Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation

For use on LTI inspections from September 2008

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Independent School

DCSF Registration Number 871/6003 Unique Reference Number 134085 Inspection number 334617 Inspection dates 30 January 2009 Reporting inspector Jackie Cousins

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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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Purpose and scope of the inspection

This was a light touch inspection (LTI) which focused principally on the quality of education provided by the school; its provision for the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development; the arrangements for safeguarding pupils and the improvements the school has made since its last inspection.

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Information about the school

Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation School is an independent, co-educational day school for pupils who are Muslims aged from three to eleven years. The school is registered to take a maximum of 100 pupils and has 83 on roll. The school is located in Slough and was opened in 2005. This is its second published inspection report. The Nursery and Reception classes educate and care for children aged from three to five years. The school aims to ensure that ‘it fosters a love of learning in each individual child through project based initiatives as well as to build the child’s understanding of Islam through traditional oral teaching of the Halaqah’.

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Evaluation of the school

Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation School provides a good quality of education and meets its aims effectively. Nearly all parents are pleased with what the school offers and the way that it is run. Effective welfare, health and safety systems support pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, which is good. Pupils make good progress because teaching and learning are good. Their behaviour is outstanding and they are extremely well behaved in assembly and lessons. The school has made considerable improvements since it was registered and meets all but one of the regulations.

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Quality of education

The curriculum is good because it focuses well on the development of pupils’ skills in literacy, communication and mathematics, in addition to developing their knowledge and understanding of the world and covering all the other required areas of learning. The curriculum is enhanced well by specialist teaching in Arabic and Halaqah on a daily basis. Provision for music is satisfactory but is not fully developed. The provision for pupils who are gifted and talented is well developed. This is because links are made extremely thoughtfully between subjects. Visitors and visits enrich the curriculum effectively. For example, recently a visitor of the Buddhist faith assisted pupils thoughtfully to develop their awareness of other cultures. National guidance is used successfully to create a programme of study for pupils in the Nursery and Reception classes. A suitable balance is in place in those classes between activities

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Quality of education

led by teachers and those chosen by pupils. Teachers are guided by good plans which ensure that pupils continue to build on their knowledge, skills and understanding in all subjects. Provision for pupils who find learning more difficult is good because individual learning plans are used well to support them. Good provision for pupils’ personal development allows them to become independent and thoughtful young people. Lesson planning is effective and sets clear objectives against which staff and children can evaluate their successes. Resources and opportunities for pupils’ physical development are rather limited. Although the school has a reasonable sized playground, the fencing is not high enough to stop balls going over onto a busy road, which could cause an accident. This means that pupils’ physical education (PE) sessions are rather restricted.

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Quality of education

Teaching and assessment are good. Effective teaching allows pupils to make good progress. Pupils receive a considerable amount of individual attention because class sizes are small. They quickly pick up new ideas because teachers use demonstrations effectively. Teachers have high expectations of pupils and successfully challenge the more able. Teaching is effective in encouraging pupils to be independent, to think for themselves and to solve problems. Good teaching methods are used. For example, in a good art and design lesson pupils were encouraged to think deeply because challenging questioning was used by the teacher. Resources are utilized effectively, for instance when pupils investigated how to draw a large circle using a pencil and everyday equipment. The teaching of PE is adequate but pupils do not regularly develop basic skills in small groups. The good subject knowledge of the staff helps

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Quality of education

pupils to develop their speaking and listening skills. The use of oral and written targets for pupils is not well developed and so pupils are not fully aware of their strengths and areas for improvement in their work.

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Quality of education

Pupils make good progress in most areas of learning. Pupils are successful in learning to write because they develop their basic skills. For example, Year 6 pupils write detailed accounts using punctuation accurately, carefully spelling complex words, paragraphs and using some adventurous vocabulary. Pupils’ reading skills are developing well. Pupils in Years 1 and 2 read simple texts fluently and accurately They use letter sounds successfully to help them read unknown words. Mathematical work develops their key skills effectively and Year 6 pupils use good levels of understanding when they measure angles accurately. Pupils make good progress in their knowledge and understanding of the world, for example, when Years 5 and 6 investigate micro-organisms and what happens to different foods when they decay.

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Quality of education

Assessment outcomes are used well. All areas of learning are assessed effectively in the Nursery and Reception class and pupils’ achievement is evaluated in relation to the nationally expected goals for five-year-olds. Throughout the school, staff use their knowledge of pupils effectively to build on their knowledge, skills and understanding. High quality meetings are held where the teachers, senior staff and the headteacher carefully discuss ways to support pupils. Attainment is not recorded in a way that makes it easy for staff to evaluate a pupil’s progress in detail from term to term and identify underachievement.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

The school’s provision for pupils’ personal development is good. The development of pupils’ self-confidence is central to the aims of the school as outlined in the prospectus. Pupils of all abilities develop confidence effectively as they move through the school because of the positive comments made by staff. The school recognises the importance of pupils’ spiritual development, and promotes it through developing interest in the world around them. Pupils develop a good understanding of the difference between right and wrong through a range of strategies used by the school. Pupils’ questionnaires show that nearly all enjoy coming to school. Some pupils spoken to by inspectors said they like, ’finding out about nature and painting’. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive and their attendance is good. Behaviour is outstanding and pupils are well prepared for the next stage of education.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

The school makes a good contribution to developing pupils’ awareness of their local community and their place in it. Visitors are invited from the local community to meet and speak to pupils. For example, children from local maintained schools visited to see a presentation created by this school’s pupils. Their awareness and recognition of their own and other’s religious heritage and traditions is successfully promoted through learning about festivals such as Christmas and Eid. The pupils develop knowledge and understanding of British institutions and traditions satisfactorily. The school provides a harmonious environment where pupils from a diverse range of heritages learn about one another’s traditions and values. The pupils get on well together and help others by raising money for local people and national charities.

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Safeguarding pupils’ welfare, health and safety

Provision for pupils’ welfare, health and safety is good. Their personal needs and welfare are outstandingly well supported by all staff and by effective policies. One parent summed it up when writing, ‘A truly wonderful school with a positive holistic approach to the development of my children. Parents and staff have an excellent relationship and children love coming to school.’ Pupils’ attendance is monitored carefully. Teachers and staff are readily available to discuss any concerns with parents. Thorough reports are sent home every term. Pupils are encouraged astutely to lead healthy and safe lives. They eat a healthy diet every day because the school does not allow chocolate snacks. Pupils bring in fruit every day and if some do not have any they are expected to share. Pupils have physical exercise sessions for at least an hour a week and they play outside every day. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe in and out of school. They say bullying is not an issue. Pupils handle

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Safeguarding pupils’ welfare, health and safety

equipment carefully and move around the school in a responsible way. They know how to cross the road safely. This is because practical activities are used to good effect to explain safety challenges. Health and safety issues are checked carefully and are corrected effectively. Risk assessments are carried out. Pupils are safeguarded satisfactorily; staff have a clear understanding of how to handle any incidents. All the pupils interviewed said they felt safe in school. However, the designated member of staff has not undergone updated child protection training in the last two years. The single central record of checks made on staff meets requirements. The school complies with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 2002 and has a three-year accessibility plan.

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Effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage

The overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Boys and girls make good progress in the Nursery and Reception classes. Children settle quickly into school life because the school takes time to find out about each child carefully and establishes a very strong partnership with parents. The children develop their basic skills well because staff model reading regularly. Children learn to read using letter sounds successfully because of structured teaching and assessment. Children learn to use language to express their own careful thinking because the staff are very skilful in posing questions. For example, staff asked children to compare bottles of water thoughtfully so that they learn to recognise half full, full and empty bottles. Assessments regularly highlight what children can do and when this is attained. Records do not always set out specifically the next steps children could take to

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Effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage

improve or show an overview of the progress that children make each term. Children’s personal development is good and their behaviour is outstanding because staff ensure the welfare and well-being of each individual. Children in the Nursery and Reception classes happily share equipment and work independently due to the thoughtful way that staff have organised the resources. The leadership of this stage of education is good. Consequently, the children have a wealth of opportunities to learn in the inside areas. For example, drama activities are used well to develop children’s knowledge and understanding of the world. The outside area is satisfactorily resourced and the school plans to extend equipment for children which will allow for its extended use.

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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 the one listed below.

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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:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 make sure that the designated person for child protection receives training every two years (paragraph 3(2)(b)).

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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

 improve opportunities for pupils throughout the school to develop their physical skills ensuring resources support this effectively

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What the school could do to improve further

 develop a system which tracks pupils’ progress in detail

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What the school could do to improve further

 ensure that pupils receive specific targets so that they know how to improve their work effectively.

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Inspection Judgement Recording Form

outstanding good satisfactory inadequate

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The quality of education

Overall quality of education  How well the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of pupils 

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The quality of education

How effective teaching and assessment are in meeting the full range of pupils’ needs 

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The quality of education

How well pupils make progress in their learning 

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Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

Quality of provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils

The overall welfare, health and safety of pupils 

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The quality of the Early Years Foundation Stage provision

How effectively are children in the Early Years Foundation Stage helped to learn and develop?  How well do children achieve in the Early Years Foundation Stage relative to their starting points and capabilities?  How good are the personal development and well-being of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?  What is the quality of welfare, health and safety of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?  How effectively is the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage led and managed?  What is the overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage including, where relevant, the quality of childcare? 

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School details

Name of school Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation DCSF number 871/6003 Unique reference number 134085 Type of school Nursery and primary school Status Independent Date school opened 2005 Age range of pupils 3-11 years Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll (full-time pupils) Boys: 36 Girls: 34 Total: 70 Number on roll (part-time pupils) Boys: 6 Girls: 7 Total: 13 Number of pupils with a statement of special educational need Boys: 2 Girls: 0 Total: 2 Annual fees (day pupils) £2,580 Address of school Lion House Petersfield Avenue Slough Berkshire SL2 5DN Telephone number 01753 518000 Email address admin_slough@isfnet.org.uk Headteacher Ms Farah Ahmed Proprietor Ms Yusra Hamilton Reporting inspector Jackie Cousins Dates of inspection 30 January 2009

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