Madani Secondary Girls' School

Independent School

DCSF Registration Number 211/6383 Unique Reference Number 100982 Inspection number 320364 Inspection dates 12-13 February 2008 Reporting inspector Michèle Messaoudi

p.1

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.

p.1

Independent School

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

p.2

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.

p.3

Information about the school

Madani Girls’ School is an independent Muslim school for girls aged between 11 and 21 years, situated in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It opened in 1991 and moved to the present address in 2001, having expanded over the years. There are 247 students in the secondary school and 20 in the sixth form. Students have diverse cultural heritages and the vast majority are bilingual. There is one student with a statement of educational need. The school aims to promote students’ personal development within an Islamic framework, by teaching them the basis of the Islamic faith, worship, moral and social values and religious knowledge, ‘so that they grow up to be balanced, pious and upright humans;’ and ‘to ensure that learning is both demanding and enjoyable.’ This is the school’s first published report.

p.3

Evaluation of the school

Madani Girls’ School provides a satisfactory quality of education, meets most of its aims and enjoys the support of the majority of parents. It makes outstanding provision for students’ personal development and satisfactory provision for their care. Although the senior managers have identified the correct areas for improvement, progress is rather limited by insufficient financial resources. The school complies with most of the regulations for registration.

p.3

Quality of education

The curriculum is satisfactory and places a great emphasis on personal development. In Key Stage 3, it is fairly broad and well balanced between a rich programme of Islamic studies and most National Curriculum subjects. In Key Stage 4, the curriculum is not as well balanced, as there is no planned provision for physical education (PE). Furthermore, students have limited experience in the aesthetic and creative areas of learning. The school provides these mainly through tajweed (melodious style of Qur’anic recitation), English literature and information and communication technology (ICT). In Key Stage 4, students are examined in nine subjects at GCSE level. They can choose between Bengali and history as options. In the sixth form, students have a choice of five subjects taught at AS and A level, and they have the opportunity to follow a five-year alimah course of traditional Islamic sciences. In the secondary school, provision for Islamic studies is very good.

p.3

Quality of education

Provision for mathematics, science and Bengali is good. Provision for English, history and ICT is satisfactory. The overall sixth form provision is satisfactory. Personal, social and health education reflects the Islamic ethos of the school. The planning of the curriculum is generally satisfactory. Schemes of work are reviewed regularly and they are monitored by the senior managers. However, there are no suitable schemes of work for PE owing to lack of subject expertise and provision for PE is inadequate. The history curriculum is limited to Islamic history in Key Stage 3 and does not include all of the skills students need to develop to access the GCSE course easily. Consequently, students do not achieve as highly as expected in the GCSE history examination. The citizenship programme is taught mainly through subjects and through assemblies and planning is in place to expand provision through the morning

p.3

Quality of education

tutorials. The curriculum is generally adequately resourced and the school is aware of the need to keep building up resources. However, resources for PE are insufficient and access to computers has been restricted by technical problems. Furthermore, ICT is not used effectively across the curriculum.

p.4

Quality of education

Whilst the quality of teaching and assessment is satisfactory overall, there is a significant proportion of good or better teaching. The school has rightly identified the professional development of teachers as a priority for improvement and would help them gain qualified teacher status. Another priority is the retention of teachers as the high staff turnover has a negative impact on students’ learning. Senior managers monitor the quality of teaching well. They do not monitor the quality of learning sufficiently.

p.4

Quality of education

Outstanding teaching provides a consistently high level of challenge for all students, enabling them to make very good progress. Good teaching is dynamic and provides demanding tasks. Satisfactory teaching is characterized by tasks that meet the needs of students approximately rather than closely, as it is not based on sufficient understanding of students’ aptitudes and prior attainment. Most teachers have good subject knowledge. All teachers establish excellent working relationships and insist on good organizational skills and excellent presentation of work. They promote literacy fairly well in their subjects. There is a wide range of assessments to test students’ learning. However, results are not analyzed in sufficient depth to inform the planning of future work. Marking is regular but rarely shows students exactly how to improve. Students are not sufficiently involved in assessment to have a clear

p.4

Quality of education

picture of their next step of learning. The progress of individual students is not tracked sufficiently rigorously to ensure that each can progress at the rate of which she is capable.

p.4

Quality of education

Most students make satisfactory progress over time in relation to their starting points, including the few candidates who took their GCE examinations in the last two years. The student who has educational needs also makes satisfactory progress as the school meets the requirements of her statement. The school data and the national test results reveal an upward trend in Key Stage 3 where students make good progress in mathematics and science. The GCSE results of the last three years show that the school has performed consistently highly in most subjects, with 100% A* to C grades. Students’ performance is outstanding in Islamic studies.

p.4

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the students

Provision for students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding overall although the cultural strand is good. The excellence of this provision is reflected in students’ outstanding behaviour, excellent attitudes to learning, high level of confidence, maturity, poise, thoughtfulness, courtesy and visible enjoyment. The vast majority are happy to be at this school and appreciate the opportunity to be educated in an all-female Islamic environment where they can develop a strong identity. They are aware of their future role as proactive young British Muslim women and, in discussion, refer proudly to the school motto, ‘to educate a man is to educate an individual; to educate a woman is to educate a nation.’ They are encouraged to take responsibility, for example, by becoming prefects, head girl or members of the students’ council, and by leading assemblies and making presentations in class. They enjoy organising social and cultural events to which they

p.5

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the students

invite members of the wider community, and raising funds for charities. The students’ council is actively engaged in various initiatives including a whole school recycling project. These activities, combined with what they learn about British institutions, give them a good insight into responsible citizenship.

p.5

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the students

Students develop a keen sense of sisterhood and explain that they treat each other equally, whatever their diverse social and cultural background. However, there is a perception among them that not all staff treat all students fairly. Students develop a good sense of right and wrong and feel free from bullying. They are well prepared for life in a multicultural society through the curriculum that includes learning about the world major religions and various cultures. Racial harmony is good. They gain a practical experience of this through their interaction with their peers and also through the interfaith programme. However, their cultural awareness is not enhanced by a wide range of educational visits. This has been highlighted by most parents and students.

p.5

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the students

Careers education is satisfactory and improving, and students are quite well prepared for the next stage of their education. They develop a good range of skills although there are insufficient extra-curricular activities to help them develop further their creative and physical skills. They show strong work ethics, as reflected in the good attendance of the majority and the conscientious care with which they present their work.

p.5

Welfare, health and safety of the students

This aspect of the provision is satisfactory. The school cares well for its students’ personal development, as seen in the warm and happy atmosphere it creates. The essential policies and procedures aimed at promoting a well-ordered environment comply with legislation and guidance and their implementation is generally satisfactory. Bullying is very rare and bad behaviour is dealt with effectively. However, the staff responsible for child protection have not yet received the appropriate level of training and updated the child protection policy to comply with the latest guidance. The school has already taken steps to remedy the situation. There are gaps in fire safety procedures and there is no suitable fire risk assessment in place. Registers are maintained satisfactorily and reveal a high level of unauthorised absence among a minority of students, despite the school’s efforts to obtain absence notes.

p.5

Welfare, health and safety of the students

Students gain a good understanding of healthy living through the curriculum. However, this is not supported effectively by the tuck shop that sells junk food. Also, many students and parents report that there are insufficient opportunities for physical exercise.

p.6

Welfare, health and safety of the students

The school complies with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2002.

p.6

Suitability of the proprietor and staff

The proprietor ensures that most of the required checks are carried out prior to confirming the employment of all staff. However, two written references have not always been obtained. The school has compiled a single central register that enables it to verify that all checks are made. However, it has yet to update its recruitment procedure to comply with the latest guidance on Safeguarding children and safer recruitment 2007.

p.6

School’s premises and accommodation

The premises were formerly used by a local authority school and are fit for purpose. The teaching rooms are adequate in number and in size to enhance learning. They are reasonably well maintained and decorated, and students have launched a ‘best display’ initiative to brighten up the walls. However, not all parts of the school are kept in a clean and hygienic state.

p.6

Provision of information for parents, carers and others

Up-to-date information is provided mainly through the school’s website and prospectus. Parents have two formal opportunities to meet their daughters’ teachers each year and receive two reports. Whilst these inform them of their daughters’ personal development and academic achievement, teachers’ comments are not always subject-specific. Consequently, not all parents feel well informed of their daughters’ progress.

p.6

Procedures for handling complaints

There are suitable procedures for handling complaints fairly and promptly.

p.6

Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school meets all of the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003 as amended January 2005, with the exception of those listed below.

p.6

Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the curriculum (standard 1) and must:  provide suitable schemes of work for PE and improve the planning of history at Key Stage 3 (paragraph 1(2))

p.6

Compliance with regulatory requirements

 provide PE in Key Stage 4 (paragraph 1(2)(a)(ii))

p.7

Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure that teachers show a good understanding of the aptitudes and prior attainments of the students, and that these are taken into account in the planning of lessons (paragraph 1(3)(d))

p.7

Compliance with regulatory requirements

 provide resources that are adequate in quantity, quality and range for PE and for ICT (paragraph 1(3)(f))

p.7

Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure that students’ work is assessed thoroughly and that information from such assessment is utilised to plan teaching so that students can make progress (paragraph 1(3)(g)).

p.7

Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of provision for pupils’ welfare, health and safety (standard 3) and must:

p.7

Compliance with regulatory requirements

 prepare and implement written policies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children who are students at the school in compliance with Department for Children, Schools and Families guidance Safeguarding children and safer recruitment in education (2007) (paragraph 3(2)(b))

p.7

Compliance with regulatory requirements

 demonstrate that it has a satisfactory level of fire safety, as identified by its risk assessment under the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (paragraph 3(5)).

p.7

Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the suitability of the proprietor and staff (standard 4) and must:

p.7

Compliance with regulatory requirements

 prior to the confirmation of the appointment of all staff, ensure that two written references are obtained and that such information is taken into account in determining whether their appointment will be confirmed (paragraph 4(2)(a)).

p.7

Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the premises and accommodation (standard 5) and must:

p.7

Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure that all parts of the school are maintained in a clean and hygienic state (paragraph 5(n)).

p.7

School details

Name of school Madani Girls' School DCSF number 211/6383 Unique reference number 100982 Type of school Muslim day school Status Independent Date school opened September 1991 Age range of students 11-21 years Gender of students Girls Number on roll 267 Number of students with a statement of special educational need Annual fees £1,900 Address of school Myrdle Street London E1 1HL Telephone number 0207 377 1992 Fax number 0207 377 1424 Email address madani_school@hotmail.com Headteacher Mrs Fatima Liyawdeen Proprietor Mr Habibur Rahman Reporting inspector Mrs Michèle Messaoudi Dates of inspection 12-13 February 2008

p.8