Lote Tree Primary School

Independent School

DCSF Registration Number 331/6022 Unique Reference Number 103753 Inspection number 316901 Inspection dates 20-21 February 2008 Reporting inspector Jane Melbourne HMI

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Independent School

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 162A of the Education Act 2002 (as amended by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005). This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Independent School

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404040 www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Purpose and scope of the inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as amended by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005, in order to advise the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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Information about the school

Coventry Muslim School is a non-selective independent primary and secondary school established in 1991. There are currently 59 pupils aged 5 to 16, who reside either in the immediate vicinity of the school or come from a wider Leicestershire and Warwickshire catchment area. Staff and pupils are all Muslims but pupils do not represent any particular ethnic group. Many pupils speak English as an additional language or are multi-lingual. The school aims to help pupils become morally and spiritually aware citizens who are well prepared for every aspect of life. The school occupies a converted residential property which extends to community and mosque use at the end of the school day and weekends. The school offers Islamic Studies alongside the National Curriculum. This is the school’s first inspection with a published report.

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Evaluation of the school

Coventry Muslim School provides a satisfactory quality of education overall. It has some good features. Teaching and pupils’ progress are satisfactory overall. Although it is often good, particularly in the secondary school, occasionally there is some weaker teaching and progress, mainly in the primary school. The school has strengths in pupils’ social and moral education. The provision for pupils’ welfare, health and safety is satisfactory and the school provides good care for, and promotes good behaviour amongst, its pupils. All of the regulations are met.

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Quality of education

The quality of education is satisfactory overall. The curriculum is mostly based on the National Curriculum and incorporates all the essential elements, including basic skills in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT). It also encompasses additional curriculum areas of Islamic Studies across the school, Arabic for primary aged pupils and Urdu for secondary aged pupils.

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Quality of education

The curriculum is satisfactory overall with many positive elements, including particular strengths in the provision for textiles technology and ICT. Some curriculum policies and planning documents are effective in guiding teaching and learning, but this is not consistent across the school and, as a consequence, does not ensure that all pupils do as well as they can in all areas. The monitoring of the curriculum is at an early stage. Teaching and planning is monitored well, but schemes of work and work in books have been less well monitored to date. As staff know pupils well, they plan work informally to meet the needs of the range of pupils in each class, but the match is not always achieved. The school does not always meet the needs of the boys in class or some of the higher attaining pupils, particularly in the primary school. Written plans do not always make the learning objectives clear or give

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Quality of education

sufficient guidance for teaching. Consequently, some pupils are not consistently well challenged. The school is adequately resourced, other than the limited artefacts for humanities and materials for practical tests in science. The provision for ICT is good. Although software is a little limited, the teaching and learning within this subject do not suffer and pupils produce some good quality work and are developing well- rounded ICT skills.

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Quality of education

The quality of teaching and assessment is satisfactory and many lessons are good. There are occasional inadequate lessons in the primary school. In the best lessons, teachers have good subject knowledge, make the lesson objectives clear and move the lesson on at a good pace. There are stimulating activities appropriate to the range of pupils in the class. Teachers make lessons interesting because they are confident in what they are teaching. Pupils enjoy lessons when practical work is set and in these lessons they make good gains in their learning. Pupils are not routinely told about the lesson objectives, which are sometimes too low in expectation in the primary classes, including those for the presentation of their work. Neither are they consistently given learning targets. Secondary pupils are given good quality advice through marking on how they could improve a piece of work, but this is less comprehensive at primary level. There are effective systems in place to check on the

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Quality of education

quality of teaching, although the school is still developing systems to check on the quality of pupils’ learning and progress. Some staff lack expertise with the age group they are teaching, but in other lessons, particularly as pupils move up the school, their subject knowledge is good. This disparity means that the quality of teaching and learning is variable across the school and is better in the secondary department. Staff receive high quality help and guidance on how to improve their teaching.

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Quality of education

Formal routes of assessment enable staff to establish pupils’ progress from year to year. Assessment data is also now being collected to ensure that staff are accurately monitoring pupils’ progress carefully over all classes throughout the year. This level of information is fairly new and so not all plans have yet been consistently tailored to the needs of the current class. This has been overcome to some extent by good individual tuition made possible by small class sizes. As a result, pupils’ progress in their learning is at least satisfactory. In some subjects, such as English, ICT and Urdu, pupils’ progress is good. In some of the younger year groups and across those key stages, pupils are working below the level expected for their age and are not making sufficient progress. In other areas, pupils make at least satisfactory progress. Pupils identified as having learning difficulties are only making satisfactory progress

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Quality of education

because their work is not tailored specifically enough to their needs, although the school is committed to including any such pupils fully in the life of the school. Individual education plans provide some useful information, but they are not reviewed sufficiently regularly nor are they accurately informed by observation and assessment.

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Quality of education

Pupils are achieving reasonably well overall; their work in lessons and in books provides evidence of this. They take part in regular tests, including end of key stage tests in Years 6 and 9. The school also prepares all its pupils for GCSE examinations and for their future academic or vocational courses. Whilst results in Key Stages 2 and 3 reflect satisfactory and sometimes good achievement, results at GCSE are less consistent. It is difficult to make any generalisations about this due to the very small cohorts in some years.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils is good. Social and moral aspects are particularly strong. Pupils speak positively about the school. They attribute a feeling of safety in the school to the Moslem ethos, to which they are committed. There are some opportunities for spiritual reflection. A good example of this was a Year 3/4 lesson, in which pupils were encouraged to reflect on how honesty links with Allah seeing all of our actions. However, staff do not make the most of all opportunities for this. Pupils study other cultures and faiths, encouraging a sense of tolerance and understanding. They have a good sense of right and wrong and this is reinforced by a reward and sanction system which is understood by all. Pupils are very clear about the expectations staff have of them and respond very well. The broad curriculum ensures that pupils usually enjoy their education;

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

however some lessons are over-dominated by the teacher talking, with few opportunities for pupils to participate in practical learning activities. The personal, social and health education programme of study provides a wide range of issues for discussion which promotes pupils’ understanding of institutions and the law so that they can be informed citizens. A very strong feature of the school is the extent to which pupils take responsibility in raising money for a wide range of charities. Pupils say they would like to have more opportunities to be involved in decisions about the running of the school. There are some opportunities for visits and trips; the school aim to make this a more regular feature of its provision.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

Behaviour is good overall. Pupils are mainly respectful and courteous to adults and to each other. This contributes to the smooth running of lessons. On rare occasions there is some unkind behaviour and disruption to classes by a small number of primary aged boys. In the best lessons, teachers give pupils responsibility for their own learning and this promotes opportunities for them to demonstrate exemplary behaviour. However, this is not consistent and in many lessons, pupils are too compliant and passive.

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Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

This aspect of the provision is satisfactory. The essential policies and procedures aimed at promoting a well-ordered environment comply with the latest legislation and guidance and their implementation is generally satisfactory. Arrangements for safeguarding children are satisfactory. The school has suitable strategies in place to promote good behaviour and reduce bullying. Consequently pupils feel safe and free from bullying. Although the school has a satisfactory level of fire safety, the staff have not yet received the appropriate training. Appropriate risk assessments are carried out to minimise risks in various circumstances. Procedures for administering first aid are adequate. However, accidents are not always recorded in sufficient detail. Registers are accurately maintained. The school has secure procedures in place for pursuing punctuality and attendance, including a rewards system for pupils

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Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

Pupils gain a good understanding of healthy living through the curriculum and the school employs a good range of strategies to promote healthy eating. However, this is not supported sufficiently by some parents who provide non-nutritious snacks for their children. The school promotes physical exercise satisfactorily and makes effective use of the local leisure centre and local sports expertise.

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Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

The school fulfils its obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2002.

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Suitability of the proprietor and staff

The school complies with the regulations for the appointment of staff. All applicants, including non-teaching staff, are checked with the Criminal Records Bureau and their references and qualifications are corroborated. All the required information is kept on a single central record which is easily accessible to the responsible authorities.

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School’s premises and accommodation

The premises provide very compact teaching accommodation that is only just satisfactory. The ICT suite is also used as a classroom and there is no science laboratory. The playground provides for safe outdoor play. There is a programme of re-decoration and general maintenance in place.

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Provision of information for parents, carers and others

The school recognises parents as crucial partners in their children’s learning. Many parents are involved with the school by helping out with and attending the many special events. Community classes held on the school premises are also attended by parents. Parents receive a good quality and informative newsletter which is published by Year 10 pupils. The school provides all of the necessary information for parents. This includes a good quality report of their children’s progress and particulars of pupils’ academic performance across the school. Parents are mainly positive about the school and are happy with the standard of education their children are receiving.

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Procedures for handling complaints

The school has satisfactory procedures in place for handling complaints. The school’s complaints policy complies with latest regulations. Most parents are aware of the policy. The school has had no formal complaints in the past year.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school meets all of the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003 as amended January 2005.

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What the school could do to improve further

While not required by the regulations, the school might wish to consider the following points for development:

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What the school could do to improve further

 develop more consistent quality in the schemes of work and ensure that the educational provision more appropriately meets the needs of the boys  assess pupils’ progress more consistently across the school and use data to specifically inform planning for pupils’ needs, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities  ensure that teaching and learning across the school are of a consistently good quality.

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School details

Name of school Coventry Muslim School DCSF number 331/6022 Unique reference number 103753 Type of school Primary and Secondary Status Independent Date school opened 1991 Age range of pupils 5-16 years Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll Boys: 12 Girls: 47 Total: 59 Annual fees £1,050 Address of school 643 Foleshill Road Coventry West Midlands CV6 5JQ Telephone number 0247626 1803 Fax number 0247626 1803 Email address info@coventrymuslimschool.com Headteacher Mrs M Ashique Proprietor Mr Mahmood Anwar Reporting inspector Jane Melbourne HMI Dates of inspection 20-21 February 2008

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