Al-Khair Secondary Girls

Inspection of Al-Khair Secondary Girls 109–117 Cherry Orchard, Croydon CR0 6BE

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good 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 enjoy being part of this close-knit school community. The school instils a strong sense of shared values, such as respect and tolerance. Staff make sure that pupils are kept safe here and that they feel comfortable talking to trusted adults about any concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ conduct in lessons and around the school is orderly. They are courteous to staff and each other. Pupils on the school council suggest school improvements to the school and organise charity fundraising events. Older pupils, including those who are prefects, support younger pupils by listening to them read. Pupils work hard. They are typically ambitious for their futures and have clear aspirations to work towards.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Through the enrichment programme, pupils are introduced to a wide variety of sporting activities, including fencing, jiu-jitsu, archery and golf. The school organises some educational outings to enhance pupils’ learning and broaden their experiences, including visits to an art gallery, various museums and the Houses of Parliament.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff provide opportunities for pupils to deepen their learning beyond the academic curriculum and to work together on projects. For example, many pupils take part in an annual civil-engineering competition, applying their knowledge from study of subjects such as mathematics and physics.

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better?

Over recent time, weaknesses in the school’s oversight of the independent school standards have been addressed. School leaders and those responsible for governance, including the proprietor, have effective systems in place to check that their actions are having the required impact. They now ensure that the independent school standards are met consistently.

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better?

The school is ambitious for all pupils to achieve well. In Years 7 to 9, pupils study a broad curriculum that prepares them well for their GCSE courses in Years 10 and 11. Pupils produce work of a high standard and achieve strong outcomes at GCSE. Staff are well supported by leaders and receive training to develop their teaching skills.

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better?

Staff have thought carefully about how to ensure that pupils’ knowledge and skills builds over time. For example, in Years 8 and 9, pupils build on their poetry work from Year 7 by comparing a selection of poems, and explore differences in style, structure and language. Staff typically set pupils tasks which enable pupils to practise and reinforce their learning. For example, in art, pupils worked hard to improve their drawings of apples, focusing on different aspects such as form and colour. As a result of this, pupils gain in confidence and learn essential subject content securely. 4 to 6 June 2024 Teaching staff present information clearly and provide opportunities for pupils to draw on prior learning. Through formal tests, they check what pupils have learned. Staff use these to determine where pupils need extra support or which topics need more emphasis. In lessons, however, staff do not consistently check pupils’

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better?

understanding in order to address any misconceptions.

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better?

The school identifies and supports pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff have had some training in how to help pupils who may need support to access the curriculum, but this is not fully embedded. As a result, staff do not routinely adapt teaching well to help all pupils with their learning.

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better?

Pupils are avid readers. The school supports any weaker readers when necessary. Younger pupils read aloud with prefects. The school is in the process of extending the range of books in the school’s library to provide more opportunities for pupils to read for pleasure.

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better?

Staff follow the behaviour management systems consistently and pupils abide by the school’s high expectations of conduct so that learning proceeds uninterrupted. The school has clear expectations for pupils’ attendance at school. However, the school has not ensured that pupils attend school as regularly as they should. The school’s analysis of attendance rates is not sharply focused on identifying and addressing attendance concerns at an early stage.

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better?

Staff ensure that pupils are encouraged to be prepared for life beyond school and to keep themselves safe. Through the school’s personal, social, health and economic education programme, pupils are taught about a wide range of topics which include the statutory content for relationships and sex education. Staff make sure that this is taught in an age-appropriate way. For example, older pupils are taught about the features of toxic relationships and different ways in which victims might be controlled, including through financial, physical and emotional means. The school arranges for external visitors to deliver supplementary workshops, for example on using public transport safely and on internet safety.

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better?

The careers programme for pupils is much improved since the previous inspection. From Year 7, pupils are introduced to a wide range of careers through assemblies, visiting speakers and careers fairs. A leadership programme at a local football club, links with the armed forces and work experience week in Year 10 all contribute to this aspect of the school’s provision.

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better?

The school has ensured that the requirements of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010 are met.

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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)

 Teachers’ checks of pupils’ understanding in lessons and strategies to adapt teaching effectively are variable. This means that sometimes misconceptions go unchallenged and learning is sometimes not adapted to meet the needs of all pupils. Leaders should ensure that pupils’ learning is routinely checked and that teaching is adapted to meet the needs of all pupils.  Actions taken to address poor attendance are not taken as soon as possible. This means that poor attendance persists for some pupils. Leaders should sharpen systems to identify patterns of poor attendance quickly and formalise support as soon as possible where necessary to improve overall attendance rates.

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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 147027 DfE registration number 306/6019

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School details

Inspection number 10299253 Type of school Other independent school

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School details

Email address secondary@alkhairschool.org.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 28 to 30 January 2020 4 to 6 June 2024

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Information about this school

 The school is an Islamic independent day school for girls aged 11 to 16. It shares a building with Al-Khair School, a secondary boys’ school. Both schools have the same proprietor, governing body and headteacher. Staff work across both schools.  The current headteacher took up post in September 2023.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school’s most recent inspection was a progress monitoring inspection in September 2023. The school did not meet all the independent school standards that were checked during the inspection.  The school’s previous standard inspection was in January 2020.

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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 third routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and other school leaders. The lead inspector met with the proprietor and members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: art and design, English, mathematics and personal, social, health and economic education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also considered the curriculum in other subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector 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. 4 to 6 June 2024  Inspectors considered responses to the online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, and the responses to the online staff survey. Inspectors also met with different groups of pupils and staff, including non-teaching staff.

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The school’s progress in meeting previously failed standards

During the inspection we checked whether the school now meets the independent school standards that it was judged to have failed at its previous progress monitoring inspection on 28 September 2023.  The outcome of this part of the inspection is: the school now meets the previously failed standards.

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The school now meets the following standards

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; and – 34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently.

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Information about the progress monitoring inspection

 As a result of unmet standards found at the time of the progress monitoring inspection in September 2023, the Department for Education (DfE) required the school to prepare an action plan. This action plan was evaluated by Ofsted in January 2024 and was judged to be acceptable.

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Inspection team

Jude Wilson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Madeleine Gerard His Majesty’s Inspector 4 to 6 June 2024 regulates and inspects 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 looked after children, 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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