Madina-tul-Uloom Al Islamic College

Inspection report for boarding school: Madinatul Uloom Al Islamiyah 1 Madinatul Uloom Al Islamiyah Madinatul Uloom Al-Islamiya Islamic College Madinatul Uloom Al-Islamiya, Butts Lane, Stone, Kidderminster, Worcestershire DY10 4BH

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this boarding school

The school is an independent boarding and day school for Muslim pupils. The vast majority of pupils are boarders.

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Information about this boarding school

The boarding provision for all pupils is in the school grounds, with different age ranges in each boarding house.

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Information about this boarding school

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this boarding school

We last visited this setting on 6 July 2021, to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The boarding school is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 8 October 2019 Inspection report for boarding school: Madinatul Uloom Al Islamiyah 2

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improvement to be good

Childrens feelings about their boarding experience are positive. Children feel that they are treated fairly by the staff and enjoy the boarding experience because they have close relationships with each other and with the staff. Children told the inspectors that they trust the staff and feel that they can talk to them whenever they need to. This helps to ensure that the children maintain good emotional well-being.

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improvement to be good

Each child has written consent forms in place for the school medical officers to administer medication or first aid when this is necessary. Written records for the administration of medication are accurate. However, records for when medication leaves the school and is returned are not accurate. While this area is being monitored by managers, an error has still been made, which could have had a negative impact on the health of the children.

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improvement to be good

Areas around the school have been developed and the maintenance of the boarding accommodation is ongoing. This has led to some areas of refurbishment not being fully completed. For example, tape was holding carpet in place in a corridor in one of the boarding blocks. This is both unsightly and a potential trip hazard. Some graffiti had been painted over, but was still visible through the paint. This does not create an environment where children can be proud of their living areas.

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improvement to be good

Education attendance is good, and children make good progress with their academic and religious studies. Boarding staff support children to transition between boarding and education. Some of the boarding staff work across both settings and support the children with their educational needs. This provides stability and consistency.

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improvement to be good

Throughout the COVID19 pandemic staff worked hard to keep in contact with all the children. This provided support during isolated periods and maintained important links with the school staff.

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improvement to be good

Children were able to highlight different individuals they would talk to if they had any concerns. These included supervisors, the pastoral team, or the independent listener, whose contact information is posted on school noticeboards. This range of individuals shows that there are many adults across the school site who have formed positive relationships with the children.

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improvement to be good

Children access a range of activities both in and outside of the home. Activities include playing football on the school grounds, trips to the local town and playing board games. Inspection report for boarding school: Madinatul Uloom Al Islamiyah 3

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The safety and well-being of the children are given the highest priority by the senior leadership team and staff. Children said that because of this, they feel safe within the school. Children told the inspectors that they have a range of adults to speak with if they have any concerns or worries. There is also a secure post box that they can use to share confidential concerns with the headteacher directly.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are aware of the procedures for keeping children safe. The staff feel confident about reporting safeguarding issues. The school’s designated safeguarding officer shares information appropriately with relevant professionals, such as the police and the local authority. The safeguarding policy has been recently updated to include new statutory guidance.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There are clear behavioural boundaries for children. Arrangements for responding to issues such as bullying or poor behaviour are good, and this is supported by the good relationships that are in place between children and the staff team.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

No children have gone missing from the school or the boarding provision. The staff understand the procedure to follow should such an incident occur.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staffing levels ensure that there are always sufficient adults around to support and supervise boarders. Adult senior students act as part of the staff group, although their roles and responsibilities are limited and clearly defined by management. Children value the input of these senior students, who provide advice and emotional support when required.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The procedures for recruitment are robust and follow the school’s policy for safer recruitment. The single central record contains all the relevant pre-employment checks on staff.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Routine maintenance, testing and servicing of equipment provide children with a well-maintained, safe and secure physical environment. Health and safety processes are robust, and are underpinned by detailed risk assessments which are updated to reflect changes in legislation. There have been visits from professionals and advice is sought as necessary to ensure that the school is compliant with the necessary regulations.

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good

The headteacher leads and manages the school effectively. The school has seen changes in the staff team since the last inspection, leading to an improvement in the quality of care provided for the children who board at the school. However, some areas of leadership continue to require improvement. This includes areas such as the environment and the training of staff. Inspection report for boarding school: Madinatul Uloom Al Islamiyah 4 The management team has improved the learning and development opportunities for staff. However, the training matrix shows that not all staff have completed training that is relevant to childrens needs and experiences .This includes training in regard to self-harm and ‘Prevent’ duty. This does not ensure that staff are fully equipped to look after the children in their care.

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good

Regular staff reviews take place. This time is taken to consider the achievements of individual staff, assess areas of responsibility, discuss concerns about any boarders and consider training and development needs. Furthermore, the day-to-day routines and staffing structure do allow ample opportunity to raise any concerns about the welfare of the children.

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good

The boarding provision is integral to the school, as most of the children board. The head of boarding oversees the management of the boarding provision with the support of the headteacher. This provides accountability and line management for staff.

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good

There are suitable governance arrangements. The trustees hold the headteacher and senior leadership team to account, including in areas such as safeguarding and oversight of the boarding provision. Trustees are committed to driving forward improvements in the school.

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good

The school adheres to its statement of principles, which clearly sets out the ethos of the school. This is kept under review by senior managers and trustees, who play an active role in the running and ongoing development of the school. Inspection report for boarding school: Madinatul Uloom Al Islamiyah 5

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schools

The school does not meet the following national minimum standards for boarding schools:

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schools

 All medication is safely and securely stored, and proper records are kept of its administration. Prescribed medicines are given only to the boarders to whom they are prescribed. Boarders allowed to self-medicate are assessed as sufficiently responsible to do so. (NMS 3.4)  Boarding houses and other accommodation provided for boarders are appropriately lit, heated and ventilated, cleaned and maintained, and reasonable adjustments are made to provide adequate accessible accommodation for any boarders with restricted mobility. (NMS 5.4)  The school’s leadership and management consistently fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the standards are met. (NMS 13.4)  Senior boarding staff have an adequate level of experience and/or training. (NMS 13.6)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’. This inspection was carried out under the Children Act 1989 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the national minimum standards. Inspection report for boarding school: Madinatul Uloom Al Islamiyah 6

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Boarding school details

Social care unique reference number: SC043039

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Boarding school details

Headteacher/teacher in charge: Abdullah Memi

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Boarding school details

Email address: headteacher@madinatul-uloom.org

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Inspectors

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector Louise Battersby, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for boarding school: Madinatul Uloom Al Islamiyah 7 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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