Al-Furqaan Preparatory School

Inspection of Al-Furqaan Preparatory School Drill Hall House, Bath Street, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire WF13 2JR

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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Overall effectiveness Good

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are exceptionally happy, polite and confident. They want to learn. Parents and carers are also overwhelmingly positive about the school. All those who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire would recommend the school to others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers have remarkably high expectations of behaviour. Pupils’ spiritual and moral development is very well considered. Pupils believe that behaviour is exceptional, and that bullying is not an issue. Pupils get to visit lots of interesting places and large numbers of pupils take part in the wide range of clubs that are available.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ learning is well planned so that they achieve well. Some of the planning in the early years is not as good as it could be, which is limiting how well the youngest children get on. Planning for some subjects, such as history and geography, has recently proved to be successful in improving pupils’ knowledge and understanding.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils read well. Phonics is taught effectively, pupils read to adults every day and attendance at the ‘reading enthusiasts’ club is high. Books have been purchased to support learning in lessons but books in the library need updating.

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better?

Teachers plan activities that support pupils in becoming kind, thoughtful and responsible citizens in modern Britain. Much of the day is devoted to promoting pupils’ personal development, for example through Taleem, citizenship, assemblies and personal, social and health education. Pupils are given lots of opportunities to shine and grow in confidence. Young pupils take on roles such as playground buddies. Older pupils lead prayer and perform in front of others. They take on these roles with confidence and pride. During the inspection, a mock general election took place with a visiting local school. This was a high-quality experience for pupils. It gave them the opportunity to listen to a range of opinions and to take on the role of Ministers of Parliament. It was highly effective in promoting fundamental British values and teaching pupils about the democratic process.

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better?

Pupils’ understanding of different types of relationships and beliefs is clear, as is their respect for others. Teachers and teaching assistants act as excellent role models in demonstrating respect, politeness and care. This has helped to forge excellent relationships between adults and pupils. Pupils have the confidence to ask questions. They are not afraid to make mistakes and to seek help if they need it.

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better?

Pupils are respectful and kind to each other. The introduction of the new rewards system has been welcomed by pupils and parents. Parents commented on how they appreciate the excellent communication from the school. They particularly like the online system that keeps them up to date with their child’s behaviour.

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better?

Pupils’ achieve highly in all subjects. Planning ensures that pupils remember what they have learned. Teachers also recap on previous learning to help pupils 10–12 December 2019

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understand new things. Teaching assistants are skilled in helping pupils learn. They are good at supporting pupils who need extra help and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Planning for some subjects, such as history and geography, is new. After speaking to pupils, it is obvious that they are remembering what they have learned. However, this new planning needs careful checking to ensure that it continues to be successful. Teachers ensure that the curriculum is carefully planned to make sure that pupils experience a wide range of topics. Pupils visit museums, art galleries and different places of worship.

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Even the youngest children in Nursery begin to learn to recognise letters, sounds and how to write them. Teachers take every opportunity to help children learn to read, write and do mathematics. Phonics is extremely well taught across the school. The books that pupils read are well matched to their phonics knowledge. Pupils quickly become fluent readers. They love to read. The proprietor has invested in many books which support pupils in learning to read and in their literacy lessons. However, many of the books in the library are old. Teachers are very aware of any pupils who are not doing as well as others and those with SEND. Different strategies are used successfully to help these children, such as individual targets and small- group interventions.

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In Nursery and Reception, children spend a lot of time in adult-led activities, which are well-planned and highly focused on reading, writing and mathematics. Young children achieve very well in these areas. Teachers’ interactions with these young children are excellent. Children do get time to choose activities for themselves. However, these activities are not as well organised or planned as they should be, particularly those that take place outside. This limits children’s learning across other areas of the curriculum.

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Senior leaders have requested that they gain authorisation to accept children from two years old. They have ensured that shared areas and a separate room are available to meet the needs of these younger children. A suitable and private changing area has been installed. Written documentation demonstrates that teachers have considered the needs of these younger children. This includes procedures for intimate care such as nappy changing.

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Senior leaders and governors are passionate about helping pupils become good and knowledgeable citizens. They meet regularly. Through these meetings and regular evaluations, they have ensured that all the independent school standards, the statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage and schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010 are consistently met. Risk assessments are completed every day. However, leaders are not always quick enough at responding to minor issues. All staff who commented said that they felt very well supported by senior leaders. Staff professional development is important, with most staff being involved in some form of training.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 10–12 December 2019

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The previous headteacher remains a full-time member of staff and has taken on the role of designated safeguarding lead (DSL). His knowledge of the school and its pupils helps him to understand the safeguarding needs of these pupils and their families. He is in constant communication with the local authority and staff to make sure everybody is up to date with current safeguarding issues. One of the governors uses his expertise in safeguarding to support the school. The DSL ensures that the safeguarding policy is up to date and that it is available for parents. Recruitment checks on staff are robustly recorded.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Child-initiated activities for children in the early years, particularly in Reception, are not consistently well planned. Children are not learning as well as they could during free-choice times and resources are not being used well to further their learning. Teachers need to ensure that planning for free-choice activities clearly identifies the intended learning, for example introducing key vocabulary, and that the resources are adapted effectively to support this learning.  Senior leaders have ensured that planning for all subjects is sequential. Each topic builds on prior learning across all subjects and a system is in place to gather information about what pupils have remembered. However, planning for foundation subjects is new and leaders need to monitor this to ensure that it continues to be successful in helping pupils to embed knowledge in their long- term memory.  Books in the library do not reflect modern authors and British society today. This

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

restricts pupils’ learning and enjoyment of reading. More up-to-date literature is needed in the school library.  Risk assessments are carried out daily by staff. Issues raised are not always immediately addressed and therefore there is the potential for minor accidents to occur, such as splinters from rough wood. The proprietor needs to identify and address these issues with more urgency.

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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 . 10–12 December 2019

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School details

Unique reference number 131131 DfE registration number 382/6019

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School details

Inspection number 10110719 Type of school Independent Muslim primary school

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School details

Date of previous inspection 19–21 June 2018

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Information about this school

 The school was previously inspected in June 2018 when, following a full standard inspection, its overall effectiveness was judged to require improvement.  The school received a progress monitoring inspection in March 2019 when all the independent school standards were judged to be met.  The school accepts up to 142 pupils from 3 to 11 years.  The school has an Islamic ethos.  The school has two pre-fabricated buildings for Nursery and Reception children. Both are immediately adjacent and on the same secure site as the main school. 10–12 December 2019

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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 has applied to the Department for Education (DfE) to make a ‘material change’ to its registration. At the DfE’s request, we checked whether the school is likely to meet the relevant independent school standards if the DfE decides to approve the change. This part of the inspection was carried out under section 162(4) of the Education Act 2002.

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Information about this inspection

 The DfE asked the inspection team to consider if the school has the capacity to increase numbers on roll by 33 and if it is ready to accept children from two years old. The outcome of this part of the inspection is: The school is likely to meet the relevant independent school standards if the material change relating to the school provision is implemented.  During the inspection, we met with the proprietor, who is also the chair of governors, one other governor and with members of the senior leadership team, including the headteacher.  We had discussions with a lot of pupils, some parents and several staff. The lead inspector also spoke to an external consultant. The views of parents, pupils and staff were also received via Ofsted’s online questionnaires.  We considered in depth pupils’ learning in reading, writing, personal, social and health education (PSHE) and information and communication technology (ICT).

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Information about this inspection

We did this by visiting lessons, looking at pupils’ written work, meeting with pupils, teachers and curriculum leaders and attending assemblies.  We also considered pupils’ learning in history and geography.  We considered a range of documentation, for example records of recruitment checks and the safeguarding policy, as well as speaking to several staff to ensure that safeguarding procedures are effective.  We both read several documents and considered their implementation in meeting the independent school standards.

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Inspection team

Jo Sharpe, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Julia Norton Foulger Ofsted Inspector 10–12 December 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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