Al Jamiah Al Islamiyyah

Mount St Joseph’s Convent, Willows Lane, Deane, Bolton, Lancashire BL3 4HF

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Main inspection findings

Part 2. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils Paragraphs 5, 5(a), 5(b), 5(b)(i), 5(b)(ii), 5(b)(iii), 5(b)(iv), 5(b)(v), 5(b)(vi), 5(b)(vii), 5(c), 5(d), 5(d)(i), 5(d)(ii) and 5(d)(iii)  The school’s approach to developing pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is set out in a detailed policy. This includes examples of possible approaches in different subjects of the curriculum. In addition, pupils are provided with wider experiences which develop their knowledge of others and of their place in society. For example, pupils of different ages explained how they have visited places of worship of different religions and reflected on how practice they saw there compares with Islamic prayer.  The school’s Islamic ethos ensures that pupils’ spiritual development is within a firm faith context. Pupils take part in regular prayer and build further faith insights during

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Main inspection findings

the teaching of the Islamic curriculum and, where appropriate, in other school activities.  The school has long-standing commitments to making a difference in the local community. Pupils take part in activities including, for example, tidying litter and raising money for children’s health charities. In addition, leaders arrange for pupils to make regular contributions to a local food bank. Activities such as these mean that pupils understand, and act on, their responsibility to help others.  Leaders have established a policy to ensure that balance is maintained if pupils are exposed to partisan political views. This policy is based on nationally available guidance. When there are key political events, such as general elections, the school provides opportunities for pupils to have their own vote through a fair process.  Despite recent changes in the school’s leadership arrangements and the challenges

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Main inspection findings

leaders have faced around the trustee arrangements, pupils are positive about their experiences in school. The school is calm and purposeful, with pupils demonstrating that they know how to conduct themselves well and that they are able to distinguish between right and wrong.  The standards in this part are met by the school. Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils Paragraphs 7, 7(a) and 7(b)  The school’s safeguarding policy is published on its website. This policy is based on the national guidance, ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’, published in 2016. The school’s pre-planned annual cycle means that this policy is not scheduled to be updated until November 2018. In the meantime, staff have benefited from detailed training on the revised national guidance, published in September 2018. This training has ensured that members of staff are fully up to date in their knowledge of safeguarding. It has also has given them the confidence they need to protect pupils.

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Main inspection findings

 The recent training for staff was provided by a consultant with relevant skills and experience. As well as providing training, he is supporting leaders in ensuring that the school’s safeguarding arrangements are not limited to meeting requirements but provide the very best approaches to protecting pupils. For example, leaders have introduced a revised form to collect more precise details in references on new members of staff. In addition, they are adding extra, non-statutory information to the school’s record of employment checks on staff to make it easier to keep track of staff training about safeguarding.  There have been no safeguarding referrals to the local authority since the previous inspection. However, leaders and other members of staff know what they are required to do should a safeguarding risk be identified.

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Main inspection findings

Paragraphs 9, 9(a), 9(b) and 10  The school has clear policies about the management of pupils’ behaviour and bullying. These set out the school’s high expectations for pupils and staff.  Leaders revised the school’s behaviour management policy for the start of this school year. This followed a successful pilot of the new approaches towards the end of the previous year. The revisions mean that the rewards staff are expected to use to encourage good behaviour and the consequences that follow any poor behaviour are set out in a way that makes it easier for staff to be consistent. Leaders intend to further extend this consistency by adopting the same approach in the school’s boarding provision.  The systems for recording and analysing any incidents of bullying or other serious misbehaviour are well organised. The records show that there have been no incidents of bullying and very few incidents of other poor behaviour since the start of this

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Main inspection findings

school year. Such incidents have all been of low-level misbehaviour.  The pupils spoken with said that behaviour in the school is good. Pupils’ conduct seen during this inspection was very positive. Pupils are friendly and polite, and express genuine concern for the feelings and well-being of others. Pupils also said that any incidents of bullying are very infrequent. They know whom to approach for help, if needed, and have confidence that any concerns they may have will be resolved by staff. Relationships between pupils and teachers are strong and demonstrate high levels of respect for each other. Pupils trust staff and say that they are fair.  The standards in this part that were checked during this inspection are met by the school. Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools Paragraphs 34(1), 34(1)(a), 34(1)(b) and 34(1)(c)  Leaders, including trustees, demonstrate a determination to ensure that the school

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Main inspection findings

offers the best possible education and that requirements, including the independent school standards (ISS), continue to be met. They have engaged a consultant to provide an external view on the quality of education provided, and training for leaders and staff about school effectiveness. So far this term, sessions have been completed on teaching and learning, and leadership. A training session for trustees about how they can ensure that the school continues to meet the ISS was due to take place on the day of this inspection; this was deferred to more easily allow trustees to take part in the inspection. This training is part of a continuing programme to help trustees to hone their skills and sharpen their impact.  It is too early to determine the impact of the current training programme on the success of pupils. However, since the previous inspection, the already established pattern of improvement in the school has continued. For example, the school’s own

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Main inspection findings

data about pupils’ GCSE results in 2018 indicates that, once again, the proportion of pupils gaining five or more strong passes at GCSE increased when compared with the previous year.  While not required by the regulatory authority, leaders have produced an action plan which sets out the school’s response to the areas for improvement identified in the previous inspection. This plan identifies suitable actions to be taken, although has less detail concerning responsibilities, costings and timescales for those actions. In addition, some criteria for judging the success of actions lack precision. Leaders intend to strengthen their plan to take account of the responsibilities of the new headteacher for secular education.  Leaders have ensured that the school has a comprehensive set of policies. These include the policies specifically required by the ISS as well as others concerning aspects such as staff behaviour and conduct, and whistleblowing. Staff are aware of

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Main inspection findings

the policies available.  Leaders consider that the impact of the dispute between past and current trustees identified during the previous inspection has reduced. Towards the end of the last school year, leaders made pupils aware of their concerns that some members of the school community may not be working to support the aims and success of the school. The pupils spoken with during the inspection did not identify any concerns about such matters. They said that they were happy at school. One pupil’s description of the school as ‘his home’ summed up the positive views shared.  The standards in the other parts of the ISS checked in this inspection, including those concerning pupils’ welfare, are met by the school.  The standards in this part are met by the school.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements that were checked during this inspection. Not all of the standards and associated requirements were checked during this inspection.

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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

Independent Islamic faith school Independent Islamic faith school

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School details

School status Independent boarding school

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School details

Of which, number on roll in sixth form 58

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School details

Proprietor Trustees of the Al-Jamiatul Islamiyah Darul Uloom, Lancashire, UK Chair Ismail Mohammed Ali

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School details

Headteacher Ismail Kala (Headteacher, secular education) Suhail Master (Headteacher, Islamic education) Annual fees (day pupils) £1,650

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School details

Email address darululoombolton@yahoo.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous standard inspection 17–19 April and 1 May 2018

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Information about this school

 Al Jamiatul Islamiyah was established in 1995 and is an independent boys’ day and boarding school with a clear Islamic ethos and religious purpose. Almost all pupils speak English as an additional language. The majority are British Muslims of Bangladeshi or Pakistani heritage, although some attend the school from other European countries.  The school’s stated mission is ‘to motivate, inspire, educate and rekindle the spark within the hearts of those youth who are growing up within this country. It aims to provide both religious and secular education to Muslims in an environment which is conducive to their learning and spiritual being.’  Leadership of the faith and secular education in the school is separate. A new headteacher for secular education was appointed at the start of this school year.  The curriculum comprises Islamic studies, which are taught in the morning, and a secular curriculum, taught in the afternoon. The Islamic curriculum includes Koranic

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Information about this school

exegesis, Koranic memorisation, Arabic literature, hadith, theology and jurisprudence as well as the study of Arabic. The secular curriculum is taught in English.  Sixth-form students are registered as part-time students at Bolton College. They receive secular education in vocational subjects at the college. The quality of this provision is inspected by Ofsted as part of inspection of the college.  Currently, there are no pupils at the school with an education, health and care plan.  The charitable trust linked to the school, Al-Jamiatul Islamiyah Darul Uloom, Lancashire UK, has served as proprietor since the school opened. However, at the time of the inspection, the name of the proprietor published online in ‘Get information about schools’, the Department for Education’s public record of school details, was different. This was recorded as ‘Trustees of Islamic Institute O’.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was commissioned by the Department for Education in response to a complaint received by it.  The inspection was conducted with no prior notice to the school.  The inspector held meetings with the headteachers for faith and secular education and other leaders. Two of these meetings also included consultants working with the school. The inspector met with three groups of pupils and spoke with others around the school. He also met, individually, with some teachers. He met a group of trustees from the proprietorial body. He observed pupils around the school and toured the outside of the premises. He scrutinised some of the school’s policies, including, among others, those about behaviour, bullying and safeguarding pupils. He examined electronic copies of minutes of trustees’ meetings.

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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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