Bradford private school rated Inadequate
Islamic Tarbiyyah Preparatory School in Manningham, Bradford has been rated Inadequate after Ofsted ruled the school treated girls differently from boys, Yahoo News has reported.
The school has 184 pupils on the roll, aged between three and 11 and was inspected from 19-21 September last year. On its previous inspection in 2019 it was rated Good.
The report stated: “Girls say that they are treated differently from boys.
“Female pupils in Year 6 are unable to access the shared space with male pupils at lunchtime and during afternoon breaks. This prevents them from accessing the same games as boys at lunchtimes and playtimes.”
“Stereotypes linked to girls being emotionally weaker than boys are not challenged. Equality is only taught through the lens of Islamic values.
“When speaking with inspectors, pupils explained that in Year 6, boys and girls do not have the same options available to them in school.For example, during extended periods of social time, older girls are unable to access the same games and play opportunities as boys. During these periods of time, female pupils help the female staff with the youngest pupils, while male pupils play sports. This does not support pupils’ understanding that aspirations and interests are not limited by gender.”
This report was also critical of the way staff interacted: “The school’s practice of segregating staff according to gender limits information sharing about pupils’ learning.”
The school “does not plan for important teaching about relationships, British values and equality sufficiently well to ensure that pupils learn at an age-appropriate level”.
The school’s curriculum is “poorly planned in all subjects” and teachers’ knowledge of this is described as “poor”.
Pupils are taught about respect and tolerance linked to Islamic teaching, but the school doesn’t provide them with “wider opportunities to learn about tolerance and respect for different relationships, faiths or cultures”.
The report added: “Pupils do not receive age-appropriate information in lessons about the risks that they may face in the virtual world. Pupils do not have access to computers in school.”
When it comes to behaviour, boys at playtimes are described as “often boisterous” and they tend to “dominate the limited space available in the playground”.
During the inspection, pupils were “uncomfortable discussing any behaviour incidents that happen in the school”.
The report added: “The school’s proprietor body has not ensured that there is a robust culture of safeguarding. Staff have not received sufficient, statutory training to enable them to identify and support pupils who may need help. Systems to record concerns lack precision.
“The proprietor body is aware of the urgent improvements that are needed. It began to rectify some of these errors during the inspection.”