Al Risalah Secondary School

Al-Risalah Independent school progress report

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DCSF registration number 212/6396 Unique reference number 101090 [Add URN] Inspection dates 30 September 2009 Reporting inspector Fatiha Maitland

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Age group: 3–4 and 11–16 Published: Reference no: 090137 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 Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 08456 404040, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

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Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA

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T: 08456 404040 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk No. 090137 Inspection report template – progress monitoring

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Purpose and scope of the visit

This inspection visit was carried out by Ofsted under Section 162A of the Education Act 2002 at the request of the Registration Authority for independent schools in order to monitor the progress the school has made in implementing its action plan following the previous inspection.

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Information about the school

Al-Risalah School is an independent Muslim day school in Tooting, in south-west London. It was founded in 1993 under the auspices of Balham Mosque to provide care and education for pupils from the ages of three to 11. The primary part of the school gained voluntary aided (VA) status in September 2004, becoming known as Gatton VA primary school, and moved to new premises in January 2006. The independent school currently caters for 78 children aged three to four and 213 aged 11 to 16. It is based on two sites. The nursery is housed on the ground floor of a recently renovated building, which is also used for residential accommodation. The secondary school is based in a former cinema, which also houses the Tooting Islamic Centre and is only a short walk from the nursery. The boys use one floor of the cinema building and the girls use another floor. The school facilities are used a great deal by the local community out of school hours and the school hall is used to extend

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Information about the school

the mosque’s provision for corporate prayer on Fridays during the school day. The school is owned by the Al-Risalah Education Trust.

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Information about the school

The school states that all students are Muslim and are selected for entry on the basis of an entry examination and interview. In its prospectus the school asserts that its fundamental aim is to provide for its students ‘a first-class education… grounded in the tradition of academic rigour, focused on developing … the skills and confidence to face the challenge and enjoy the opportunities of life in the twenty-first century, while at the same time inculcating… the character and religion to live as a true Muslim.’ It provides ‘a segregated environment’ for boys and girls to enable them to pursue their studies in a manner in keeping with Islamic beliefs, values and traditions. It seeks to blend the National Curriculum with additional Islamic components, thus ‘breaking down the barriers between state and religious education, reuniting these two strands of knowledge into a complete Islamic education system.’

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Context of the visit

The school was last inspected on 24–25 March 2009. The school produced an action plan in July 2009, which was then evaluated in August 2009. The action plan was deemed satisfactory subject to satisfactory implementation. The purpose of this visit was to check whether the school has taken appropriate steps to address the weaknesses identified in the inspection report and to assess the amount of progress made in meeting regulations. Inspection report template – progress monitoring

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action plan

At its previous inspection in March 2009, the school did not meet all the requirements for ensuring that staff, volunteers and proprietors are consistently checked for suitability at the time of their appointment. The school has made satisfactory progress in remedying these weaknesses. The school now ensures that all the appropriate checks are carried out on all teaching and non-teaching members of staff, volunteers and cleaners at the time of their employment. Staff from overseas are now checked for their suitability to work in school. Enhanced Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks for all members of staff are obtained and recorded with unique reference numbers and the dates on which checks are completed. Checks have been carried on members of the proprietorial body to confirm their identity and right to work in the United Kingdom. Their CRB checks have been applied for, but the certificates have not yet been obtained. As a result, the single central register

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action plan

cannot confirm that such checks are completed.

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action plan

Earlier weaknesses in the staff recruitment process have been remedied so that the school now has robust staff recruitment and checking procedures. It maintains the required single central record of checks, which enables it to verify that all checks are made and to monitor this process easily.

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action plan

The earlier inspection found that the school did not comply with its duties under the Disability Discrimination Act 2002 to provide a three-year plan to improve accessibility for the current premises. The school feels that it is not possible to improve accessibility on the existing secondary school site. The school has proposed alternative plans to improve accessibility by relocating to purpose-built accommodation by 2012. However, the school has not produced a three-year action plan to show how to improve access to the existing premises. Therefore, the school does not meet this requirement.

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action plan

The school is aware, as it was at the time of the last inspection, that the current accommodation cannot be adapted to provide outside space for students to play safely. Although the school makes good use of the existing large hall to provide physical education (PE) and play and satisfactory arrangements for PE and games to be taught on the local authority field when weather permits, students still do not have daily access to outdoor space. Inspection report template – progress monitoring

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school has made satisfactory progress overall in implementing its action plan. It now meets most of the regulations it did not meet at the time of the inspection in March 2009.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

As a result of this inspection visit, the school must take action to meet the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003 1 as amended (‘the Regulations’), as follows:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure that enhanced CRB checks are completed on the proprietorial body (paragraph 4B(4) and (5))

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure that the single central register of staff checks shows completed enhanced CRB checks on the proprietorial body, with unique references and the date on which each check was completed (paragraph 4C(6 and 7))

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 fulfil its duties under the Disability Discrimination Act (2002) by providing a three-year plan to improve access to the premises

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 provide outside space for students to play safely (paragraph 5(t)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

1 www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/20031910.htm Inspection report template – progress monitoring

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School details

Name of school Al-Risalah DCSF number 212/6396 Unique reference number 101090 Type of school Muslim secondary day school and nursery Status Independent Date school opened 1993 Age range of pupils 3–4 and 11–16 years Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll (full-time secondary students) Boys: 98 Girls: 115 Total: 213

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School details

Number on roll (part-time children in nursery) Boys: 41 Girls: 25 Total: 66

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School details

Number on roll (full time children in nursery) Boys: 5 Girls: 7 Total: 12

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £2,600 Address of school Tooting Islamic Centre 145 Upper Tooting Road London SW17 7TJ Telephone number 0208 767 6057 Fax number 0208 675 7747 Email address headteacher@al-risaala.org.uk Headteacher Mr I Lawson Proprietor Al-Risalah Education Trust Reporting inspector Fatiha Maitland Dates of inspection 30 September 2009

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