Darul Uloom London School

Inspection of Darul Uloom London School Foxbury Avenue, Chislehurst BR7 6SD

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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 Sixth-form provision Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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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?

Pupils settle into school life quickly and make strong and lasting friendships. This is due to the sense of camaraderie and community in the school. Pupils have respectful relationships with staff. Staff know their pupils well and look after them. Pupils have trusted adults and ‘independent listeners’ that they go to if they need advice or have concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils and their families like the school’s emphasis on Islamic studies and this is the main reason for pupils to attend the school. Pupils value the personal and spiritual enrichment they get from these. In some secular subjects, standards of work across the school are not high. While there is some improvement in current pupils’ achievement, there is variation in how well subjects are taught. This impacts on the extent and depth of pupils’ learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

As boarders, pupils take pride in how independent they become. Staff encourage pupils to take responsibility and to play their part in looking after the school. For example, sixth-form students support younger pupils in lessons and the school council makes recommendations for school improvement. Pupils’ behaviour reflects the school’s high expectations of conduct. They share respectful relationships with staff and each other.

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better?

The school offers a broad curriculum in Years 7 to 9. This continues into Years 10 and 11, where pupils study a range of subjects, including Arabic, history and information and communication technology (ICT). All pupils have the same curriculum and the school ensures that everyone has the same opportunities.

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better?

In the sixth form, the curriculum offer is limited. This narrows students’ opportunities for further education and training. A small number opt to study mathematics or business at A level. Many stay on in the sixth form to finish their Islamic studies and leave after Year 12. This means that they often do not complete their study programmes in other subjects. The school ensures that all sixth-form students leave with some qualifications through completion of two one-year vocational courses.

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better?

In many subjects, the curriculum is ambitious. In English, for example, pupils across all year groups study a broad range of literature, including poetry, prose and drama. The school promotes reading for pleasure. Pupils in Years 7 to 9, for instance, have dedicated reading lessons to read their own book choice independently. Pupils read fluently and accurately. Pupils who struggle in their work, including reading, receive additional support to help them to catch up. For example, staff provide individual support in lessons and after the school day for pupils who need some help accessing the learning successfully. 4 to 6 February 2025 Some subjects are not taught well. Where this is the case, pupils in Years 7 to 9 do not develop the foundational knowledge that they need for future learning. As a result, they attain poorly at GCSE and A level. Staff have subject-specific knowledge, but they have not had effective training in how to deliver new and revised

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better?

programmes of work. Staff deliver the planned curriculum and check pupils’ understanding, such as through formal tests. However, staff do not address pupils’ mistakes and lack of understanding. They move on to the next unit of work without plugging gaps in knowledge. This means that pupils do not have the necessary prior knowledge to draw on for more complex work. In some subjects, staff spend a lot of lesson time preparing pupils to answer examination-type questions. This impacts on the richness and depth of learning that pupils have.

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better?

In other subjects, such as mathematics, pupils show secure knowledge of what they have been taught. They can recall their previous learning and use this to help them with new learning. In many subjects, the school develops pupils’ vocabulary well. For example, in science, pupils use technical terminology routinely in their spoken answers to questions in class and in their written work. Increasingly, lessons in subjects across the school are well sequenced to help pupils build up learning over time.

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better?

Pupils behave well. Classrooms are quiet and calm with no low-level disruption. Pupils are attentive and motivated to learn. They know and follow the behaviour systems. Staff apply school rules in a consistent way and take on board pupils’ views. For example, pupils appreciate that they can put forward an appeal if they think they or another pupil have been unfairly sanctioned. Attendance rates are exceptionally high and pupils attend lessons on time.

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better?

The school teaches pupils to look after their emotional and mental health. This is particularly important for younger pupils who are living away from home for the first time. Staff help them to talk about their feelings and worries. Pupils learn about staying healthy, such as the dangers of smoking and drugs. The school promotes physical exercise through weekly lessons in physical education and the different extra-curricular activities. These include basketball, football and the very popular jiu- jitsu classes.

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better?

Citizenship and fundamental British values are an important part of the curriculum. Pupils learn about, for example, different forms of government, the rule of law, human rights and civil liberties. The school’s ethos reinforces the importance of respect and tolerance for all. Pupils show their understanding of this through their behaviour. They are considerate of others and accepting of people’s differences. The school ensures that pupils receive impartial careers guidance, such as through careers fairs and talks from external speakers.

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better?

Staff changes and a turnover of teaching staff have hindered the school’s plans to develop the secular curriculum. Until recently, the school did not have a sharp focus on checking the quality of curriculum implementation. The proprietor has recently taken steps to improve capacity in leadership and has delegated responsibilities to different school leaders. The school has started to make checks on curriculum 4 to 6 February 2025 delivery with more rigour. This work is at an early stage. Teaching staff find their workload manageable. They value leaders’ approachability and support, both professionally and with personal issues.

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better?

The proprietor does not have effective systems in place to ensure that the school meets the independent school standards (the standards) consistently. A number of standards are unmet, due to weaknesses in the quality of education and the school’s oversight of this. The proprietor fulfils its statutory duties effectively to safeguard its pupils. The school premises are maintained to an acceptable standard. The school rectified some issues around premises maintenance during the inspection. 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.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The quality of education, including in the sixth form, is inconsistent. In some subjects, pupils do not develop foundational knowledge and skills in Years 7 to 9. This means that they struggle with work in later years and do not achieve highly in external examinations, particularly at GCSE. In Years 10 and 11, a number of subjects focus heavily on examination technique. Pupils are not taught a rich body of knowledge as a result. The school should ensure that all subjects are consistently well taught, so that pupils’ learning across the curriculum is deep and secure in all year groups.  At times, assessment is not well used to ensure that pupils understand important knowledge before they move on in their learning. This leads to gaps in pupils’ knowledge that slows progression through the curriculum. The school should ensure that checks on prior learning are used effectively to identify and address

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

gaps in pupils’ knowledge before moving on to new learning.  The curriculum offer in the sixth form is narrow and lacks ambition. This limits students’ opportunities for further education, training and employment. The school should ensure that the sixth-form curriculum offer is suitably ambitious.  The school, including the proprietor, does not have clear oversight of the school’s effectiveness. It has not taken prompt action to stem a decline in the quality of education. A number of the independent school standards are not met. The school should ensure that it has robust systems in place to quality assure the curriculum and secure the necessary improvements to its provision. 4 to 6 February 2025

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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 February 2025

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School details

Unique reference number 101695 DfE registration number 305/6077

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School details

Inspection number 10342955 Type of school Other Independent School

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School details

School category Independent boarding school

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form

Dates of previous inspection 22 to 24 March 2022 4 to 6 February 2025

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Information about this school

 Darul Uloom London is an independent boarding school for boys. It is registered for up to 155 pupils aged 11 to 19 years. The school has a Muslim ethos.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  All pupils board at the school. The boarding premises are located at the same site at Foxbury Avenue, Chislehurst BR7 6SD. The boarding provision was last inspected in January 2023 and did not meet all the national minimum standards for boarding.  Pupils study a secular curriculum in the afternoon of each school day. Islamic studies are taught in the morning.  The school’s last standard inspection was in March 2022. The school was judged as good for overall effectiveness and met all the independent school standards.  Since the previous standard inspection in March 2022, the school has had three additional inspections: a school and boarding progress monitoring inspection in September 2024; a school and boarding material change inspection in February

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Information about this school

2024 and an emergency inspection and boarding progress monitoring inspection in July 2023.  The school’s previous inspection was a progress monitoring inspection in September 2023. The school met all the independent school standards that were checked during the inspection. The school also met all the national minimum standards for boarding that were checked.

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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 has failed to meet the independent school standards. These are the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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, the assistant head of school and other school leaders. Inspectors met with two trustees from the proprietor body. The chair of the proprietor body was unable to attend this discussion with trustees but met briefly with inspectors.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, personal, social, health and economic education, ICT and science. For each deep dive, inspectors 4 to 6 February 2025 held discussions about the curriculum, looked at curriculum plans, 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

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Information about this inspection

in 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 considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children’s interests first.  Inspectors considered responses to the survey, Ofsted Parent View, and the responses to the online staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey. Inspectors met with groups of staff and pupils to consider their views of the school.

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Inspection team

Jude Wilson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

David Lloyd Ofsted Inspector 4 to 6 February 2025

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

 3 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that the teaching at the school- – 3(a) enables pupils to acquire new knowledge and make good progress according to their ability so that they increase their understanding and develop their skills in the subjects taught; – 3(c) involves well planned lessons and effective teaching methods, activities and management of class time; – 3(e) demonstrates good knowledge and understanding of the subject matter being taught; – 3(g) demonstrates that a framework is in place to assess pupils’ work regularly and thoroughly and use information from that assessment to plan teaching so that pupils can progress;

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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; – 34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently; and 4 to 6 February 2025 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

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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