Jamea Al Kauthar

Inspection report for boarding school: Jamea Al Kauthar 1 Jamea Al Kauthar Jamea Al Kauthar Islamic College (Charity) Jamea Al Kauthar, Islamic College, Ashton Road, Lancaster LA1 5AJ

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this boarding school

Jamea Al Kauthar is an independent boarding school for girls. It educates girls aged over 11 in a Muslim tradition. The school currently has 255 pupils, all of whom board. Some pupils are aged between 21 and 25.

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Information about this boarding school

The main building houses the central accommodation at the boarding school with separate wings designated for separate boarding houses. The madrasa and school are situated in two separate buildings.

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Information about this boarding school

The headteacher is also the head of boarding.

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Information about this boarding school

The inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this school.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The boarding school provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 8 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good Inspection report for boarding school: Jamea Al Kauthar 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy their boarding experiences. They feel well supported and they have fun. They said that living together feels like a big family where they make close friendships with each other. Children also have trusted adults that they can talk to. Children wrote to staff, ‘Thank you for all the constant support and effort. For always putting us first. For the thoughtful things to make us happy, always being there for us and helping us to become the best version of ourselves.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and their parents attend open days at the boarding premises to help them to make an informed decision about attending the school. Former and current pupils support open days by sharing their experiences of boarding at the school. When children are new to the school, buddy systems are implemented to help them settle into boarding life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The boarding experience has a positive impact on the social and emotional well-being of children. Boarding staff understand the progress children are making. A new system to capture progress for individual children is in the process of being implemented. Boarding and teaching staff work together effectively so that they have a sense of shared ownership when supporting children. Consequently, children enjoy and are dedicated to their education. They are encouraged to aspire and plan their future careers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents are very complimentary about the care their children are given. Family time is well supported and arranged so that children have regular visits home and can talk to family daily. An increase in the number of family visits to the boarding residence during half-term holidays has been implemented for children who wish to have these. Additional visits home for children who are new to boarding have also been introduced to help them with their transition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Boarding staff ensure that children have access to local and appropriate health services when they need them. They have a good understanding of children’s individual health conditions, such as asthma and allergies. Health support is overseen by an external consultant who undertakes regular quality assurance visits and provides additional guidance to the staff team. Children’s mental and emotional well- being are taken very seriously. Children also have regular access to an independent listener, who has been integral to promoting children’s emotional and mental well- being. They can also attend external well-being sessions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their independence and daily living skills to prepare them for adulthood. Older children are supported to spend time independently in the community. Children’s access to external recreational activities has improved, based on their preferences and requests. Children also enjoy a range of in-house extra-curricular clubs, such as crochet, cookery and sports clubs. They Inspection report for boarding school: Jamea Al Kauthar 3 are actively involved in fundraising events to benefit local charities and local school sports tournaments are planned for the summer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and suggestions are prioritised. There are effective forums for children to share their views and have their requests listened to. This includes a suggestion box and an active pupil voice group. The independent listener is heavily invested in supporting children to share their experiences of boarding and helping them to drive change. The importance of children’s views is threaded through the boarding provision’s processes, and this empowers children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are treated with respect and dignity. They are helped to build emotional resilience and a sense of their own identity. Their faith is very important to them. Children and their families are consulted with in relation to preparing for Ramadhan and how they would like to celebrate the festival. In addition, children understand and work to support British values.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children take pride in their bedrooms and the boarding premises. They say the accommodation is comfortable and their privacy is respected. They take responsibility for keeping the boarding provision clean and tidy. Improvement work has started in the dining rooms and bedrooms, with a clear plan to continue throughout the boarding provision to develop it further.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are protected from harm. Their safety and well-being are of high importance in the boarding provision. Boarding staff know the children well. They understand children’s potential risks or vulnerabilities and how they should be supported. Boarding staff are positive role models for the children.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children’s behaviour is exemplary. Children do not go missing from the boarding provision or engage in any other risky behaviours in the community. Incidents or significant events are rare. Boarding staff are trained to respond appropriately to incidents of self-harm. They provide support to children to help them to understand and manage their feelings. Additionally, children support each other and recognise any signs that their friends may be struggling with their emotional well-being.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are supported to understand how to keep themselves safe online and in the community. This is part of the leaders and managers’ vision to support children to take more age-appropriate risks and to prepare them for independence.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

A safeguarding report is provided to the safeguarding governor each term to keep him up to date with any ongoing or resolved safeguarding issues. Safeguarding communication is shared effectively between the boarding staff, the head of boarding and the designated safeguarding lead (DSL). The DSL also liaises with the safeguarding governor for support and guidance when needed. Inspection report for boarding school: Jamea Al Kauthar 4 Boarding staff provide children with clear boundaries, structures and expectations in relation to their behaviour. Positive achievements are rewarded and celebrated for all children. Effective restorative work is undertaken with children to help them reflect on any concerning behaviour. However, the exclusions and behaviour support policies do not clearly reflect the school’s current behaviour support approach or the use of reflection time as a disciplinary measure. Consequently, some boarding staff and

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

those responsible for the children are not clear about the behaviour support processes.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The school has an effective approach to managing any incidents of potential bullying. An anti-bullying officer oversees any concerns and contacts an anti-bullying alliance for advice and guidance. Boarding staff recognise any trends and patterns associated with bullying and can identify when it is more likely to take place. Bullying is dealt with promptly and victims of bullying are offered support. Team-building activities with children are used to promote unity and to encourage them to live with one another respectfully.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The headteacher and principal provide consistent and long-standing leadership. Alongside the governors, they work together and have a shared ambitious vision for the boarding provision and changing children’s lives. They demonstrate integrity and transparency in their work with children. Together, they have made effective improvements to their systems and addressed the previous inspection’s areas for improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers understand children’s plans and they can demonstrate the positive impact that living at the school has had on individual children’s life chances. They recognise the boarding provision’s strengths and areas to be developed. The boarding development plan is focused and drives improvements in children’s experiences of boarding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Boarding staff receive effective support and guidance from leaders and managers, who are focused on promoting staff well-being. Practice-related supervisions for staff review practice, set targets and provide guidance to staff in their individual roles. Weekly team meetings are an additional forum for developing staff knowledge. For example, the meetings incorporate a seven-minute safeguarding briefing for the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Boarding staff are trained in a variety of areas that are bespoke to children’s needs. They receive an effective induction to prepare them for their roles and have their performance appraised annually. Their individual targets are linked to the boarding development plan. Staff’s appraisal targets are included in the principal’s report for governors, so that they also have a clear oversight of the staff team’s professional development. Inspection report for boarding school: Jamea Al Kauthar 5 Leaders and managers take swift and appropriate action to address any complaints or concerns raised by children or their parents. The complaints procedure, external contact details and a suggestion box are easily accessible to children and they are monitored regularly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The governing body holds the school to account to ensure that children receive a good standard of care. They understand the operation of the boarding provision, its strengths and areas to be developed. The chair of governors and their deputy visit the boarding provision regularly together. They work closely with the headteacher to share ideas and provide feedback. This provides an extra layer of scrutiny in relation to the boarding provision and children’s experiences. Inspection report for boarding school: Jamea Al Kauthar 6

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Point for improvement

 School leaders should have and consistently implement a written policy to promote good behaviour among pupils, including boarders. The school’s approach to behaviour should be easily apparent to anyone joining or visiting the school and evident in the actions and messages from all staff and pupils, including boarders. Specifically, boarding staff and those responsible for children should be supported to understand the behaviour support processes used with children.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Children Act 1989 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation and to consider how well it complies with the national minimum standards. Inspection report for boarding school: Jamea Al Kauthar 7

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Boarding school details

Social care unique reference number: SC039275

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Boarding school details

Headteacher/teacher in charge: Aneesa Soheil

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Inspectors

Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector (lead) Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for boarding school: Jamea Al Kauthar 8 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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