Birmingham Muslim School

Birmingham Muslim School Bisley Works, Golden Hillock Road, Small Heath, Birmingham, West Midlands B11 2PZ

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Main inspection findings

In November 2019, the Department for Education (DfE) sent a letter to the proprietor of the school. This letter explained that the Secretary of State had decided to remove the school from the register of independent schools. An independent school must not operate without registration. It is against the law for it to do so. The school did not appeal the Secretary of State’s decision. Therefore, the school must close. The date set by the Secretary of State for the school to close was 16 December 2019. The DfE asked Ofsted to visit the school on this date to check that the proprietor was complying with the instruction to close the school. Inspectors found no pupils at the school. The headteacher and staff were present. They told inspectors that the school had now closed. They said that its last day of operation had been the previous Friday, 13 December 2019. Inspectors toured the premises. Classrooms were largely empty of furniture. Staff were

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Main inspection findings

clearing cupboards and disposing of rubbish. Inspectors took photographs of the empty classrooms and corridors. The headteacher said that she is aiming to move out of the premises by 31 December 2019. There is no confirmation that the landlord intends to take back the premises. However, the headteacher plans to complete the closure by that date. Inspectors took copies of the admissions and attendance registers. They were maintained until Friday 13 December 2019. On that date, 64 pupils were still registered at the school. The registers showed that 17 pupils had left the school since the end of November 2019. The headteacher told inspectors that parents had petitioned the DfE to protest about the closure of the school. She said that many parents were reluctant to send their children to other schools. Birmingham City Council (BCC) is working with parents and leaders of the school to identify suitable arrangements for the former pupils. BCC is aware of the whereabouts of

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Main inspection findings

the 17 pupils who recently left the school. A few have transferred to other independent schools. Most are being home educated. The parents of five pupils have asked BCC to find places in local schools. A further meeting is planned for Wednesday 18 December 2019. The school’s administrator is updating the admissions register as the arrangement for each pupil is confirmed. Leaders agreed to provide Ofsted with a final list of all pupils’ destinations no later than Thursday 19 December 2019. The headteacher and BCC anticipate that most parents will choose to home educate their children rather than transfer them to maintained schools or academies. In total, that would mean that approximately 70 of the school’s former pupils will now be home educated. The headteacher says she is concerned that many will go on to attend unregistered tuition centres.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements were not 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 the inspection was to determine whether the school had closed

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School details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed

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School details

Proprietor The Albayan Education Foundation

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School details

Email address info@birminghammuslimschool.org

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School details

Date of previous standard inspection 17–19 October 2017

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Information about this school

 Birmingham Muslim School opened in 2001 as an independent Islamic day school for girls and boys aged four to 11 years old.  The proprietor is The Albayan Education Foundation Ltd. This is made up of a board of three trustees, one of whom is the headteacher.  The last full inspection of the school took place in October 2017, when its overall effectiveness was judged to be inadequate. A progress monitoring inspection was carried out in July 2019. The school still did not meet the independent school standards.  At the time of the last monitoring inspection, the headteacher was subject to an interim prohibition order.  Two action plans submitted by the school to the DfE were rejected in February 2018 and February 2019.  In November 2019, the Secretary of State informed the proprietor that he had taken the decision to remove the school from the register of independent schools. The school did not appeal this decision. It closed to pupils on 13 December 2019.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors spoke with the headteacher and staff.  Inspectors toured the premises. They took photographs of the preparations for clearing the premises.  Inspectors took copies of the admissions and attendance registers on behalf of the DfE.  The lead inspector spoke to a representative of BCC.

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Inspection team

Sandy Hayes, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Tim Hill 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/ofsted .

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Inspection team

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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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