The British Muslim School

Inspection of The British Muslim School Latifiah Fultali Complex, Lodge Road, West Bromwich, West Midlands B70 8NX

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school where everyone is made to feel welcome. The school ensures that pupils learn about how they can contribute to wider society as a British Muslim. Leaders are ambitious for what they want pupils to achieve and the qualifications they take at the end of Year 11.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well and attend school regularly. There are positive relationships between staff and pupils. In many lessons, pupils are keen to contribute and share their ideas. Pupils say that bullying is rare, and they have confidence in staff to sort any issues out. As one Year 10 pupil commented, this is because ‘we are all friends here’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils study a range of subjects as part of the curriculum. There are a suitable number of GCSE subjects offered at key stage 4. However, there are inconsistencies in the way the curriculum is planned and taught. This means that pupils do not make as much progress as they should.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have opportunities to extend their learning beyond the classroom. This year, pupils have visited the Houses of Parliament. There have also been visits to careers fairs and local universities.

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better?

The school has ensured that pupils study a wide and varied secular curriculum. Many of the subjects taught at key stage 3 continue into key stage 4 where pupils achieve a range of GCSE qualifications. The school has reviewed the curriculum to ensure it is ambitious in the choice of content and topics that are taught. However, in some subjects, the school has not considered the smaller stepping stones pupils need to know and remember to build towards completing more complex tasks. This means that pupils sometimes struggle to complete more challenging work.

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better?

There has been some progress made in how the curriculum is taught. In subjects such as mathematics, teachers generally have good subject knowledge and use this effectively to help explain new learning. In this subject, for example, teachers present ideas clearly and pupils’ complete complex equations confidently. However, this is not the case across all subjects. In some lessons, teachers do not check pupils’ learning regularly enough. Additionally, some teachers do not pick up on errors or misconceptions quickly. This allows gaps in knowledge to grow and slows the progress that pupils make.

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better?

The school has raised the profile of reading since the last inspection. Leaders have increased the number of books in the school and have produced reading lists for both pupils and parents. Reading is now promoted across the school and time is devoted in assemblies to reading different articles. More widely, pupils celebrate national events such as World Book Day and National Poetry Day. Pupils have also entered competitions for their writing which has been successfully published. 4 to 6 June 2024 There is a clear programme in place for the school’s citizenship, relationship and sex education (RSE) curriculum. Across key stage 3, pupils learn about different topics such as identity and safety, living in the wider world and different types of relationships. The school place great emphasis on pupils learning and understanding the importance of fundamental British values. These are continually emphasised

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better?

through citizenship lessons and in other subjects. Pupils speak confidently about these values and how they connect to life beyond school. However, the citizenship and RSE curriculum at key stage 4 is not as well structured. Pupils do not have lessons in RSE beyond Year 10 or learn about important citizenship topics. This means that pupils are not as well prepared as they should be for when they leave at the end of Year 11.

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better?

The school has a suitable careers programme in place for all pupils. This is delivered through the citizenship curriculum where pupils learn about the world of work and the different pathways available to them when they leave school. Pupils in key stage 4 are given information about colleges, universities and apprenticeships and value the different visits they undertake to learn about their next steps. All pupils who leave the school at the end of Year 11 secure a positive destination with many going on to study A-levels.

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better?

Leaders are committed to the school and want it to do well. They have recently sought external expertise to help them develop the quality of education. This has proved successful. However, some of this work is still at an early stage and there remains more to do to develop the curriculum and ensure it is taught effectively. The school remains short of the knowledge and expertise necessary to help this area move forward sustainably.

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better?

The proprietor body has a realistic view of the school. They provide effective support and challenge to school leaders. They recognise that there is further work needed to help the school improve the quality of education and the need to ensure capacity of the staff. That said, they have worked closely with the school to ensure the independent school standards have been met.

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better?

Staff enjoy working at the school and feel well supported by leaders with their workload. Parents are positive about the school and the work they do to support their children in becoming well-rounded young adults.

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better?

The school has a suitable accessibility plan in place to ensure they are complaint with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 4 to 6 June 2024

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 In some subjects, the school has not identified and set out the smaller blocks of knowledge pupils need to complete more complex tasks. This means that some pupils struggle to connect their learning together and build on what they already know. The school should ensure that the curriculum in each subject sets out the precise knowledge and skills pupils need to remember over time.  There are inconsistencies in the implementation of the curriculum. Some teachers do not check pupils' understanding regularly enough or spot errors and misconceptions quickly. This slows pupils' progress. The school should ensure that the curriculum across all subjects is taught well to help pupils make better progress.  The citizenship curriculum at key stage 4 is not as well developed as it is at key stage 3. This means that pupils in Years 10 & 11 are not developing and securing their knowledge across a range of important topics and areas. The school should

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

ensure that the citizenship curriculum at key stage 4 is strengthened to help pupils deepen their knowledge and understanding.  Despite recent work with an education consultant, the school lacks knowledge and expertise at leadership level. This is hindering the school's work to improve areas such as the quality of education. The school should take action to strengthen leadership and management to help move the school forward.

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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. 4 to 6 June 2024

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School details

Unique reference number 135792 DfE registration number 333/6005

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School details

Inspection number 10284426 Type of school Other Independent School

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School details

School category Independent boarding school

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School details

Website www.thebritishmuslimschool.co.uk

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School details

Email address info@thebritishmuslimschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 24 to –26 May 2022 4 to 6 June 2024

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Information about this school

 The school is an Islamic boarding and day school for boys. The boarding provision is in the same building as the school and can cater for up to 40 pupils.  Since the last full standard inspection in May 2022, the school has had two additional inspections. These took place in July 2023 and December 2023 respectively. These additional inspections were carried out to check compliance with the independent school standards.  The school does not use alternative provision.  No pupils have been identified as having special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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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 work.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During this inspection, inspectors met with the principal and the school’s education consultant. They also met with other senior leaders and teachers.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics, history and personal, social, health and economic education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to staff, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and

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Information about this inspection

considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils first.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including school policies, risk assessments, attendance information and behaviour logs to check compliance with the independent school standards.  The school website was checked. 4 to 6 June 2024

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Inspection team

Mark Howes, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Russell Hinton Ofsted Inspector 4 to 6 June 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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