Ofsted rates London Islamic School as “Good”

Emdad Rahman

AFTER A FIFTH INSPECTION in ten years and thanks to the dedication of staff, students, parents, governors and the school’s senior management, the London Islamic School (LIS) has once again been described a “good” school.

The Ford Square faith school achieved a “good” Ofsted Report after recently undergoing a full inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectors at Ofsted. This is a monumental achievement for LIS, which has consistently achieved a “good” status over the course of the last decade – with Reports also commending some outstanding features and making positive mention of a culture to continuously make improvements within the school year upon year.

The school registered in 2005 and had its first full inspection in February 2008, achieving a “good” Report. This was followed by full inspections in March 2011 and March 2014, when the school retained its “good” with some outstanding features status. This was followed by a snap unannounced inspection in January 2015. This was conducted under the new framework, which saw two HMI inspectors come in during a period where faith schools were being closely scrutinised and were in the spotlight of the media.

However the hard work and commitment of staff and pupils ensured that London Islamic School deployed a consistent approach to education and nurturing of its pupils to meet all standards.

Regarding the assessment of the school’s performance in “teaching, learning and assessments”, the Report states, “Strong teaching in most subjects enables pupils to make extensive progress with their learning. […] Pupils are given work that deepens their knowledge and understanding.”

There were also noteworthy comments with regards to the assessment of personal development, welfare and safety, including, “The behaviour of pupils is outstanding” and “There is a strong commitment to promoting fundamental British values… as a result, pupils’ personal development is very strong.”

Regarding leadership and management, the Report states, “Leaders have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and the areas that need to improve. This is because there are clear and effective procedures to identify weaknesses.”

Key comments in the “outcomes” section include, “Pupils’ achievements when they start at the London Islamic School are a little below average overall, although there are some who are more able. During their time at the school the great majority of pupils make good progress with their learning. As a result, overall achievement at the end of Year 11 is typically above average.”

Delighted Headteacher Abdulhadi Mamon commented, “We are thankful and grateful for our achievement and the ability to stay steadfast and focused on continuous improvement at our school. I believe it is because of this culture within the school that we have been able to achieve a ‘Good’ report with outstanding features in five separate inspections over a period of ten years. This would not have been possible without the support of our staff, students, parents, senior management, governors, well wishers and the community.

“We pray that this is a motivation for us to live up to our slogan ‘Striving for excellence in education and piety’ and we are able to  improve our standards further, push for an ‘Outstanding’ and be able to promote upright, conscious students who make excellent positive contributions to British society.”

•For more information about the London Islamic School, go to:
www.londonislamicschool.org

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