London Islamic School

Inspection of London Islamic School 18-22 Damien Street, London E1 2HX

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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 Requires improvement

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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 of their school and they enjoy their learning here. They study hard in their lessons, and they look forward to putting their learning into practice on several educational visits. For example, pupils were excited about a recent visit to the Greenwich Observatory, where they applied their recent learning in science. Pupils form good working relationships with staff from the start of Year 7 and this helps them to feel safe at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils. In addition to their Islamic studies, pupils study a broad range of subjects. In each subject, the school designs its programmes of study thoughtfully, building in the aims of the national curriculum. Pupils also take great care over their work and, overall, teaching approaches ensure that they remember what they learn well. For example, Year 7 pupils had excellent recall of the Norman Conquest learned earlier in the year in history. Pupils in Years 10 and 11 study a range of GCSE subjects and they achieve positive outcomes.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave exceptionally well. In lessons, they are focused on their learning and disruptions are rare. Out of lessons, pupils are polite and calm and enjoy spending social times with one another, for example the breaktimes organised by the school at a nearby park. Pupils manage their own behaviour extremely well.

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better?

The school has designed a broad programme of study that meets the requirements of the independent school standards. In most subjects, leaders have clearly defined the key knowledge and skills that they want pupils to know and remember. The school has designed its programmes of study in a way that allows pupils to secure their knowledge in a logical order and then build on this to learn more complex ideas over time. For example, when pupils read George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ in Year 7, they are introduced to ideas of social position and class. Pupils then refer to this when they study ‘An Inspector Calls’ in Year 11. However, this level of clarity and coherence in curriculum thinking is not as well developed in a small number of subjects. As a result, pupils do not develop their knowledge and skills in a way that allows them to fully achieve the ambitious goals the school has in these subjects.

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better?

The school has recently introduced new assessment systems. These include end-of- topic assessments and methods to check pupils’ understanding in lessons. Pupils are expected to act on teachers’ feedback, correct any mistakes and take time to reflect on their learning. For example, in mathematics and history, pupils correct and learn from mistakes that are identified. This helps pupils to understand and remember what they have learned. However, the school’s approaches to assessment are not applied consistently in all subjects, and this can mean that pupils’ misunderstandings are not addressed in a timely way.

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better?

The school checks carefully if pupils have any barriers to learning well. This starts in Year 7, with leaders assessing all pupils, including in reading when they join the 11 to 13 June 2024 school. Leaders use assessment information, along with information from pupils, parents and pupils’ previous schools, to check pupils’ progress through the curriculum and provide additional support to pupils where necessary. All pupils have a reading book with them, and the school has a daily ‘drop everything and read’ session for all year groups. The school library is well stocked with a range of fiction and non-fiction books. Staff also encourage pupils to use the local library. These strategies help to promote pupils’ enthusiasm for reading widely.

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better?

Leaders, the proprietor body and the governing body have a clear vision for the school. They have worked together to bring about improvements in the school. Leaders ensure that staff have the training they need to deliver their subjects effectively. Staff are also supported to work with colleagues in other schools to develop their practice. The proprietor and governing bodies ensure that the school meets its statutory duties and that leaders ensure that the independent school standards are consistently met.

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better?

Pupils’ behaviour is exceptional. Pupils are keen to attend school and, as a result, attendance is very high. Staff have high expectations of behaviour and pupils rise to these. The school’s system of reward points is applied consistently by staff and pupils are extremely well motivated to achieve the rewards on offer. Pupils are supported to get involved in improving the school community, for example through their work on the student council and as house leaders.

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better?

All pupils study citizenship from Year 7 to Year 11. Through this curriculum, they learn about fundamental British values, such as democracy and tolerance. Pupils visit the Houses of Parliament as part of their studies, as well as visit places of worship for different faiths, including a local church and a synagogue. They are also taught about the diversity of modern Britain and what it means to be a British citizen. Pupils in Years 10 and 11 enjoy their annual residential trips, for example to Kent or the Isle of Wight. The school has also organised visits overseas, for example to Spain and a mini pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.

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better?

The school provides pupils with a well-planned careers programme that includes work experience, visits to careers fairs and one-to-one advice and guidance. Pupils are well prepared for their next steps in education.

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better?

The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 In a small number of subjects, the knowledge pupils need to learn and remember has not been planned with as much coherence and clarity as other curriculum 11 to 13 June 2024 areas. This means that pupils do not build up their knowledge as effectively over time in these subjects. The school needs to ensure that all subjects are consistently well planned and sequenced to develop pupils’ knowledge and skills so that pupils fully achieve the school’s ambitious aims.  The school’s techniques for assessing what pupils know and remember of the curriculum are new and not consistently applied in all subjects. This means that in some subjects, pupils develop gaps in their knowledge or misconceptions that are not corrected. The school should complete staff training so that pupils’ work is assessed consistently well across all subjects so that errors are corrected as they occur.

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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. 11 to 13 June 2024

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School details

Proprietor Esha’atul Islam Board of Trustees

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School details

Email address info@londonislamicschool.org

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School details

Date of previous inspection 8 to 10 February 2022 11 to 13 June 2024

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Information about this school

 This is an Islamic secondary school for up to 150 boys aged 11 to 16. There are currently 138 boys on roll.  The school is academically selective. Currently, the school does not have any pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities on roll.  The school is located within the Esha’atul Islam Mosque at 18-22 Damien Street, Whitechapel, London, E1 2HX.  There have been three progress monitoring inspections since the last standard inspection. These inspections took place on 3 November 2022, 5 May 2023 and 10 October 2023.  The school makes no use of 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 judgment about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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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

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, the proprietor, the chair of the local governing body and one of its members. Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation provided by the school to check compliance with the independent school standards. They also toured the school’s premises.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, history, mathematics and science. Inspectors visited lessons, reviewed pupils’ work, met with pupils to discuss their learning and met with subject leaders and teachers. Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about some other 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

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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’ interests first.  Inspectors met with groups of pupils. Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and at breaktimes was observed.  Inspectors spoke to a range of staff about safeguarding, pupils’ behaviour and 11 to 13 June 2024 staff workload. Inspectors looked at parent, pupil and staff responses to Ofsted’s surveys.

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Inspection team

Mark Smith, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Maureen Okoye Ofsted Inspector 11 to 13 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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