The British Muslim School

Inspection of The British Muslim School Latifiah Fultali Complex, Lodge Road, West Bromwich, West Midlands B70 8NX

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management 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?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They value friendship and they get on well with each other. Pupils are polite and well mannered. They show respect to staff and each other. Pupils move around the school sensibly. They are well mannered and keen to welcome visitors to their school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well during lunchtime and breaktimes. In the classroom, most pupils listen well and focus on their studies. However, too many pupils do not take a pride in the presentation of their work.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are clear about the definition of bullying and the different types that exist. There are few bullying incidents. Leaders take bullying very seriously and deal with any instances quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are keen for all pupils to excel in their academic studies, so they can secure future employment and make a positive contribution to society as British Muslims. To support this aim, leaders have started to develop the curriculum. However, there is more work to do to make sure that the curriculum supports pupils to achieve well. Leaders are also aware that the learning environment could be improved further.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers speak positively about the school. In particular, they value how well staff manage behaviour.

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better?

In Years 10 and 11, the curriculum is based on the GCSE examination board syllabuses. In a range of subjects, the curriculum is carefully mapped out and teachers are clear about the knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn over time. What pupils learn builds on what they have learned previously.

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better?

In Years 7 to 9, in subjects such as citizenship, the curriculum is equally well planned. However, in other subjects, this is not the case. In these subjects, learning is not well connected. The knowledge and skills that pupils learn over time do not build logically from lesson to lesson and pupils are not achieving as well as they could.

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better?

Teachers are subject specialists, and they have secure subject knowledge. In most instances, teachers explain new concepts in a clear and logical manner. This helps pupils to connect new learning to what they already know. However, at times, teachers have to fill gaps in pupils’ knowledge where the curriculum is not as well sequenced. For example, younger pupils have gaps in their spelling, punctuation and grammar knowledge because leaders have not planned this aspect of the English curriculum clearly.

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better?

Teachers support pupils well to become fluent readers. However, very few pupils display a love of reading. Only a very small number of pupils are reading a book, 24 to 26 May 2022 and most are unable to talk about a favourite book or author. This is hampered by the fact that the stock of reading books in the school is extremely limited.

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better?

Too many pupils do not take a pride in their work. There are instances where work in pupils’ books is poorly presented and untidy. This is not being picked up and addressed by staff. Therefore, pupils continue to produce the same quality of work week after week.

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better?

The citizenship curriculum and the relationships and sex education (RSE) curriculum have been designed well to support pupils’ personal development. Pupils talk about the different types of relationships and families that exist in society. This includes single-parent families and same-sex couples. Pupils understand how to maintain healthy lifestyles. They have a growing awareness of mental health, including spotting the warning signs when someone is struggling with their mental health. Pupils are very accepting and considerate of the views of others. Pupils say, ‘We respect the views of others, even when they are different to our own because that is what Islam teaches us to do.’

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better?

Older pupils have a clear understanding of fundamental British values. They talk knowledgeably about democracy and how this relates to day-to-day life in school. Pupils speak fondly about the recent trip to the library and art gallery in Birmingham. Their faces light up when they speak about the trip to Drayton Manor Theme Park. However, pupils would relish the opportunity to attend after-school sporting clubs.

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better?

Staff support pupils to think about their chosen career pathways and the choices they will need to make to achieve this. Year 10 and 11 pupils recently attended a range of careers workshops where they received external support and advice. Most Year 11 pupils are clear about the next steps in their education when they leave the school at the end of this term.

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better?

Leaders, supported by the governing body, have a clear vision of how they want to improve the school further. They have already introduced positive changes. For example, all teachers are subject specialists, and this has led to improvements in the quality of education. However, leaders do not have a robust system in place to check on the quality of education in different subjects. As a result, they do not have a clear understanding of the strengths and areas for development in different subject areas. This limits their ability to drive improvements in the curriculum where they are required. Currently, leadership is stretched, and individual leaders have a heavy workload. Governors are aware of this.

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better?

Teachers value the training they receive. They gave examples of how the recent safeguarding training supports them to do their jobs better. Teachers say that leaders are considerate of their well-being and that workload is manageable. They add that leaders are always ready to listen and act on any concerns they have.

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better?

Leaders ensure that the school meets the requirements of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010 as a suitable accessibility plan is in place. 24 to 26 May 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding is everyone’s business. Pupils say that they feel safe in school because their friends and the staff look after them. Occasionally, some pupils feel homesick. However, they speak positively about the level of care they get from staff and their classmates. Staff know exactly what to do if they are concerned about a pupil’s welfare, or if a pupil comes to them for help. Where necessary, leaders work with external agencies so that the right support is put in place for pupils and their families. Staff support pupils to develop a secure understanding of online safety and the associated dangers.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 In Years 7 to 9, in some subjects, the curriculum is not well planned. In these instances, learning does not build on what pupils have learned in the past and teachers have to go back and plug gaps in pupils’ knowledge. This slows the pace of learning and pupils do not achieve as well as they could. Leaders should map out the curriculum in these subjects so that pupils’ knowledge and skills build well over time.  Teachers do not have high enough expectations of pupils’ handwriting and how they present their work. As a result, some pupils are continuing to produce work that is untidy, messy and poorly presented. Leaders need to ensure that staff have consistently high expectations of the quality of work that pupils produce.  The English curriculum and wider curriculum are not being used effectively to foster a love of books and literature. The stock of reading books in the school is extremely limited. As a result, most pupils are not reading regularly or enjoying books. Leaders

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

should improve the range and quantity of books available to pupils. They should develop the curriculum further to foster a love of reading.  Senior leaders do not have a robust system in place to check on the quality of education in different subjects. Consequently, school leaders and those responsible for governance do not have a clear understanding of the strengths and areas for development in subject areas. Senior leaders should develop a system to check on the quality of education in different subjects so they can drive improvements across the curriculum.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection. 24 to 26 May 2022 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 are the provider and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 24 to 26 May 2022

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School details

Unique reference number 135792 DfE registration number 333/6005

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School details

Inspection number 10217285 Type of school Other Independent School

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School details

School category Independent boarding school

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School details

Website www.thebritishmuslimschool.co.uk

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School details

Email address info@thebritishmuslimschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 28 to 30 January 2020 24 to 26 May 2022

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Information about this school

 The school is an Islamic boarding and day school for boys. The boarding provision is in the same building as the school and can cater for up to 40 pupils.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  No pupils have been identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities.  Information about the proprietor is missing from the Department for Education’s ‘Get information about schools’ website.  Since the last full standard inspection in January 2020, the school has had two additional inspections, one emergency and one progress monitoring.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors 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

 This was the third inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken this into account in their evaluation.  The inspection was carried out without notice at the request of the Department for Education due to safeguarding concerns linked to a complaint they had received.  This was an aligned inspection with the boarding provision. A separate set of judgements has been made and a separate report has been published.  The lead inspector met with the proprietor body’s representative, who is also the chair of the governing body. In addition, he met with the principal and the curriculum leader.  Inspectors held meetings with the safeguarding team, attendance and behaviour leads, and other school leaders.  As part of the inspection, inspectors carried out deep dives in English, mathematics, computing and citizenship. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed

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Information about this inspection

the curriculum with teachers, visited a range of lessons, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors spoke to pupils formally and informally about their learning and experiences at school. A group of pupils accompanied the lead inspector on a learning walk around the school. 24 to 26 May 2022  The lead inspector toured the school premises to check their suitability.  Safeguarding documents were checked, including the checks that leaders make on staff’s suitability to work with children. The inspectors checked that staff implement safeguarding policies and procedures effectively across the school.  Inspectors were unable to consider responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View, due to the small number of responses. There were no parent free-text responses received during the inspection.  There were no responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors looked at a range of documentation provided by the school. This included school policies, curriculum documents, behaviour records and attendance information.  The inspectors looked at information published on the school’s website.

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Inspection team

Wayne Simner, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Gemma Mann Ofsted Inspector 24 to 26 May 2022 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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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