Darul Hadis Latifiah

Inspection of Darul Hadis Latifiah 1 Cornwall Avenue, London E2 0HW

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Sixth-form provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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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?

Leaders strive to provide pupils with the education, character and social skills to thrive as responsible British citizens. They do so with much success. Pupils achieve well in their academic studies. They act with maturity and are unfailingly polite and respectful of all. They describe themselves as ‘brothers within a family’. They are happy and kept safe in school. They said that they can turn to any member of staff if they have any concerns. Staff and pupils are clear that they will not tolerate bullying. Should it occur, staff are prompt at dealing with it effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils work together in their class groups to research, plan and deliver whole-school assemblies. They deliver these with eloquence and confidence. Sixth-form students support younger pupils, acting as ‘big brothers’. They also coach young people in the wider community about faith-related matters. Pupils enjoy the range of well- considered trips on offer. These aim to support and enrich the curriculum and pupils’ personal development. For example, pupils and sixth-form students attended a university-led workshop on how a positive attitude, hard work and perseverance can help one to be successful.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are extremely positive about their children’s education at the school. They highlight that their children are very happy and developing well. Pupil attendance rates are very high, including in the sixth form.

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better?

Leaders have developed an ambitious curriculum. Besides Islamic faith-based subjects, pupils study a range of other subjects. The breadth of the curriculum on offer meets the requirements of the independent school standards. In 2022, pupils achieved high grades in GCSE examinations. All pupils are entered and achieve well in the English Baccalaureate.

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better?

Individual teachers have the responsibility for planning and implementing the curriculum for their subjects. In most cases, teachers deliver well-sequenced lessons. These enable pupils to build and deepen their knowledge and understanding effectively. Teachers explain concepts and ideas clearly. The work they set supports pupils in gaining the intended knowledge and skills. They use assessment well to address identified knowledge gaps and misconceptions. Teachers have expertise in the subjects that they teach. The co-headteachers support them in refining their general teaching skills. However, support for teachers to update and strengthen their expertise in specific approaches to teaching their subjects is less developed. In a few subjects, teachers have not identified the exact knowledge that they want pupils to master. This means that pupils are not routinely reaching their full potential across these subjects.

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better?

There are no pupils currently in the school identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities. The curriculum enables pupils to build further on their confident and fluent reading. Leaders prioritise developing pupils’ understanding of 14 to 16 March 2023 the texts that they read, as well as their ability to communicate confidently. The latter is reinforced with opportunities for debating in class. Pupils also enter the Martin Luther King Oracy Competition.

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better?

Sixth-form students follow a bespoke curriculum appropriate to their needs and aspirations. This includes an Islamic Higher Education course as well as the study of A-level qualifications. Leaders provide pupils with an effective and comprehensive programme of impartial careers guidance. This includes opportunities for work experience. They arrange visits to careers fairs and universities. Most students who leave the sixth form go on to study for degrees at university. Others take up apprenticeships, training or employment.

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better?

Pupils truly value their education and want to succeed. They are motivated and have ambitious goals for their futures. They work with diligence in class and try their best. These very positive attitudes make a strong contribution to their learning.

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better?

Leaders provide pupils with extensive opportunities designed to support their personal development. Staff teach pupils about fundamental British values. For example, pupils run mock elections, and staff take them to visit the Houses of Parliament. Staff ensure that pupils are very well versed in equalities legislation. They encourage pupils to be knowledgeable about and respectful of people with protected characteristics and their legal rights. Pupils are taught about a range of faiths, and they visit places of worship. Before the pandemic, pupils in this school and a co-educational Christian faith school visited each other’s schools. They enjoyed carrying out some joint activities. Leaders plan to reintroduce this event later this year. This contributes well to pupils’ social development.

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better?

School staff organise many extra-curricular workshops for pupils, sometimes delivered by external experts. These include content on mental health, internet safety, first aid and the dangers of grooming and radicalisation. Pupils are taught about how to form healthy relationships. They are helped to understand the importance of consent. Pupils arrange charitable fundraising events. Funds raised support a local food bank as well as a national charity. Sixth-form students are given opportunities to take on leadership roles in the community.

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better?

The proprietor body and senior leaders make sure that the school meets the independent school standards. The school is compliant with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. They have implemented statutory guidance for relationships and sex education. Trustees and governors communicate to all stakeholders their vision for the school. They visit the school often and provide appropriate challenge and support to school leaders. Trustees and governors are proud that some staff, including the two co-headteachers, are former pupils of the school.

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better?

Staff morale is extremely high. They said that leaders are highly supportive of their well-being. Leaders make sure that staff’s workload is manageable. This helps staff focus on their core task of teaching. 14 to 16 March 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff have regular training and updates where the need for vigilance is reiterated. Staff look out for any signs that raise potential concerns about a pupil’s safety or welfare. There are suitable reporting and recording systems in place. Leaders make referrals to external agencies in a timely fashion to secure the support that pupils need. They have also put in place appropriate vetting procedures when appointing new staff.

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Safeguarding

Pupils are taught about risk, how to keep themselves safe and how to seek help if they are worried.

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Safeguarding

The school’s safeguarding policy is published on its website. The policy complies with the most recent statutory guidance.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Teachers have strong subject knowledge overall, but leaders have not supported them to keep up to date with and strengthen their expertise in subject-specific curriculum thinking and teaching practices. This means that at times, their approaches to planning and delivering the curriculum are not as helpful in ensuring that pupils reach their full potential. Leaders should ensure that staff have opportunities to develop their expertise in subject-specific curriculums and teaching practices to help them improve their curriculum thinking and teaching.

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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. 14 to 16 March 2023

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form

Proprietor Darul Hadis Latifiah Foundation

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form

Headteacher Muhammad Hasan Chowdhury (Principal) Maruf Ahmed and Anhar Ahmed (Co- Headteachers) Annual fees (day pupils) £3,500 (ages 11 to 16) £1,750 (ages 16 to 20) Telephone number 020 8983 3663

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form

Date of previous inspection 4 to 6 February 2020 14 to 16 March 2023

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Information about this school

 Darul Hadis Latifiah is an independent secondary school for boys with an Islamic ethos. The school includes sixth-form provision for students aged 16 to 20, who study a four-year Islamic studies course alongside other qualifications.  The previous proprietor board was the board of governors. On 8 November 2022, the Darul Hadis Latifiah Foundation was registered with the Charity Commission. There are six trustees who make up the new proprietor board. The previous chair of governors is now the chair of the trust. The trust board appoints governors to whom they delegate day-to-day oversight of the running of the school.  Since the previous inspection, there has been a change in senior leadership. The current co-headteachers, one who works full time and the other part time, took up their posts in September 2021.  The school’s most recent inspection was a standard inspection in February 2020.  Leaders do not make use of any alternative provision.

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

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, science, history and personal, social, health and economic education. Inspectors held discussions with leaders and teachers, visited lessons, looked at examples of pupils’ work and held discussions with pupils. Inspectors also considered other subjects as part of the inspection.  Inspectors spoke with the co-headteachers, the vice-chair of governors and three other governors. They also spoke with leaders responsible for safeguarding and health and safety.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including information related to safeguarding and the checks carried out before the appointment of staff. Inspectors looked at records of pupils’ behaviour.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentary information and toured the school site to check compliance with the independent school standards. 14 to 16 March 2023  Inspectors had formal meetings with staff and pupils. They took account of the

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Information about this inspection

responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View. They also considered the responses to the staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

David Radomsky, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Aliki Constantopoulou His Majesty’s Inspector 14 to 16 March 2023 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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