Advance Education

Inspection of Advance Education Unit 5, Unimix House, Abbey Road, Park Royal, London NW10 7TR

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children do not get off to a good start in the Reception class. Staff do not have a clear understanding about how children learn. Although many pupils can read well by the end of Year 6, the initial start is slow. This is because staff skills and knowledge for teaching early reading are not strong enough. Pupils’ experience of mathematics is much more consistent.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, staff and parents are proud of their school. They value difference and have developed a clear identity. For example, they take seriously their role to put into practice the words on display around the school, ‘show racism the red card’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils said that they feel safe in school and that staff care about their well-being and welfare. Pupils generally behave well in Years 1 to 6. However, some pupils call out too much and do not listen well enough to what others have to say. Children’s behaviour in Reception is too variable. This is because important routines are not embedded.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils said that bullying does not happen. They know who to talk to if they have any concerns and trust staff to always help them. They value the fact that their teachers are from different faith and cultural backgrounds.

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better?

Children in the Reception year do not make enough progress. While children in the are kept safe and are well cared, expectations of what children can do are not high enough. Children do not spend enough time on learning activities.

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better?

The teaching of early reading is not secure. Some teachers do not have the skills to teach phonics well. Training in teaching phonics has not been effective. Some pupils struggle to remember previous learning and find tasks confusing. However, children are given extra support to help them catch up when the need is identified.

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better?

The majority of pupils become fluent readers by the end of Year 6. However, some teaching does not develop pupils’ reading skills precisely enough. Pupils’ understanding of the meaning of words and phrases is not extended well.

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better?

In mathematics, teachers explain ideas to pupils clearly. They check and provide the right level of support to help pupils learn well. For example, Year 2 pupils used a range of resources to help them read, count and order large numbers. The topics in mathematics are organised well and pupils are quick to recall previous learning. Most pupils achieve well by the end of Year 6.

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better?

Most subjects are taught in sufficient depth. More time has been allocated to science for instance, to teach the planned content properly. Older pupils were able to recall how sound travels through the air and important ideas about river flow. This helped them to build on the next stage in their learning. However, the knowledge in some 12–14 November 2019

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other subjects is not organised well enough to build on what pupils already know or prepare them for future learning. Teachers have not had enough training to develop their knowledge in subjects such as art and physical education. This limits the opportunities that pupils have to develop their wider social and communication skills.

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Leaders have improved the quality of teaching and assessment since the previous inspection. Staff also run clubs after school that pupils thoroughly enjoy, for example cooking, art and a range of sports.

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Leaders and staff are united in their desire to make sure that pupils develop into considerate and well-rounded people. Assemblies, religious education and citizenship, for instance, encourage pupils to discuss different values. Many pupils are quick to give examples of how they can support those who are vulnerable in the wider world. Pupils learn to respect and celebrate differences. Their compassionate views prepare them well for life in modern Britain. However, their behaviour in class is not always good, both in the main school and in the Reception class. This does not help pupils and children learn well.

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The headteacher and trustees took a clear decision to recruit staff from different backgrounds, including different faiths. Parents support this strategy. It promotes the school’s value of diversity and helps pupils to acquire a sound awareness of other faiths and cultures. However, trustees do not hold leaders to account well enough for the quality of education that the school provides. They simply lack the skills and confidence to carry out this critical aspect of their role effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have developed an effective culture for safeguarding pupils. The child protection policy is comprehensive and includes reference to the latest guidance on issues of public concern. Staff receive appropriate training at frequent intervals and are clear about their statutory responsibilities for keeping children safe. Training includes specific reference to the importance of vigilance about signs of abuse, as well as identification of the threats posed by extremism. Where pupils require higher levels of support from external agencies, leaders check that action has been taken.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Staff’s expectations of what Reception Year children can do are low. Leaders need to review provision in the Reception Year. They should consider the amount of time children are engaged in learning activities. Staff should raise their expectations. The curriculum needs to be better designed and sequenced to enable children to achieve the standards they should by the end of the Reception Year. 12–14 November 2019

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 The reading programme is not effective for all pupils. Leaders need to ensure that the teaching of phonics is accurate and consistent. Leaders also need to ensure that teachers teach comprehension skills more precisely through using high- quality texts that extend pupils’ learning.  Leaders need to ensure that all teachers have the skills to be able to implement and deliver a coherently planned curriculum in all subjects. Teachers require further training to develop their subject knowledge in some areas of the curriculum, including art and physical education.  Trustees do not have enough knowledge and understanding about the quality of education that the school provides. Therefore, they are not able to hold school leaders to account effectively. Trustees need training on how to use self- evaluation to ask good questions and offer sharp challenge to school leaders.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 12–14 November 2019

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School details

Website www.advanceeducationcentre-london.co.uk

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School details

Email address advance.education@hotmail.com

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School details

Date of previous inspection 11 July 2019 12–14 November 2019

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Information about this school

 Advance Education is a selective day school with an Islamic ethos. Admission is based on the successful completion of an entry assessment for pupils wishing to join in Years 1 to 6.  There is one Reception class in the early years. In addition to the Reception class, there are six classes, one for each of the year groups from Years 1 to 6.  The school is run by a registered charity, Advance Education. This is also the proprietor body.  The school occupies a self-contained unit on the ground floor of a large, multi- storey commercial office block in the London Borough of Brent. It has access to a small, secure, outdoor play space at the front of the building.  There are no pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).  The school’s first full standard inspection took place in April 2018. There have been two progress monitoring inspections since, in December 2018 and in July 2019. The school was deemed to meet all the independent school standards in its

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection 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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Information about this inspection

The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 We met with the headteacher and members of the senior leadership team, two of whom are full-time class teachers. We also held discussions with two trustees and several class teachers.  We met with the designated leader for safeguarding, looked at records, and scrutinised the school’s safeguarding practice.  We observed pupils’ behaviour throughout the school day and spoke to staff about pupils’ personal development. We also held discussions with three groups of pupils about their views of the quality of education the school provides.  We considered reading, mathematics, humanities (geography and history) and science in depth as part of this inspection. This entailed discussions with senior leaders, teachers and pupils. We also carried out lesson visits across all sections of the school, sometimes jointly with leaders. We scrutinised pupils’ work to gain a view about how much of the curriculum they were learning in the subjects

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Information about this inspection

chosen for inspection. We also looked at two additional subjects on the second day of the inspection, namely physical education and art. 12–14 November 2019

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Inspection team

Nasim Butt, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Gary Rawlings Her Majesty’s Inspector 12–14 November 2019

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to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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