Darul Hadis Latifiah Northwest

Inspection of Darul Hadis Latifiah Northwest Plum Street, Oldham, Lancashire OL8 1TJ

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Inspection dates: 28 to 30 November 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

Pupils are proud to attend this school. They try their best each day to follow the school’s values such as faith, truth and fairness. Pupils enjoy chatting and playing together at breaktimes. They get on well with staff and with each other. New pupils receive a warm welcome and settle in quickly to school life. The school is a happy place for pupils to learn and play.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ achievement. In their lessons, pupils concentrate well and stay focused on the tasks set. They know that they can ask for help if there is anything that they do not understand. Pupils typically achieve well in a range of subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils receive clear and consistent guidance about how to behave in school. They take pride in their own conduct and show highly respectful attitudes to staff and to visitors. Pupils enjoy striving for the enticing rewards for behaviour that the school provides, such as a trip to their favourite restaurant. Both in lessons and around school, pupils’ behaviour is exemplary.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a suitably wide range of activities to promote pupils’ development beyond the academic curriculum. Pupils learn about diversity and difference within their local community. They enjoy visits to museums and even trips abroad. Pupils receive appropriate independent advice and guidance in relation to careers.

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better?

The school has designed an ambitious, well-organised curriculum that covers a broad range of subjects. In each subject, consideration has been given to the most important knowledge that pupils need to learn at each stage of their development. Pupils are taught this key knowledge in a logical order from Year 7 to Year 11. This helps to ensure that pupils build new knowledge firmly upon what they already know and can do.

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better?

Teachers use their strong subject knowledge to provide lessons that engage pupils’ interests and help them to learn. Teachers check regularly in lessons to make sure that pupils have grasped previous learning before introducing new topics. This ensures that pupils’ knowledge is secure. The school makes effective use of information from assessments to make any necessary adjustments to teaching to help pupils learn well.

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better?

In most subjects, the school has a clear overview of the impact of the curriculum on pupils’ knowledge over time. This enables leaders to make improvements to the curriculum if needed. In a small number of subjects, the development of such a clear overview is at an early stage. In these subjects, there is a more limited understanding of the impact of the curriculum on pupils’ ability to know more and remember more over time. 28 to 30 November 2023 Reading has been given a high priority in the curriculum. The school provides pupils with an appropriate range of texts to support their learning in curriculum subjects. In addition, pupils have access to an exciting range of books to read for pleasure and interest. The school carries out timely checks on pupils’ reading knowledge. It ensures that pupils who need extra support receive it promptly. For example, pupils for whom English is an additional language are supported to understand new

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better?

vocabulary in subjects. This helps them to learn the curriculum effectively. In all year groups, pupils develop a love of reading.

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better?

The school makes use of a range of information to identify any pupils who may find learning difficult or who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This enables the school to make careful adaptations to enable these pupils to access the curriculum alongside their peers. On occasion, these adaptations are not matched carefully enough to pupils’ particular needs. When this happens, it hampers pupils’ ability to access the curriculum successfully.

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better?

The school sets high expectations for pupils’ regular attendance. Pupils arrive punctually for school and attendance is consistently high, with many pupils attending every day. Attendance information is analysed regularly to help leaders to understand the causes of any absences. The school has used this information effectively. This has led to improvements in attendance over time.

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better?

Pupils develop mature and responsible attitudes to their education. Behaviour in class is of the highest standard. This makes an important contribution to the culture of learning and to pupils’ achievement.

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better?

Pupils learn about nutrition and healthy eating, and about personal hygiene and fitness. They especially enjoy the sports activities that the school provides. Pupils enjoy opportunities to compete with other schools, for example, in a recent public speaking competition. Pupils learn about a range of faiths and cultures. Through the curriculum, pupils learn how to keep themselves safe when working online. There is an appropriate programme of relationships and sex education that follows statutory guidance. All of these experiences help to prepare pupils well for the next stage in their education.

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better?

The proprietor body has ensured that the independent school standards (‘the standards’) are consistently met. This has a positive impact on pupils’ experience at school. For example, the school’s premises are clean, tidy and well maintained. This contributes to pupils’ welfare, health and safety. The proprietor body has ensured that the school has a suitable range of resources and materials to support the teaching of the curriculum. This contributes effectively to pupils’ learning and achievement.

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better?

A room has been set aside for the short-term care of sick and injured pupils. This room has appropriate facilities such as a toilet and sink. The proprietor body has ensured that the school complies with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. The proprietor body has put in place a suitable safeguarding policy. This policy is published on the school’s website. 28 to 30 November 2023 The school communicates effectively with parents and carers, for example, to share information about their child’s progress and to promote good attendance habits. The proprietor body and leaders consider the potential impact on staff’s workload of the decisions that they make. Staff appreciate this concern. The school ensures that staff have access to training and support that enable them to do their jobs well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 On a small number of occasions, in some subjects, the school does not identify clearly enough the barriers to learning that some pupils experience. This prevents staff from making effective adaptations to help these pupils to learn the curriculum as well as they should. The school should ensure that all staff receive training to help them identify pupils’ needs accurately so that they can make the most appropriate adaptations to help pupils to learn well.  In a small number of subjects, the school’s understanding of the impact of the curriculum is at an early stage of development. This limits leaders’ ability to make sure that the curriculum is helping pupils to know more and remember more over time. The school should ensure that in all subjects, there is a clear overview of the impact of the curriculum for pupils from Year 7 to Year 11.

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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. 28 to 30 November 2023

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School details

Unique reference number 138568 DfE registration number 353/6001

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School details

Inspection number 10286436 Type of school Other independent school

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School details

Proprietor Darul Hadis Latifiah Northwest

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School details

Date of previous inspection 19 to 21 March 2019 28 to 30 November 2023

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Information about this school

 Darul Hadis Latifiah Northwest is located at Plum Street, Oldham OL8 1TJ.  This is an Islamic faith school.  The school has notified the Department for Education that the school is operating beyond its registration agreement. This is because a new proprietor body, Darul Hadis Latifiah Northwest, was established on 5 November 2021. The former proprietor is the chair of this new proprietor body.  Leaders do not make use of any alternative providers.  It is the school’s policy not to admit pupils with education, health and care plans or with identified special educational needs.

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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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and other school leaders. The lead inspector also met with the chair of the proprietor body and spoke on the telephone to a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: personal, social, health and economic education, mathematics and computing. 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.  Inspectors also spoke to leaders about the curriculum in some other subjects.

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Information about this inspection

They looked at a range of pupils’ books and reviewed curriculum documentation in these subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single 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. 28 to 30 November 2023  The lead inspector made a tour of the school. Inspectors also reviewed documentation to check the school’s compliance with the standards.  The inspectors considered the views expressed by parents in their responses to Ofsted Parent View. This included free-text comments.  The inspectors spoke with some pupils about school life. They took account of the responses to the pupil survey.  The inspectors spoke with staff to discuss leaders’ support for their workload and well-being. Inspectors took account of the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Mavis Smith, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Alun Williams Ofsted Inspector 28 to 30 November 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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