CoventryMuslimSchool
Inspection report
This inspection was carried out under section 162 (A) of the Education Act 2002 as amended. Bridge Schools Inspectorate (BSI) has been approved by the Secretary of State in the Department for Education (DfE) to undertake inspections in designated independent schools within membership of the Christian Schools Trust (CST) or the Association of Muslim Schools UK (AMSUK).
DfE number:331/6022
Association:AMSUK
Date of inspection:13th-16th June 2011
Lead Inspector:Mrs M Buckingham
Team inspectors:Mrs H Aslam
Mrs H Jones
Age range of pupils:3-16 years
Number on roll:110
Full-time:14 boys67 girls
Part-time:11 boys18girls
Number of pupils with
a statement of special
educational need:None
Proprietor:Mr MohammedAshique
Head teacher:Mrs M Ashique
Address of school:Nursery and Primary: 643 Foleshill Road
Coventry, CV6 5JQ
Secondary (girls only): 74 Paynes Lane
Coventry, CV1 5LL
Telephone number:0247 6261803(Foleshill Road site)
Email:
The purpose and scope of the inspection
The main purpose of the inspection is twofold. It is to advise the DfE whether the school continues to meet the requirements for registration, and to determine whether the school’s religious ethos continues to meet the expectations of its association. Ofsted monitors the work of independent inspectorates, including a sample of inspections, and you can find the latest evaluation of the work of The Bridge Schools Inspectorate on the Ofsted website.
Information about the school
Coventry Muslim School is an independent day school with an Islamic character educating boys and girls aged from 3 to 11 years and girls aged 11 to 16 years on two separate sites. Both are situated close to the city centre about two and half miles apart. The number on roll has almost doubled since the last inspection with the introduction of the Nursery in January 2010 and an increase in secondary aged girls now accommodated separately in the Paynes Lane building whichopened in the autumn of 2010. In recent years the school population has become more diverse with pupils from a range of family heritages: Pakistani; Somali and Indian. The proprietor, management committee and staff aim to provide an education within an Islamic ethos that ‘instils in our children a strong sense of Islamic identity which they can be proud of, whilst providing them with the highest standards of education… to produce responsible and productive, model Muslim citizens who will confidently engage within society and meet the challenges of the future, whilst presenting a positive image of their Islamic personality.’
Evaluation of the school
The school is largely achieving its aimby providing pupils with a generally good quality of education within a secure Islamic environment. Because of the excellent quality of relationships between adults and pupils and the commitment of all staff,pupils’ behaviour is excellent; they have positive attitudes to learning; being well cared for they thrive and grow in their faith. Consequently, parents say theyare very pleased with their children’s education. Pupils enjoy coming to school and by the time they leave they have made good progress inboth the development of theirpersonal characters and in external examinations, so they are well prepared for the next stage of their education. The quality of teaching is satisfactory and much is good. A very high proportion ofteachers are new and inexperienced, most having joined the school in this academic year. The senior managers have responded with a programme of well-targeted support and mentoring for these teachers. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is goodand the necessary welfare, health and safety policies are in place and implemented effectively.
The recently opened Paynes Lane building for secondary girls has been refurbished to a good standard, in direct contrast to the quality of the Foleshill Road premises. This former residential accommodation is used throughout the day by primary and Nursery pupils and intensively after school and in the evenings for madrasah classes, as a mosque and for community use. With this very heavy use, inadequate attention has been given to making sure that this accommodation is consistently maintained to a satisfactory standard of decoration, cleanliness, and hygiene throughout the building. This is particularly soin the provision of the wudu(washing) and toilet areas. While teachers work hard to mitigate the limitations of this accommodation, the situation has resulted in three regulations concerning the premises and accommodation on the Foleshill Road site not being met.
The head teacher and her senior management team have a shared view of what they want pupils to achieve, as expressed in the school’s aim and new curriculum policy statement. Their enthusiasm and devotion to the pupils’ well-being is infectious throughout the school amongst teachers and non-teaching staff. All staff work well as a team with dedication and commitment. The school numbers have grown rapidly over the past eighteen months with the addition of the Nursery. Consequently, the school is at a transitional stage of reviewing and developing its policies and practice to meet the new demands. The head teacher and senior managers have a clear vision for the future and are well placed to move the school forward.
Quality of education provided
The quality of education provided has many good features. It is never less than satisfactory because of the supportive learning environment based on excellent relationships between adults and pupils. By the time they leave school, the broad curriculum and positive Islamic ethos enables pupilsto have made good progress in their personal characters and to achieve well in external examinations.
This broad curriculum throughout each key stage is based firmly on the National Curriculum core and foundation subjects, except for music. In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) the curriculum is carefully planned to enable pupils to make progress towards their early learning goals. Pupils in Key Stages 1 to 4 are able to make progress in all the required areas of learning: linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical, and aesthetic and creative. In addition,personal, social and health education and citizenship (PSHCE)is taught throughout the school along with Islamic studies, religious education (RE) and at least one modern foreign language. Pupils learn Arabic in Key Stages 1 to 3 and this is being extended into Key Stage 4 for examination at GCSE next year. Urdu provides a second modern foreign language in Years 7 to 11.
The Islamic studies programme gives a suitable basis for the development of Islamic knowledge with thereal strength of providing pupils with good opportunities to discuss current issues they are facing as young British Muslims. They do thisfrom an Islamic perspective, while considering and respecting the viewpoints of others who do not share their beliefs. Secondary pupils appreciate this approach saying it helps them to learn about, and live their faith developing self-confidence and respect for others. A good aspect of the curriculum is that all primary pupils and secondary girls have the opportunity to go swimming during the school year. This extends their physical education (PE) and enables them to gain a skill for life to help keep themselves safe.
At Key Stages 1 and 2 there is an appropriate emphasis on literacy and numeracy and all pupils achieve well in the national tests at the end of Key Stage 2. The recently introduced phonics programme is proving an integral part of pupils’ progress.
In Years 10 and 11 all pupils study a good range ofGCSE subjects including English language and literature; double award science; mathematics; design and technology: textiles; Urdu; history; RE and information and communication technology (ICT). The curriculum continues to be broad as it includes Islamic studies, PSHCE and PE with swimming.
The recently up-datedwhole school curriculum policy statementprovides a clear rationale for the skills and personal qualities the school sets out to promote in pupils, in line with its aims and Islamic ethos. Individual subject statements have not been revised for several years and they do not match the whole school policy, nor give an accurate overview of the subject as taught,or recognise the developments in planning and schemes of work that have taken place in the school over the past year. No recognition is given of the Islamic ethos of the school in these statements.
The primaryschemes of work are based on National Curriculum and other commercial materials. Theseprovide a good structure for planning. Theyare linked firmly to assessment and help to ensure that the pupils make consistent progress. The planning takes account of the two year mixed age classes. The deputy head for primary monitors the planning in discussion with individual and groups of class teachers so there is a good sharing of ideas. The schemes of work consist of long and medium term plansfor each subject at each key stage. A week-by-week breakdown is often used to state the objectives within each topic and linked to assessment. Schemes of work for secondary subjects are also based on National Curriculum materials and GCSE subject requirements. The quality of this planning is too variable. Some schemes of work are very detailed with the subject knowledge and skills clearly identified with related assessment; others are less informative with limited detail other than a list of topics to be covered.
A common format for individual lesson plans has been adopted across the school; this is particularly helpful given the high numbers of new and inexperienced teachers. It helps to give a clear structure to the lesson, including identifying what pupils are to learn about and how the teaching will be organised to help pupilsachieve the objectives. A medium term planning format has also been agreed and implemented this year so that references can be made to links between subjects, for example, opportunities to use ICT and literacy and numeracy skills within the topics. This format also has a space for reference to be made to the links with the school’s Islamic ethos. This format is a useful tool for planning but is at an early stage of development and not yet used constantly across all key stages.
In PSHE and citizenship lessons pupils studya wide range of suitable topics,related to their personal development. They learn about staying healthy and safe and making informed choices that affect their well-being. Planning takes account of the National Curriculum materials for each key stage and is in keeping with the faith ethos of the school. A short GCSE course in citizenship has been introduced at Key Stage 4 and girls will be entered for examination for the first time in 2012.
Through the PSHE and citizenship programme pupils in Years 9 to 11 have opportunities to consider the next stage of their education and future careers. Helpful links have been made with the local careers service and pupils in Year 10 undertake work experience giving them valuable opportunities to develop personal skills, as well as having some experience of the world of work. The planning for careers education is satisfactory and gives a brief outline of suitable topics and when the regular interviews with a careers adviser occur. The planning for work experience is not well organised and does not indicate follow-up activities within the curriculum. Pupils in Year 10 say they appreciate the discussion with careers staff as it helps them to find out about the options open to them. All the current Year 11 girls say they intend to go on to further education at local colleges; a similar pattern as in previous years.
Provision for after school activities is severely constrained by the use of the Foleshill Road site for madrasah classes and by the community directly after school. A number of parents in the questionnaires completed prior to the inspection said they would like more extra-curricular activities and educational trips. Inspectors agree and the school is aware of the benefits such activities bring to pupils. There are plans to increase these opportunities; for example the school has plans in place to hold a Saturday club on healthy eating with funding from a national project ‘Cook well and eat well’. During the weeks of Ramadan a lively programme of extra-curricular activities is planned. The staff are seeking ways to increase educational trips related to the curriculum rather than just those to leisure venues that are used as rewards at the end of the school year.
Assessment of pupils’ progress has developed well since the last inspection. The use of the National Curriculum attainment targets is becoming well established across the school. Primary teachers assess against National Curriculum levels throughout the year. This information is used effectively as part of lesson planning, for example to highlight pupils who might need extra support or extension work. Pupils say they know their levels and understand how to improve their work with the introduction of targets that they discuss with the teachers and are shared with parents, for example in the end of year reports. Teachers are generally diligent about marking pupils’ work. Some marking is good with examples where pupils are given clear targets on how to improve; elsewhere it is more cursory.
Individual education plans are written for those few pupils identified as having special educational needs to identify what specific intervention is needed. . The very small classes enable much individual attention to be given and generally this is well matched to pupils’ needs. The school uses the National Curriculum assessments at the end of Key Stage 2and GCSE at the end of Key Stage 4. To assist further with monitoring pupils’ progress the National Curriculum levels attained in these external tests are now recorded on a database. Although the data is incomplete for some pupils, this is enabling the school to track pupils’ progress over time.
Assessment data shows that at the end of both Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 there has been an improving trend of attainment in external tests and examinations overtime for the past three years. The small cohorts make it difficult to arrive at statistically significant conclusions, but the results at Key Stages 2 and 4 compare verywell with national figures. For 2010 at GCSE, five out of six pupils gained at least five good grades (83% A* to Cgrades), and for two out of three these good grades included English and mathematics (67% A* to C grades including English and mathematics). Results in Urdu and RE are particularly good: in 2010, all the grades gained were A* to C. Given the pupils’ good achievements and positive personal qualities, they are well prepared for the next stage in their education.
The quality of teaching across all key stages is at least satisfactory and much of it is good with pupils making commensurate progress in lessons. In the best lessons, a brisk pace is set from the beginning with pupils made aware of what they will learn. These lessons are well structured and make effective use of available time. Activities ensure pupils build effectively on previous work and gain new knowledge. Tasks are well matched to pupils’ abilities. The teaching is lively with questions that are challenging to make pupils think independently. They are actively encouraged to participate in oral as well as written activities and pupils respond with enthusiasm, so by the end of the lesson they have made good progress. In a Year 10 RE lesson,pupils eagerly explored views on Islamic stewardship. They reasoned with matureand positive attitudes. Lively discussion and the skilfulquestioning of the teacherhelped pupils apply their new knowledge in a real context relevant to their own lives that developed their understanding, not only of the subject matter but from an Islamic perspective and how this might be viewed by others. Pupils argued points of view based on their good reasoning skills. Effective strategies are used to engage pupils in role play and paired discussion, for example in a Year 10 English lesson on the play ‘An Inspector Calls’. Pupils demonstrated a good knowledge of the text as they enthusiastically entered into the role of an assigned character. The subsequent diary entries showed a mature understanding of the text and empathy with the characterisation within the play.
Some of these characteristics are present in the satisfactory lessons. These are well planned and orderly. Lesson objectives are shared with the pupils and generally buildon previous work. Pupils are very well behaved and usually attentive and engaged in their work and make gains in their learning. In some lessons questioning is not sufficiently well targeted for the range of abilities and,for some pupils, the work is too easyso progress is lessened. On occasion,teachers talk for too long and fewer opportunities are planned for pupils to work independently. Opportunities are sometimes missed to make the natural links that occur between the topic being studied and the Islamic character of the school. An improvement in all these elements are aims of the school’s recently revised curriculum policy statement.