Al Kauthar Girls Academy

New Horizon Community School Newton Hill House, Newton Hill Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS7 4JE

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Inadequate

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The proprietors have not ensured that the independent school standards are met consistently.  Since the previous inspection, the proprietors have been too slow to improve safeguarding arrangements and the quality of education in the school.  Over time, teaching and learning and assessment have not improved. A lack of permanent leadership and expertise in these areas has hindered the pace of improvement.  Leaders have removed personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education from the curriculum. Leaders’ intention to teach PSHE during form time as a replacement has not been implemented.  Pupils’ progress is not monitored effectively. Leaders are unable to demonstrate whether pupils make at least good progress from their starting points.  The proprietors have not ensured that all appropriate checks have been carried out on adults in the school, nor that safe practice for the recruitment of staff is in place.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

Consequently, pupils’ welfare may be at risk.  Most pupils attend school frequently. However, a small minority do not. Declining attendance is not detected or acted on swiftly by leaders.  Leaders do not record pupils’ destinations, so they are unable to confirm whether pupils go on to study courses appropriate to their abilities and aspirations.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Almost all pupils are polite and behave well. Pupils move around the building safely.  Pupils make strong progress in some subjects, including mathematics, computing, history and geography.  The newly appointed acting headteacher and deputy headteacher have begun to make some improvements, for example to the premises and to the monitoring of teaching, learning and assessment.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school must take action to meet the requirements of the schedule to The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 and associated requirements. The details are listed in the full report.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of leadership and management by: – developing leaders’ knowledge so that they understand the requirements set out in the independent school standards – evaluating the quality of education in the school and setting appropriate, timely and measurable actions for school improvement – implementing an appropriate scheme of work for PSHE so that all pupils have appropriate education in these subjects – improving the quality of schemes of work across the curriculum so that they are suitable for the needs of all pupils – further developing a framework for assessment so that the progress pupils make from their starting points can be carefully checked – developing systems of quality-assurance so that leaders and teachers are held to account for pupils’ progress – allocating sufficient time in school for leaders to carry out their roles effectively.  Further develop and improve the quality of teaching learning and assessment by:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– sharing information about pupils’ progress and needs with teachers so that they can plan more precisely to meet the needs of all pupils – ensuring that teaching is consistently strong across the curriculum – developing teachers’ skills so that they ask appropriate questions to assess and deepen pupils’ knowledge and understanding – providing appropriate opportunities for pupils to apply their learning and make better progress, particularly in English and science.  Improve pupils’ attendance so that it is at least in line with the national average.  Ensure safeguarding arrangements are effective by: – training all staff in line with the latest guidance from the government – following safer recruitment practices and carrying out all appropriate checks on adults before they begin working in the school – keeping concise and detailed records relating to safeguarding, ensuring that appropriate action is taken in response to any reports of concern.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 The school must meet the independent school standards, as set out in the annex of this report.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 The proprietors have not ensured that leaders and managers of the school have sufficient knowledge, expertise and, in some cases, time to improve the school. The proprietors and school leaders do not ensure that the independent school standards are met consistently. This is because they do not have a full understanding of them. For example, at the beginning of the inspection the admissions register and the complaints policy did not meet the standards.  Since the previous inspection in March 2017, the proprietors have been too slow to take action to improve the school. Safeguarding arrangements remain ineffective and teaching, learning and outcomes have not improved sufficiently.  A new acting headteacher was appointed in July 2018 and an internal promotion of a teacher to deputy headteacher took place in October 2018. A number of teaching staff have left and been replaced. The new leaders have begun to improve some aspects of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

the school.  Pupils’ welfare is at risk because leaders do not ensure that all appropriate checks are carried out on adults working with pupils in the school. This remains an issue from the previous inspection.  Leaders have not evaluated the quality of education in the school, nor have they produced an action plan for improvement. Leaders do not analyse information well. For example, the information they have relating to pupils’ attendance and behaviour is not routinely reviewed. Consequently, they are unable to spot patterns of concern or identify how they will make improvements.  The assessment framework is under development. Leaders do not currently ensure that teachers have access to the information they need to plan learning that meets the needs of all pupils. Leaders are unaware of pupils’ starting points. A formal assessment was carried out at the end of the previous academic year for all pupils, and this is now a

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

baseline measure. Information from the most recent assessments, which took place in December, has not been analysed or compared to the baseline, so leaders cannot confidently say how well pupils are progressing.  The deputy headteacher has strong knowledge and experience and has clear ideas for how she will improve the school. For example, she is now ensuring that staff share their curriculum planning with her so that she can check the quality.  Leaders’ ability to implement improvements is restricted by the time available to them to fulfil leadership duties. Many of their ideas have not been put into action and there is little evidence of the impact of actions taken so far to improve the school.  Leaders are keen to make improvements. The headteacher’s focus on improving the premises in his first term at the school means that the premises standards are now all met. Regular health and safety checks ensure that the premises are a safe environment

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

for pupils to learn.  Communication with parents is improving. Letters sent home show that parents are receiving more information and that leaders are listening to their feedback and taking actions in response to this.  Currently, PSHE has been removed from the timetable. However, on the whole, pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Through previous PSHE lessons, citizenship lessons and form time, pupils have an opportunity to learn about different cultures, races and religions. Pupils are aware of democracy and the rule of law and are keen to become active members of British society. Leaders are aware of the need to ensure that an appropriate programme of PSHE is in place.

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Governance

 Proprietors have been too slow to take action to improve the quality of education in the school.  The proprietors have not given the deputy headteacher sufficient time to fulfil the requirements of her role. As a result, she is unable to implement much-needed plans for improvement.  Minutes from governors’ meetings show that proprietors and governors discuss issues relating to finance, the premises and staffing. There is limited evidence that safeguarding, teaching, learning and assessment or pupils’ progress and outcomes are considered.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.  The proprietors have ensured that there is a safeguarding policy in place. However, it is not up-to-date with the latest government guidance. Key updates, such as information on dealing with sexual violence, are missing from the policy. The safeguarding policy that has been shared with staff is not the same as the policy that is available on the school’s website.  The proprietors ensure that there is a trained designated safeguarding lead in the school at all times. However, the safeguarding leads lack the knowledge, understanding and, in one case, time to carry out the role effectively.  Staff have received safeguarding training related to the ‘Prevent’ duty and female genital mutilation. Not all staff have recently had broader safeguarding training and staff have not read part one of the statutory guidance document ‘Keeping Children Safe in

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Safeguarding

Education’ (2018).  Safeguarding records are poor. Incomplete records were shared with inspectors. For example, an initial concern about a pupil was not logged and there was no information about follow-up activity or communication with parents.  At the time of the inspection, a new member of staff was in employment and teaching at the school prior to the receipt of appropriate references and checks. Safer recruitment practices are not well understood by leaders and, therefore, they do not implement them appropriately.  The majority of pupils say that they feel safe in school and have a member of staff that they can seek help and support from if needed. However, a small minority of pupils said that they would not approach a member of staff and would keep concerns to themselves.  The premises are secure and safe. Appropriate external lighting is now in place and working, the outside space has been improved and fire exits are now kept clear.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 In some lessons, teachers do not plan learning that meets the needs of all pupils. Consequently, pupils, particularly those who are the most able, do not make the progress of which they are capable.  Curriculum documents are brief and do not demonstrate how the curriculum meets the needs of all pupils.  In some lessons, the teacher’s lack of direction, or poor clarity of instruction, slows pupils’ learning. When teachers ask appropriate questions, pupils respond well, but this is not consistent across subject areas.  Pupils’ books show that they record information and acquire knowledge in different subjects. In some subjects, such as English and science, there is insufficient opportunity for pupils to apply their learning and consolidate their understanding.  The quality of teaching across the curriculum is variable. Where teaching is stronger, pupils make better progress, show interest in their learning and try hard, for example in

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

mathematics and history.  Most pupils are confident and self-assured and want to learn. Pupils follow instructions well and offer answers to questions asked by teachers. However, the quality of questioning between subjects is inconsistent.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate.  Leaders have failed to make all appropriate checks on adults working with pupils and so pupils’ welfare may be at risk.  Pupils have not been taught PSHE lessons this term because they have been removed from the timetable. Leaders intend that PSHE will be taught during form time, but there is no plan in place for this.  Some pupils say that they are not confident to seek advice or support from their teachers and would resolve difficulties themselves or keep issues to themselves.  Most pupils are confident and self-assured. During the inspection, they were keen to speak with inspectors and share their perspectives on the school.  Pupils say, and school records show, that bullying is rare. One pupil said, ‘We are all friends here.’

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  The vast majority of pupils are polite, respectful to visitors and conduct themselves well during the school day.  Pupils behave well in most lessons. Where pupils are challenged most effectively in their learning, their behaviour is good. Behaviour records show that since the beginning of this academic year, the number of behaviour incidents has decreased following the introduction of ‘behaviour books’ for monitoring pupils’ behaviour.  The school environment is bright and welcoming. Pupils take care of the school and there is very little litter.  Most pupils attend well, but some pupils do not. It is too soon to see the impact of the recent introduction of a reward strategy to encourage pupils to improve their attendance.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Most pupils attain GCSE qualifications that enable them to progress to college. However, leaders do not track or analyse this information well, so cannot say whether pupils’ attainment represents good progress or whether college destinations match pupils’ abilities or aspirations.  The quality of work in pupils’ workbooks is inconsistent. In some subjects, such as mathematics, computing and history, pupils make strong progress. Work shows that pupils have the opportunity to apply their learning and learn from their mistakes. In other subjects, such as English and science, pupils do not make good progress because work is frequently too easy for them.  Pupils make use of the library in school and take the opportunity to borrow books. Pupils sometimes read to an adult, and this helps them to develop their literacy skills. Leaders agree that there is further work to do to ensure that pupils read books that challenge

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

them and develop their comprehension skills.  Pupils have the opportunity to study a wide range of subjects to GCSE, including English language and literature, biology, chemistry, physics, Arabic, Urdu, history, geography, religious studies and art.  Pupils’ work in books is typically well presented and pupils take pride in their work.

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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

Proprietor Parviz Hussain, Ejaz Hussain, Zulfiqar Ahmed, Jamil Ahmed, Rasheed Ali, Shazad Ilyas Chair Shazad Ilyas

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School details

Email address info@newhorizonschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 21 to 23 March 2017

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Information about this school

 New Horizon Community School is an independent day school for girls aged between 11 and 16. The school has an Islamic character.  Since the previous inspection, a new acting headteacher has been appointed and a deputy headteacher has been appointed internally. A number of teaching staff have left and some have been replaced.  The previous full standard inspection took place in March 2017, and the school’s overall effectiveness was judged to be inadequate. Two progress monitoring inspections have since taken place, the first in November 2017 and the second in June 2018. At both of these inspections, the school was judged not to be meeting all of the standards that were checked at the inspections.  The school is registered to admit up to 100 pupils.  There are no pupils currently on roll who have an education, health and care plan.  The school does not make use of any alternative education provision.

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Information about this school

 The headteacher named on the Department for Education’s ‘Get information about schools’ website is no longer the headteacher at the school.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection took place over two and a half days with half a day of notice.  During this inspection, inspectors toured the school inside and out. They met with two proprietors who are also governors, the acting headteacher and deputy headteacher, members of staff and pupils. Inspectors reviewed policies and documents associated with safeguarding and with the independent school standards.  There were no responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and no responses to the staff or pupils’ questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Debbie Redshaw, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

 2(1) The standard in this paragraph is met if  – 2(1)(b)(i) take into account the ages, aptitudes and needs of all pupils, including those pupils with an EHC plan; and  2(2) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(1)(a), the matters are  – 2(2)(d) personal, social, health and economic education which  – 2(2)(d)(i) reflects the school’s aim and ethos; and – 2(2)(d)(ii) encourages respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the 2010 Act[9]; – 2(2)(e) for pupils receiving secondary education, access to accurate, up-to-date careers guidance that  – 2(2)(e)(i) is presented in an impartial manner; – 2(2)(e)(ii) enables them to make informed choices about a broad range of career options; and – 2(2)(e)(iii) helps to encourage them to fulfil their potential.  3 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that the teaching at the school  – 3(a) enables pupils to acquire new knowledge and make good progress according to

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

their ability so that they increase their understanding and develop their skills in the subjects taught; – 3(c) involves well-planned lessons and effective teaching methods, activities and management of class time; – 3(d) shows a good understanding of the aptitudes, needs and prior attainments of the pupils, and ensures that these are taken into account in the planning of lessons; – 3(f) utilises effectively classroom resources of a good quality, quantity and range; – 3(g) demonstrates that a framework is in place to assess pupils’ work regularly and thoroughly and use information from that assessment to plan teaching so that pupils can progress;  4 The standard in this paragraph is met where the proprietor ensures that a framework for pupil performance to be evaluated, by reference to the school’s own aims as provided to parents or national norms, or to both, is in place.

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

 7 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that  – 7(a) arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school; and – 7(b) such arrangements have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State.  16 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that  – 16(a) the welfare of pupils at the school is safeguarded and promoted by the drawing up and effective implementation of a written risk assessment policy.

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Part 4. Suitability of staff, supply staff, and proprietors

 18(2) The standard in this paragraph is met if  – 18(2)(b) no such person carries out work, or intends to carry out work, at the school in contravention of a prohibition order, an interim prohibition order, or any direction made under section 128 of the 2008 Act or section 142 of the 2002 Act, or any disqualification, prohibition or restriction which takes effect as if contained in either such direction; – 18(2)(e) in the case of any person for whom, by reason of that person living or having lived outside the United Kingdom, obtaining such a certificate is not sufficient to establish the person’s suitability to work in a school, such further checks are made as the proprietor considers appropriate, having regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State; and  18(3) The checks referred to in sub-paragraphs (2)(c) and (except where sub-paragraph (4) applies) (2)(e) must be completed before a person’s appointment.

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Part 4. Suitability of staff, supply staff, and proprietors

 21(3) The information referred to in this sub-paragraph is  – 21(3)(a)(iii) a check was made to establish whether S is subject to any direction made under section 128 of the 2008 Act or section 142 of the 2002 Act or any disqualification, prohibition or restriction which takes effect as if contained in such a direction; – 21(3)(a)(viii) checks were made pursuant to paragraph 18(2)(e).

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Part 6. Provision of information

 32(1) The standard about the provision of information by the school is met if the proprietor ensures that  – 32(1)(b) the information specified in sub-paragraph (3) is made available to parents of pupils and parents of prospective pupils and, on request, to the Chief Inspector, the Secretary of State or an independent inspectorate;  32(3) The information specified in this sub-paragraph is  – 32(3)(b) particulars of educational and welfare provision for pupils with EHC plans and pupils for whom English is an additional language; – 32(3)(e) particulars of the school’s academic performance during the preceding school year, including the results of any public examinations.

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

 34(1) The standard about the quality of leadership and management is met if the proprietor ensures that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school  – 34(1)(a) demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently; – 34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently; and – 34(1)(c) actively promote the well-being of pupils.

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

 Schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010 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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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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