Daffodil Preparatory School

Inspection of Daffodil Preparatory School 161 - 163 Commercial Road, Tower Hamlets, London E1 2DA

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Inspection dates: 23 to 25 September 2025

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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 Not previously inspected

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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 close-knit, happy school. School staff form professional, supportive bonds with pupils. The school uses praise and encouragement to help pupils feel comfortable to raise questions and share any concerns. Pupils enjoy school. They play well together and typically treat each with kindness and respect.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a strong community ethos at this school. Everyone is made to feel included. The school regularly invites parents and carers to share their views to help the school to continue to improve and grow.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school places high importance on pupils’ personal development. It uses whole school events to provide experiences that pupils may not encounter in their everyday lives. For example, visits to the seaside are used as a fun way to promote teamwork. The school ensures that all pupils access these experiences equally.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school fosters a culture of high ambition. Staff want pupils to achieve their very best and reach their full academic potential. If pupils struggle, they receive additional support after school, to help them catch up. However, the school does not spot specific gaps in pupils’ knowledge and address them in lessons well enough. This prevents pupils from achieving as well as they could.

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better?

Recently, the school has made significant, necessary changes to the curriculum. The school curriculum matches the breadth and ambition of the national curriculum. Subject knowledge is organised logically to support pupils to build secure knowledge over time.

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better?

Recent training and support for teachers means that, typically, the curriculum is implemented adequately. Mostly, teaching resources and activity choices are relevant to support pupils to learn subject content. However, checks on what pupils know and remember are not precise. Fundamental inaccuracies in pupils’ knowledge of the foundations of reading and writing are not picked up and addressed sufficiently. Gaps in pupils’ knowledge are unaddressed in subsequent teaching effectively. Additionally, the school does not notice pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly enough. The different learning activities they receive do not consider pupils’ specific learning needs.

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better?

The school encourages pupils to value reading. Regularly, pupils enjoy listening to stories and borrow books from the library to read at home. This promotes a firm love of reading. Younger pupils, at the early stages of learning to read, receive effective phonics teaching regularly. For these pupils, teaching checks the letter sounds that pupils know and revisits content if they struggle. However, for some older pupils teaching does not pinpoint underlying gaps in phonics knowledge and address these adequately. These pupils do not benefit from well-matched phonics support or books to secure their understanding of letters and the sounds that they 23 to 25 September 2025 make. As a result, pupils do not become confident, fluent readers as quickly as they could.

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better?

The school ensures pupils know the routines and expectations. Typically, learning takes place with minimal disruption. The school monitors pupil attendance adequately. If absence becomes a concern, the school works constructively with parents to help it improve.

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better?

The school prepares pupils for life beyond the school effectively. The curriculum for personal, social and health education provides pupils with important information to prepare them well for life in Britain. For example, pupils are encouraged to value diversity and show respect for religious beliefs that are different to their own. The school shares crucial messages about how to stay safe with its pupils. The school uses visits and visiting speakers to help pupils to understand these aspects of their learning. For example, visits to the fire brigade and from the ambulance service help pupils to learn about personal safety.

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better?

The proprietor and leaders are working together to address significant challenges that the school has encountered recently. The proprietor has a clear understanding of its role and responsibilities. It collaborates with a range of external experts to provide robust support and challenge. Consequently, the school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. The independent school standards (the standards) are fully met.

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better?

In September 2025, the school revised its policies and procedures as part of its improvement work. Some of these policies are not implemented securely. These include parts of the school’s curriculum and SEND policies. Leaders have plans to address this. The school engages with staff on matters that may impact their workload constructively. Staff appreciate the consideration leaders have for their well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Checks on the knowledge pupils know and remember are not precise. Consequently, gaps in pupils’ knowledge are not picked up and addressed in subsequent teaching effectively. This includes fundamental inaccuracies in pupils’ knowledge of the foundations of reading and writing. This means that gaps in pupils’ knowledge persist and pupils are not supported to build on their prior knowledge as well as they should. The school must ensure that assessment is used to identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and inform subsequent teaching to address gaps and misconceptions effectively. 23 to 25 September 2025  The school does not identify pupils with SEND quickly enough. As a result, these pupils do not receive tailored adaptations to teaching, resources and activities based on their learning needs. The school must identify pupils with SEND quickly and ensure adaptations to teaching support these pupils to learn the curriculum

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

well.  The school does not ensure all the policies and procedures are implemented robustly. As a result, pupils do not learn as well as they could. The school must ensure its policies are implemented consistently and securely.

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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. 23 to 25 September 2025

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School details

Unique reference number 149148 DfE registration number 211/6014

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School details

Inspection number 10267732 Type of school Other Independent School

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School details

Proprietor Daffodil Preparatory School Ltd

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £3,500 to £3650

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School details

Email address info@daffodilprepschool.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected 23 to 25 September 2025

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Information about this school

 The school registered with the Department for Education (DfE) in August 2022. In 2023, the school moved to its current premises at 161 to 163 Commercial Road, Tower Hamlets, London E1 2DA. Material change inspections took place in August 2023 and December 2023. Pupils started attending the school in September 2024. This is the first standard inspection of the school since opening.  The school caters for primary-age boys and girls. It has an Islamic ethos. Pupils learn Islamic studies for part of the day. They study subjects in line with those contained in the national curriculum for the rest of the day.  The headteacher named on the DfE website is Miss Sumayyah Ali. In September 2025, Stephen Montford took on the role of interim headteacher. The deputy headteacher was also appointed in September 2025.  The proprietor is Daffodil Preparatory School Ltd. Asm Anisuzzaman is the sole member of the proprietor body.

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Information about this school

 The school does not make 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

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 evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held meetings with the proprietor, the headteacher and deputy headteacher.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and computing. For each deep dive, inspectors 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 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

23 to 25 September 2025 considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  To check compliance with the standards, inspectors also visited the outdoor play area, toured the premises and reviewed documents.  The inspectors reviewed responses from parents and staff to Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Andrea Bedeau, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Susan Maguire His Majesty’s Inspector 23 to 25 September 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 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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