ensures that there are a variety of tasks. Some help to reinforce pupils’ prior learning, other activities help pupils apply their knowledge in practical, problem-solving situations. Pupils are required to explain the reasoning behind their answers. The most able pupils are pushed to attain well by giving them work normally undertaken by older pupils.  While the most able pupils are encouraged to excel, pupils who have low starting points are given very good support to improve. In the main, this support takes two forms. In class, a well-qualified and highly effective teaching assistant gives support and guidance

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

to pupils who need it. Individual pupils may also have additional support outside the classroom.  Teachers have yet to develop fully the skills and knowledge they need to assess accurately how well their pupils are progressing. Without this precise information, teachers are not able to make consistently accurate decisions on whether pupils are making the progress of which they are capable or spot when they start to underachieve. In addition, teachers are not able to give leaders the secure information they need to have an accurate understanding of how well pupils are achieving and the school is performing.  Teachers set homework according to the school’s policy. Pupils take this aspect of their work very seriously and strive to do as well with their homework as they do with their class work.  In Olive High, classrooms are happy industrious places. There is a buzz generated by pupils’ enthusiasm to achieve as well as they can. Teachers are dedicated to their task of

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

guiding pupils to eventually attaining high levels of examination success.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  Pupils feel very safe within the school environment because they see staff caring for them and they know pupils care for each other. Leaders strive to promote pupils’ high levels of mental and physical health. Leaders achieve such excellent pupils’ welfare through some very practical procedures to ensure that the school’s caring and supportive ethos pervades all that they do.  Pupils know they can consult with staff if they are wrestling with a worry. One member of staff, who has had extensive experience in supporting teenage children, is often the first person the pupils turn to when they want to seek guidance. Leaders have ensured that this member of staff is easily available to pupils throughout the day and after school. Pupils really value the guidance they receive which, to them, may appear as nothing more

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Personal development and welfare

than a simple chat.  Bullying does not exist in the school because pupils would not tolerate it. Bullying would contravene their high moral code and, if they perceived such a thing, pupils would address it sensitively and productively. Pupils are taught how to be safe in a wide range of situations. These include when using computers and when out and about in their communities.  The breadth of experience the pupils receive through opportunities and experiences beyond the classroom is extensive. They raise money for local charities and have visited people in a local hospice. Pupils celebrate significant historical events, such as the centenary of women’s suffrage. They combined with other faith groups to acknowledge Armistice Day. Leaders have ensured that they raise girls’ aspirations about their future careers by promoting the stories of successful women and inviting inspiring speakers to the school. Pupils have visited places of work, including the main rescue and police

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Personal development and welfare

services. Pupils undertake a series of responsibilities to promote their leadership skills. School leaders chose these activities carefully to ensure that pupils’ personal development is outstanding.  As pupils’ experiences increase, so does their confidence. Pupils say they are now much more prepared to express their opinions. In subjects such as citizenship, pupils are encouraged to think deeply about challenging questions and then to express their opinions sensitively, knowing that others might disagree.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  Pupils instinctively behave well throughout the school. Pupils move around the school calmly and are respectful to others, but are not deferential. They are developing self- respect and skills in how to engage positively with a diverse range of people from different backgrounds and age groups.  Pupils’ attitudes to learning are exemplary. They take pride in their work and are industrious, not because their teacher tells them to, but because they are very keen to learn. There is no distracting behaviour in lessons. Pupils take pleasure in their own successes and the successes of others.  Pupils are very keen to attend school and only have time off when there is no alternative. They are always punctual to school and to lessons.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 An examination of pupils’ work demonstrates pupils have made good progress since the school opened in September 2017. Pupils with different levels of prior learning make equally good progress.  The progress they have made in English is particularly strong and some pupils are attaining levels in English that would be consistent with the work of pupils one or perhaps two years older. However, school leaders are aware that levels of literacy were generally not strong across the whole cohort of entrants last September. They have introduced different systems to enable pupils who have weak literacy skills to catch up. This includes one-to-one basic literacy coaching and extended opportunities for pupils to read to an adult.  Although not as strong as in English, pupils make good progress in mathematics, science and their other subjects. In these subjects, the school has a clear understanding of the units of learning pupils have to complete by the end of Year 9. After two terms in Year 7,

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Outcomes for pupils Good

pupils have made a good start and have securely grasped the concepts they have already covered.  This good start to pupils’ secondary education and their excellent attitudes to learning prepare them well for successfully continuing their education in the future.

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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 Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Olive High Ltd is an independent school for girls aged 11 to 16 years old, situated in the Duke Bar area of Burnley. It opened to pupils in September 2017. Currently, there are 18 girls in Year 7.  The school operates from a building which has been recently renovated. A separate nursery school shares the building.  The school has an Islamic faith ethos. Its curriculum is secular.  This is the school’s first inspection since opening.  The school does not use alternative providers.  No pupil who has special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities currently attends the school.

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Information about this inspection

 Throughout the inspection, the inspector worked closely with the proprietor, vice-principal and headteacher. He spoke with all governors.  The inspector talked with pupils during their social time. The inspector spoke with two teachers. He took account of seven questionnaires completed by staff for the inspection. He also spoke with parents of three pupils. There were too few parental responses made to Parent View for the inspector to consider.  School documents were scrutinised including safeguarding checks, information about pupils’ achievement and records of checks on the quality of teaching.  The inspector visited classrooms to speak with pupils, look at their work and observe their learning. Together with the headteacher, the inspector looked at pupils’ work, which captured their learning over time.  Senior leaders were party to all of the inspection activities.

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Inspection team

Neil Mackenzie, lead inspector 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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