Institute of Islamic Education

Independent School

DCSF Registration Number 382/6013 Unique Reference Number 107791 Inspection number 321812 Inspection dates 20–21 May 2008 Reporting inspector Brian Blake 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). For use inspections from April 2008 For use inspections from April 2008

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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

The Institute of Islamic Education is an independent boys’ boarding and day school for Muslim students aged 12 to 26 in Kirklees. The school is very well established, with a national and international reputation for providing a Muslim education that seeks to develop an understanding of Islam and its culture, and which also promotes tolerance and respect of other faiths. The school aims to seek knowledge through the Qur’an and Hadith (religious studies), whilst also providing the highest possible standards in secular education. The school, which opened in September 1982, has 293 students on roll; the oldest of whom is 26. Only one in every six applicants successfully gains a place to study at the school. The previous inspection report was published in March 2005, and the most recent inspection report on the quality of care in the boarding provision was published by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) in November 2006.

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Evaluation of the school

The Institute of Islamic Education provides a good quality of education for its students. The students live and work in an environment that places a significant emphasis on the development of the religious, spiritual and moral self. The Islamic curriculum is enabling the students to make good progress in their religious studies because good quality teaching focuses very specifically on the school’s stated aims and ethos of providing a Muslim education. The developing secular curriculum is satisfactory, with the majority of students making good overall progress in a range of National Curriculum subjects, including English, mathematics, science, and the modern foreign languages of Arabic and Urdu. The quality of teaching in the secular curriculum is satisfactory. Pupils and parents are full of praise for all that the school provides. The school has made good overall progress since the previous inspection.

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Quality of education

The quality of the curriculum is good overall, particularly in Islamic studies (Ders-e- Nezami). The secular curriculum is satisfactory and improving. The Islamic curriculum is taught in the morning and a selection of National Curriculum subjects in the afternoon.

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Quality of education

Islamic studies take up 60% of the school’s total curricular provision. The students cover a seven year extended programme of Islamic theology to achieve the status of alim (scholar) and serve the community as a local Imam and mosque teacher. The For use inspections from April 2008 programme includes most aspects of Qur’anic studies such as tajweed, with seven Qira’at (Qur’anic recitation), tahfeez (memorisation) and tafsir, (Qura’nic translation and interpretation). There is further work in aqeeda (beliefs), Islamic history, Islamic manners, seera (life of the Prophet Muhammad), Mantiq (logic, philosophy), Arabic language, nahw (syntax), sarf (morphology) and Arabic literature. Urdu and Arabic are taught as a modern foreign language. The school also offers hadith (the tradition of the prophet) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence).

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Quality of education

The secular curriculum provides students with a satisfactory coverage of key literacy, numeracy, and scientific skills and knowledge. This part of the school’s provision has improved significantly since the previous inspection, when it was judged to be inadequate. The school uses commercially produced schemes of work for almost all its secular subjects. These are generally used very sensibly to plan lessons at both Key Stages 3 and 4. However, the quality of this short-term planning varies in quality from satisfactory to inadequate, with the best quality seen at Key Stage 4, where adherence to GCSE syllabus requirements generally means good coverage of subject content. The school is aware that its post-16 secular curriculum is limited at present.

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Quality of education

The overall quality of teaching and assessment is satisfactory; it is good in Islamic studies and satisfactory for secular subjects. In Islamic studies, teachers are well qualified and have secure subject knowledge. The traditional and appropriate teaching activities in all Islamic subject areas enable students to make good progress in their learning. A regular assessment system is in place, which ensures that teachers are very well informed about students’ needs and their prior attainments; this means that the work matches well with the students’ abilities and they make good progress. Homework is used effectively to consolidate and further the students’ learning. In the secular subjects, teaching is satisfactory overall with some weaknesses in planning and providing learning activities that suit the range of different abilities in each lesson; this applies, in particular, to higher attaining students because not all teachers have sufficient understanding of the needs and

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Quality of education

levels of prior attainment of all students within the class. Marking is carried out conscientiously, but varies in its helpfulness in informing students about how they can improve the standard of their work. Relationships throughout the school are very good.

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Quality of education

The majority of students are making good progress in both the Islamic studies and secular curricula. This good personal progress enables many students to move on from the school and become Imams in local communities. In national Key Stage 3 tests and GCSE examinations, year-on-year results have improved since the previous inspection, with most students making overall good progress. Particular strengths are seen in Arabic and Urdu, at both GCSE and Advanced level.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

The quality and effectiveness of the school’s provision for students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good. The strong Islamic ethos helps students to For use inspections from April 2008 successfully acquire a set of values, principles and beliefs, which are helping to shape their future life and behaviour.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

The personal, social and health education of the students is developing very well as a result of their work in Islamic studies, and in other parts of the secular curriculum. The good quality provision of these aspects is making a very positive contribution to students’ developing maturity, self-esteem and self-confidence. However, the school currently provides too few opportunities for the students to experience out of school activities, as part of their social and cultural development; this was confirmed by a significant number of students who responded to the pre-inspection questionnaire. In many other ways, however, the students have developed a very clear sense of how they can contribute to their own and others’ communities. Students learn about other faiths and cultures, which contribute very well to their appreciation and celebration of cultural diversity in this country, and more globally. The students are

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

made aware about British public institutions, but it is an area that the school knows it needs to develop further. The strong link with their faith brings many opportunities for links with others outside of the school, which in turn is helping the students to develop a strong interest in their future economic well-being.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

Students acquire a very clear understanding and appreciation of right and wrong through all aspects of their work. Regular prayer sessions and clear spiritual guidance are effectively reflected in the students’ strong moral behaviour. Behaviour, in more general terms, is outstanding in all aspects of school life; so too is the day students’ attendance. The students express strong affiliation to their school, but are keen to develop further their range of decision-making activities. Nevertheless, all students who spoke with inspectors indicated that they enjoy attending the school, and that they feel a strong sense of camaraderie. The students are courteous, polite and respectful to all who work in, or visit the school.

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Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

The school’s measures to promote the welfare, health and safety of the students, including child protection and Criminal Records Bureau checks, are satisfactory overall. The school generally achieves its aim to provide a safe and caring environment, within which the students flourish in their religious studies, and also achieve as well as they can in the many different subjects that make up the secular curriculum. School policies are detailed and cover all aspects of health and safety for both the school and residential areas of the dual purpose building. As a result, the students say that they feel safe because they are well supported by those adults who teach and care for them. However, curricular activities and class-based risk assessments are almost non-existent. There is a clear policy on the procedures for assessing risks when the students leave the school for any off-site activities. However, this does not include the supervision of the students’ when they use the

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Welfare, health and safety of the pupils

public area, adjacent to the school, for leisure type activities that take place during the late afternoon break. The school did respond quickly to the inspector’s concern about this issue, producing a detailed programme of supervision, but it has yet to be For use inspections from April 2008 fully implemented on a regular basis. The school meets the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 2002.

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Suitability of the proprietor and staff

The school has good procedures for ensuring that all adults who work in the school, including those new in post, are suitably checked for their ability to teach or care for the students.

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School’s premises and accommodation

The school’s premises and accommodation are good overall. The school is on purpose-built site that includes a local mosque. The school has due regard for the National Minimum Standards for boarding schools, having responded fully to the recommendations in the 2006 CSCI report. The school building is in good condition, with a range of suitable wash areas and toilets appropriate to the full age range of the students in the school. Classrooms are of a suitable size for the age and number of students using them, and all are in a good condition. Specialist accommodation for information and communication technology and science provide suitable areas for the teaching of practical aspects in these two subjects. However, the outside grass area, adjacent to the school, and which is used for physical education lessons and other leisure activities by the students, is a public area that is not checked prior to

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School’s premises and accommodation

use for any debris that could present foreseeable risks to the health and welfare of the students. For example, several crushed aluminium cans were found by the inspector prior to the start of a Year 9 soccer lesson.

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Provision of information for parents, carers and others

The provision of information for parents, carers and others is satisfactory overall. The school provides all current parents with an annual, updated ‘student and parent handbook’ and ‘school brochure’. These information booklets contain a range of useful and relevant information that keep the parents well informed about the school, including the Muslim ethos, the Islamic and secular curricula, and procedures and processes that keep the students safe. Prospective parents receive these same documents in addition to an application form for the school, which also lists a range of information available on request. However, there is inconsistency in these three documents about the collective range of policies and other information that are required to be made available to the parents. Furthermore, there is no specific information about the term and holiday time availability of the proprietor, the availability of policies relating to the promotion of good behaviour and sanctions

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Provision of information for parents, carers and others

adopted in the event of students misbehaving, the academic performance of students at Key Stage 3 during the preceding year, and details of the complaints procedure for parents adopted by the school. For use inspections from April 2008

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Procedures for handling complaints

The school’s procedures for handling complaints are clear and meet all requirements for independent schools.

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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, with the exception of those listed below.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the curriculum (standard 1) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 provide more challenging learning activities for higher attaining students in the secular subjects (paragraph 1(3)(d)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

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

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure that school staff are deployed in such a way as to ensure the proper supervision of students when they use the grass area, which is adjacent to the school (paragraph 3(7)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

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

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 make appropriate arrangements for providing outside space for students to play safely, including checking the grass area for any debris that may present a foreseeable safety risk (paragraph 5(t)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the provision of information for parents, carers and others (standard 6) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 provide particulars of the proprietor’s contact details during term and holiday time (paragraph 6(2)(b))  ensure that parents are aware they can request - information of policies relating to the promotion of good behaviour, and sanctions adopted in the event of students misbehaving (paragraph 6(2)(h)) - particulars of academic performance at Key Stage 3 during the preceding school year (paragraph 6(2)(i)) - details of the complaints procedure adopted by the school (paragraph 6(2)(j)). For use inspections from April 2008

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School details

Name of school Institute of Islamic Education DCSF number 382/6013 Unique reference number 107791 Type of school Muslim secondary boys’ boarding and day school Status Independent Date school opened September 1982 Age range of pupils 12-26 Gender of pupils Boys Number on roll (full-time pupils) Boys: 293 Number of boarders Boys: 206 Annual fees (day pupils) £570 Annual fees (boarders) £1,710 Address of school South Street Savile Town Dewsbury West Yorkshire WF12 9NG Telephone number 01924455762 Fax number 01924455762 Email address school@jaamia.org Headteacher Mr Saeed Patel Proprietor Mr Mohammed Patel Reporting inspector Brian Blake HMI Dates of inspection 20–21 May 2008

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