Barnet Hill Academy

Inspection of Barnet Hill Academy 10a Montagu Road, Hendon, London NW4 3ES

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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 Early years provision Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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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?

Staff, pupils, parents and carers support each other well. They have created a close- knit community in this school. Staff make sure that pupils are safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils follow the school rules and behave well. Staff are swift to sort out incidents of poor behaviour or bullying. They discuss any such incidents with pupils and help pupils to reflect on their behaviour. Pupils get on well with each other. They said typically that any arguments are short-lived.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils rise to leaders’ high expectations and work hard. They understand the importance of education. Children in the early years enjoy the range of learning that staff plan for them, including in the newly developed outdoor area.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy opportunities to sing and perform. The whole-school production of ‘Ayesha in Wonderland’ took place during the inspection. Pupils had spent a lot of time preparing for this and were proud to show off their hard work to parents and visitors.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils study a range of subjects. Leaders have not ensured that these are all planned and sequenced carefully. This stops pupils from building secure knowledge and skills in these subjects. The early reading programme is still in development.

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better?

Leaders offer a broad curriculum which includes Arabic, art and design and Islamic studies. Recently, leaders have made changes to how they plan and teach subjects across the school. Subject curriculum thinking is currently at different stages of development. In some subjects, leaders have thought carefully about what is taught and when. They sequence lessons logically to build pupils’ learning over time. For example, pupils in Year 6 tackled simultaneous equations using their previous learning in algebra from Year 5.

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better?

In other subjects, leaders have not identified precisely what they want pupils to know and remember and in what order. This means that pupils do not have the relevant subject knowledge they need for new learning. For example, in geography, pupils in Year 3 struggled to learn about tectonic plates. This was because they did not have relevant prior learning, such as about the earth’s structure.

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better?

Teachers use various strategies to check pupils’ understanding. In a few subjects, staff use these well to identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge. For example, in mathematics, staff pick up on common mistakes and re-teach concepts if needed. In other subjects, teachers do not routinely check pupils’ subject-specific knowledge as carefully.

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better?

Some staff do not have the confidence or expertise to adapt learning to meet pupils’ individual needs. This leads to inconsistencies in how well some pupils are 28 to 30 June 2022 supported.

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better?

Leaders have made changes to the way early reading is taught. Not all staff have been trained to use the school’s selected phonics programme. As a result, staff are not typically confident in teaching phonics. Some of the books that staff give pupils to read are not matched to the sounds pupils know. This affects how quickly pupils become fluent readers.

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better?

Leaders promote wider reading well across the school. Staff take great care when choosing the texts pupils read together in class. Pupils appreciate this. Pupils spoke with enthusiasm about the books they read.

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better?

Pupils have many opportunities to appreciate and learn about other cultures and religions. For example, some of them had the chance recently to go on an educational trip to Thailand where they experienced life in a Buddhist school. In personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) lessons, pupils are taught to respect differences and that everyone is equal. Pupils consider different aspects of British life, such as freedom of speech and democracy. The school’s policy and programme for relationships and sex education are in line with statutory guidance.

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better?

Staff encourage pupils to have a balanced diet and to look after their mental and physical health. Pupils look forward to ‘fitness week’ when they raise money to buy new sports equipment. The new ‘peace garden’ gives pupils a quiet place to reflect, as well as the chance to grow vegetables and flowers. Leaders hope to restart the extra-curricular clubs that took place prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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better?

Pupils understand the importance of behaving well around the school and in class. Staff ensure that learning the curriculum is not interrupted by any low-level disruption.

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better?

Staff are proud to work at this school, and staff’s morale is high. They value the opportunities leaders give them for professional development tailored to individual needs. Staff said that leaders are considerate of workload. Parents are highly supportive of the school.

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better?

Leaders, the proprietor/principal and members of the governing body work closely together to address weaknesses in the quality of education. Leaders ensure that the statutory requirements for the early years are met. However, leaders, including the proprietor/principal, have not ensured that all the independent school standards are met. Leaders, the proprietor/principal and members of the governing body do not monitor the school’s overall effectiveness with rigour. Leaders’ record-keeping is not routinely well organised. This means that necessary information is not readily available for leaders’ use.

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better?

Leaders have ensured that the school meets the requirements of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. 28 to 30 June 2022

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and other staff are trained in line with statutory requirements. Staff know how to identify and report any concerns they might have about pupils’ welfare. Leaders follow up on these concerns appropriately.

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Safeguarding

Pupils are taught about staying safe, including online. Older pupils spoke about how they had been taught to be careful with private information and how to spot scam websites. Leaders ensure that pupils are taught about relationships in an age- appropriate way.

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Safeguarding

During the inspection, leaders rectified omissions from the school’s admissions record, including destinations of pupils who have left the school.

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Safeguarding

The school’s safeguarding policy is published on its website.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Leaders are in the process of reviewing the curriculum across the school. Subjects other than English and mathematics are at an early stage of development. Leaders have not fully identified the subject-specific knowledge that pupils need to learn and in what order. Assessment in these subjects does not check pupils’ subject-specific understanding carefully. As a result, pupils do not build up knowledge and skills securely over time. Leaders should ensure that pupils’ learning is planned coherently in all subjects.  Not all staff have received training in the phonics scheme that has been introduced. This leads to inconsistencies in how well it is taught. Leaders should ensure that all staff receive high-quality training to be confident in teaching phonics well.  The books used by staff to teach early reading are not always phonetically decodable. This means that pupils read books that are not matched to the sounds

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

they know. As a result, pupils do not practise their phonics skills as often as they could. This slows their progress in becoming fluent and independent readers. Leaders should ensure that all books used to teach pupils how to read are phonetically decodable and matched to the sounds pupils know.  Staff do not routinely ensure that learning is suitably adapted to pupils’ needs. This affects pupils’ acquisition of knowledge and skills. Leaders should ensure that all staff have the training they need to be able to meet the different needs of pupils, including those who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).  Some aspects of leaders’ record-keeping are not well organised. This means that information, including about pupils, is not always accessible. Leaders do not have sufficient oversight of some school systems, including admissions. Leaders, the 28 to 30 June 2022 proprietor and those responsible for governance should ensure that all record-

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

keeping is well organised and that school systems are monitored stringently.  The proprietor/principal and members of the governing body do not monitor with rigour the effectiveness of their work to maintain the independent school standards. A number of independent school standards are not met. Leaders should ensure that the independent school standards are met consistently.

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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.

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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 are the provider and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 28 to 30 June 2022

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School details

Email address info@barnethillacademy.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3 to 5 July 2018 28 to 30 June 2022

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Information about this school

 Barnet Hill Academy is a Muslim primary school based at 10a Montagu Road, Hendon NW4 3ES.  The school was previously called Ayesha Community School. The school was renamed Barnet Hill Academy in 2018.  In 2020, leaders closed the secondary phase of the school which offered full-time education to girls aged 11 to 16.  The current principal took up the post in September 2018. The principal is also the sole proprietor. There have been other changes in senior leadership since the previous inspection.  At the time of this inspection, there were no pupils with SEND on roll.  Leaders do not use any alternative provision for their pupils.

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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 has failed to meet the independent school standards. These are the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors have discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with the principal, the assistant headteachers and other school leaders. Inspectors met with the chair of governors and one other governor. The principal was not present in school on day three of the inspection.  Inspectors met with a range of staff, including non-teaching staff.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and PSHE. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders and teachers, visited lessons where available, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also listened to pupils read. Inspectors talked to leaders and pupils about other subjects and reviewed samples of pupils’ work in geography, science and art.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including school policies and procedures related to safeguarding and health and safety, the admissions register,

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Information about this inspection

behaviour and attendance records, risk assessments and other information provided by school leaders. 28 to 30 June 2022  Inspectors met with pupils from different year groups to discuss their work and to gather their views.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents and responses to the online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Jude Wilson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Samantha Ingram Her Majesty’s Inspector 28 to 30 June 2022

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

 3 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that the teaching at the school-

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

– 3(a) enables pupils to acquire new knowledge and make good progress according to their ability so that they increase their understanding and develop their skills in the subjects taught.

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

 15 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that an admission and attendance register is maintained in accordance with the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006[13].

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

 34(1) The standard about the quality of leadership and management is met if the proprietor ensures that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school-

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

– 34(1)(a) demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently;

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

– 34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently. 28 to 30 June 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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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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