Hafs Academy

Inspection of Hafs Academy Unit 3, 26 Maryland Road, Stratford, London E15 1JW

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Inspection dates: 19 to 21 September 2023

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Inadequate Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

The proprietor and leaders have not ensured that the school meets all of the requirements of the independent school standards. Pupils do not follow a curriculum that is ambitious or coherent. The weak curriculum, and teachers’ lack of up-to-date subject expertise, hinder pupils’ learning. As a result, they do not develop a secure and broad enough knowledge in a range of subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school and take their learning seriously. The school makes sure that pupils are kept safe. Pupils said that staff are always there to help them. Staff put a lot of emphasis on developing pupils’ understanding of their responsibilities as citizens. This includes learning about the importance of respect and tolerance for peoples’ different choices, backgrounds and cultures. Pupils are highly considerate of others and value different views and opinions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in and out of lessons. Lessons are rarely, if ever, interrupted by silly behaviour. Pupils are polite and ready to go out of their way to apply themselves to their work. Occasionally, their concentration wanes but they are well behaved.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s programme for personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education helps pupils to develop their wider understanding of society. The newly developed careers programme has been well received by pupils. They value the insights into the range of opportunities open to them when they leave the school.

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better?

The school has made some important improvements to the provision for personal development since the last inspection. For example, there is a well-planned programme for careers education. The PSHE curriculum is also designed effectively, and the school follows the government's guidance about relationships and sex education. These programmes provide good opportunities for pupils to develop their understanding of citizenship, taking responsibility and British values. Pupils also learn about their own faith, and those of others. This helps them to be considerate of other beliefs and build an increasingly mature sense of right and wrong.

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better?

While improvements have been made to PSHE education, the curriculum that pupils experience in many other subjects is weak. The curriculum is not ambitious enough. What pupils study is often limited in scope. Too little thought has been given to setting out what pupils need to learn by the end of the unit of work or topic in a subject. Often, the school’s curriculum does not break down the work into a set of smaller, well-sequenced steps. Pupils learn gobbets of unconnected ideas. This makes it difficult for them to remember ideas and apply their knowledge to new learning.

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better?

In history, for example, there is little logic to the order in which historical ideas are studied. Pupils are taught a jumbled set of ideas that do not build their knowledge 19 to 21 September 2023 and skills progressively as they move through the school. In English, the curriculum lacks ambition and does not enable pupils to learn about a suitably broad range of authors and literary traditions. This is because pupils study only three books throughout Years 7, 8 and 9, and these are limited in scope. Despite this, pupils become fluent and confident readers as they move through the school. This is because staff encourage them to read widely outside of lessons.

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better?

In many subjects, teachers lack the necessary subject knowledge to promote pupils’ learning effectively. The school has not made sure that staff have received enough training to boost their expertise. As a result, pupils’ misconceptions are not corrected, and they do not gain the knowledge they need to learn effectively in their studies.

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better?

The time allocated to the secular subjects is insufficient to ensure adequate coverage of the curriculum. As a result, the opportunity for pupils to study the important ideas of a subject in depth is limited. This prevents pupils from securing their understanding.

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better?

Pupils with any additional needs experience the same curriculum as others. Leaders know their pupils well and the specific needs of those who struggle with learning. However, the weaknesses in the curriculum and its implementation mean that the learning of pupils with additional needs is compromised.

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better?

Despite these weaknesses, there are a few subjects where pupils’ learning is more positive. This is because staff have appropriate subject knowledge and use this to provide a curriculum programme that builds pupils’ knowledge logically, one step at a time. In some cases, teachers give pupils opportunities to recall previous work, thus helping them remember important ideas in the long term.

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better?

Pupils have opportunities to develop their wider social skills. School clubs, such as chess and football tournaments, help to broaden pupils’ experiences. The school helps to expand pupils’ cultural understanding, for example, through visits to museums and places of interest. Pupils show positive attitudes to their studies. The school ensures that pupils attend regularly.

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better?

The proprietor and trustees give support to the school, for example by employing external consultants to make sure that many of the independent school standards are met. This has helped to ensure that appropriate careers education is now provided by the school. However, the proprietor and trustees have not focused on checking and improving pupils’ experiences in other aspects of the curriculum. This limits the school’s capacity to improve quickly and means that the school does not meet all of its statutory duties effectively. Nevertheless, leaders recognise where improvement is urgently required. For example, they are in the process of arranging support to help staff improve their curriculum thinking and how this is put into practice.

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better?

The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. 19 to 21 September 2023

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Curriculum planning for many subjects is vague and lacks ambition. Too little thought has been given to the fundamental ideas that need to be taught by the end of the unit of work or topic. As a result, pupils learn a series of unconnected ideas that make it difficult for them to apply their knowledge to new learning. Leaders need to ensure that the curriculum is suitably ambitious and implemented effectively.  Many staff lack the necessary subject knowledge to promote pupils’ learning effectively. They do not receive enough training about how to plan the curriculum and deliver it effectively, including to pupils with additional needs. Leaders need to ensure that all teachers have adequate knowledge of the subjects they are teaching and provide opportunities for them to develop their expertise further. This includes developing staff’s knowledge about effective learning and how to adapt their teaching to meet pupils’ needs.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The trustees do not check the quality of education provided by the school rigorously enough. Although there are regular meetings with school staff, too little attention is given to checking that the curriculum is coherent and suitably ambitious in scope. Trustees need to ensure that they monitor carefully the way the curriculum is planned and how effectively it is delivered. This needs to include checking that all the independent school standards are met.

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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. 19 to 21 September 2023

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School details

Date of previous inspection 30 November to 2 December 2021 19 to 21 September 2023

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Information about this school

 Hafs Academy is an independent boys’ day school with a Muslim ethos. The school is registered to provide education for pupils from the age of seven to 16. However, the school’s provision for primary pupils closed in 2018.  The school’s last standard inspection took place in December 2021, when the school was judged as requires improvement. Some of the independent school standards were not met.  A progress monitoring inspection in October 2022 found that some of the independent school standards continued not to be met.  The school does 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

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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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

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspection was carried out with one day’s notice.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, science, history and religious education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Other areas of the curriculum were also considered as part of this inspection.  Meetings were held with the senior leaders and the proprietor.  Inspectors reviewed a wide range of policies and documents provided by the school. They also checked the school’s compliance with the independent school standards.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single

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Information about this inspection

central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first. 19 to 21 September 2023

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Inspection team

Brian Oppenheim, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Bob Hamlyn His Majesty’s Inspector School report

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

 2(1) The standard in this paragraph is met if- -2(1)(a) the proprietor ensures that a written policy on the curriculum, supported by appropriate plans and schemes of work, which provides for the matters specified in sub-paragraph (2) is drawn up and implemented effectively; and -2(1)(b) the written policy, plans and schemes of work – -2(1)(b)(i) take into account the ages, aptitudes and needs of all pupils, including those pupils with an EHC plan.  3. The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that the teaching at the school- -3(c) involves well planned lessons and effective teaching methods, activities and management of class time; -3(d) shows a good understanding of the aptitudes, needs and prior attainments of the pupils, and ensures that these are taken into account in the planning of lessons; -3(e) demonstrates good knowledge and understanding of the subject matter being taught;

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

-3(f) utilises effectively classroom resources of a good quality, quantity and range.

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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- -34(1)(a) demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently; -34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently. 19 to 21 September 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

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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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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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