Crystal Gardens Primary School

Inspection of Crystal Gardens Primary School 38 Greaves Street, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD5 7PE

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Good Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding

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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. It is a friendly and welcoming place. The broad and ambitious curriculum encompasses Islamic studies as well as a range of other subjects. Leaders have high aspirations for pupils. Pupils understand these aspirations. They are enthusiastic learners and keen to achieve their best.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is highly valued by the local Muslim community. The religious ethos is successfully woven throughout the curriculum. It is at the heart of pupils’ exemplary behaviour and attitudes. Pupils develop their understanding of spiritual, cultural and moral issues well. They benefit from various enrichment activities and experiences. They acquire vital first-aid skills, learn different sports and enjoy singing nasheeds.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school and attend well. They are polite and respectful. There are warm, positive relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils feel safe. Poor behaviour or bullying are not an issue in this school. They are not tolerated. The school’s shared vision for pupils to become, calm, caring and considerate individuals is being realised. Pupils understand the systems in place to help them to manage their behaviour. They relish the opportunity to earn vouchers to spend in the Friday tuck shop in recognition of their pleasing behaviour, attendance and achievements.

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better?

The school’s curriculum is carefully sequenced from the early years to Year 6. This helps pupils to achieve strong outcomes by the end of their time at the school. Curriculum content is clearly mapped out in all subjects within the curriculum. The content builds pupils’ knowledge and skills during their time at the school. Children in the early years begin to learn the knowledge, skills and vocabulary important for later learning. Curriculum themes help to connect learning across year groups and classes. Assessment projects help pupils to apply their knowledge as skills. However, some pupils struggle to confidently remember some aspects of the curriculum. This is because learning for some curriculum content is not revisited often enough.

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better?

There is a consistent approach to the teaching of phonics. Children begin to learn phonics from the start of the Reception Year. The school places high priority on ensuring that pupils learn to read as soon as possible. Pupils who need extra help with reading including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), receive suitable and timely support. Staff provide extra phonics and reading sessions when necessary. The joy of reading is promoted strongly across the school. Pupils are avid readers. They enjoy the range of books that are available to them in school. From the early years, children learn to appreciate the joy of listening to stories. They listen with rapt attention and delight. They excitedly become involved in familiar stories and rhymes.

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better?

The needs of the very small proportion of pupils with SEND are identified and well supported. When needed, staff make appropriate adaptations to help pupils with 5 to 7 March 2024 SEND to access their learning. Leaders work closely with parents and carers. They use advice from external professionals to make sure that pupils’ needs are met well.

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better?

Children in the early years make a positive start to school life. Staff check carefully what children know and can do when they join the school. This information helps staff to design effective learning and purposeful activities for children to enjoy. Children are nurtured. They develop respect for others, behave well and are excited to learn.

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better?

The personal, social, health and citizenship education (PSHCE) curriculum supports pupils’ personal development well. It includes age-appropriate relationships education. Pupils develop their understanding of how to live healthy lives and create positive friendships. They learn about risks to their safety and how to deal with them, including from online bullying and drugs. Enrichment and community activities, trips and other experiences help to support pupils’ personal development. Pupils enjoy taking on positions of responsibility as school councillors. They organise and lead performances in whole-school assemblies. They take part in litter picking in the local community. They organise fundraising activities for local and international causes such as for Macmillan Cancer Support and the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal.

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better?

The school has experienced significant changes to staffing since the start of this academic year. A substantial proportion of teaching staff are new to the school. Leaders, including the proprietors, have not been complacent. They provide strong and highly effective training and support for staff. Leaders make sure that their ambitious vision for the school is shared and understood well by all within the school community. Their aspirational and determined ambition for the school to offer a high standard of education in an Islamic environment is supporting rapid and effective improvements to the quality of teaching and learning.

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better?

The school’s strong approach to behaviour management is rooted in its religious ethos. Pupils meet the school’s high expectations for their behaviour consistently. Well-established routines and practices support pupils to behave well and treat others with respect.

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better?

Staff are proud to work here. They appreciate that leaders are considerate of their workload and well-being. Parents are overwhelmingly supportive of the school. Typically, they are effusive in their praise for ‘the dedication and effort’ of staff in helping their children to ‘achieve to the best of their abilities’. They value the way their children are happy to skip into school and are warmly greeted by caring staff.

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better?

The proprietors maintain strong strategic oversight of the school. They share leaders’ ambitious vision. They know the school and the community it serves very well. Health and safety checks are undertaken to ensure that pupils are kept safe. The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. The proprietor makes sure that suitable policies and systems for the health, safety and welfare of pupils are in place. The school’s website contains all necessary information. This includes an up-to-date safeguarding policy. 5 to 7 March 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Some curriculum content is not revisited often enough. This means that pupils struggle to confidently remember important knowledge. The school should ensure that there are frequent opportunities for pupils to revisit important curriculum content.

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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. 5 to 7 March 2024

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School details

Unique reference number 130857 DfE registration number 380/6066

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School details

Inspection number 10299175 Type of school Other independent school

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School details

Proprietor Ahmed Ali, Abdur Raqeeb and Feizal Patel

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School details

Email address contact@crystalgardens.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 to 7 March 2019 5 to 7 March 2024

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Information about this school

 The school has an Islamic religious character. The school was established to enable Muslim children to fulfil their obligation towards their creator, parents and the society they live in, making them good law-abiding citizens, who will become positive role models and actively contribute to the wider community.  The school offers a breakfast club every morning.  Currently, there are no pupils with education, health and care plans.  The school does not use 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.  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 held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, one of the proprietors, the leader for special educational needs and pastoral support, some curriculum leaders and teachers. Inspectors also met with some staff and groups of pupils.  Inspectors carried out deep dives into reading, mathematics, and PSHCE. Inspectors looked at curriculum plans, visited lessons, spoke to teaching staff and spoke to some pupils about their learning. Inspectors also looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors scrutinised leaders’ planning for the curriculum in history, geography and science and looked at samples of pupils’ work for these subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 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. Checks were made on staff training and safeguarding procedures.  Inspectors checked the implementation of risk assessment and health and safety policies, including the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s surveys for parents, pupils and staff. 5 to 7 March 2024

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maximum number of pupils

The school has applied to the Department for Education (DfE) to make a ‘material change’ to its registration. At the DfE’s request, we checked whether the school is likely to meet the relevant independent school standards if the DfE decides to approve the change. This part of the inspection was carried out under section 162(4) of the Education Act 2002.  The outcome of this part of the inspection is: the school is likely to meet the

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relevant independent school standards if the material change relating

to the school provision is implemented.  There is suitable space to accommodate the proposed provision for two- and three-year-old children. It is suitable for the care and education of these young children. The school has purchased resources and furniture that are appropriate to the age and stage of the children.  The school has identified a secure outside space for two- and-three-year-old children to play. Leaders intend to install a canopy over this area and will provide suitable play equipment to promote children’s physical development. If leaders implement these plans, the outside space is likely to be suitable for the proposed material change.  There is sufficient outdoor space to accommodate additional pupils at breaktimes. Classrooms and other areas of the school are of adequate size for staff to manage the increase in pupil numbers.  The school has suitable toilet and washing facilities to accommodate the proposed

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relevant independent school standards if the material change relating

material change. The proprietor completes relevant health and safety checks to ensure the welfare and safety of pupils. First-aid and medical equipment is kept up to date and staff are trained to administer paediatric first aid. There are appropriate arrangements for children’s intimate care needs including a dedicated area for nappy changing. Leaders have suitable plans to ensure that children are closely supervised when sleeping and eating.  The proprietor has ensured that safer recruitment checks are carried out on all adults who work with children and intends to follow the same procedure when appointing new staff. Suitable arrangements are in place to supervise pupils. The school intends to follow the early years statutory welfare requirements and ensure that ratios of staff to children are appropriate.  The school’s policies and procedures are compliant with the independent school standards. These include for safeguarding, risk assessment, and health and

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relevant independent school standards if the material change relating

safety. Leaders have thought carefully about the curriculum requirements for two- and-three-year-old children and how they will assess children’s needs and plan curriculum activities. The school’s existing approach to promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is suitable for the proposed material change. 5 to 7 March 2024 Information about the material change inspection.  The lead inspector scrutinised the school’s policies, procedures and curriculum information that were relevant to the proposed material change. The inspector toured the school to check its suitability to accommodate the additional number of pupils. The inspector visited the area of the school which will accommodate the proposed provision for two- and-three-year-old children.  The inspector met with the headteacher, a proprietor and the leader for the early years to discuss their plans for the proposed material change.

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Inspection team

Stephanie Innes-Taylor, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Thomas Wraith His Majesty's Inspector 5 to 7 March 2024 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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