A SECOND damning report on Derby's failing Muslim free school has been published and says that no progress has been made in the past few weeks since it was placed in special measures and "the school remains in chaos".
It follows a monitoring visit to Al-Madinah School by Ofsted – Office for Standards in Education – which took place two weeks ago as a result of a full inspection back in October which said then the school was "in chaos" and "inadequate".
The latest report, which was published this afternoon, said there was no sign of improvement at the school, insufficient action had been taken to tackle failures in leadership and teaching and it was less stable than during the last inspection in October.
It went to say that "the school is not improving because relationships between school leaders, at all levels, are destructive and deteriorating" and 47 pupils and five members of staff have resigned since the initial inspection in October.
But Barry Day, chief executive of Greenwood Dale Trust, who was asked by the Government to investigate how the school could be turned around, still thinks that with the right guidance and management to school can improve.
He has just completed a 10-day assessment of the school – which has sites in Nelson Street and Friar Gate – and is preparing to make recommendations to the Department for Education and his own board of trustees.
He has also drawn up an action plan and completed a senior leadership report for Ofsted - something the management of the school had failed to do.
He said: "The monitoring report was never going to make good reading. It is very negative about the school following on from the previous report.
"But the action plan that we have supplied has been approved by Ofsted – without it they would have shut the school.
"I am willing to supply staff to help turn things around but it won't be easy and will involve a great deal of hard work and for the time being I recommend that Safeena Higgins remains as acting head as she has been the saviour of the situation.
"But the school is unlikely to become part of our trust because, as I have told the DfE already, specialist finance and health and safety experts need to sort issues out separately, while we concentrate on helping out with the academic side."
Mr Day has promised to supply some of the staff from his 22 academies to help the school over the next few months and he is likely to take a place himself on the governing body when it is re-organised after the end of January, when the current trustees are due to leave.
Having carried out a "due diligence" exercise, Mr Day has concluded that urgent changes need to be made.
He said: "The primary school in Friar Gate is not fit for purpose and the play area is not even safe. We have stopped children using the playground but of course that leaves them without an outdoor exercise area.
"Midland House, in Nelson Street, where the secondary children are based, is about a quarter full and there are not enough staff left to manage both sites properly.
"So it would make sense to combine both age groups on the Nelson Street site as soon as possible and creating extra outdoor areas there."
Mr Day is anxious that more staff are recruited and said that some former staff, who left because of the "dysfunctional" state of the school, as Ofsted reported in October, might wish to return.
He is also concerned that existing pupils do not leave because the school could become unviable.
Mr Day said: "There is still much to do to resolve the issues raised by Ofsted and our priority is to make sure the school has a sustainable future. When that has been achieved I will be in a much better position to advise my board further.
"The DfE is presently looking at the governance of the school. We are very keen to help ensure there is strong governance and we will work closely with the DfE to achieve this."
Four parent representatives from the newly-formed school's Parents and Friends Association listened to Mr Day's conclusions and were particularly interested to hear that the Muslim faith aspect of the school would remain.
Aftab Rehman, who has two daughters at the school, said: "We wanted our children to attend the school because of the faith element to learn good morals and values.
"There would be no reason for it to remain open without the faith element. We realise the school needs a strong governing body and that the previous one lacked the expertise, although their intentions were good.
"We are confident that parents will want to bring their children here once they realise that the expertise Mr Day can bring is being put into action.
He has a vision for the future and the backing of the Government which is a powerful combination moving forward.
"We want to be the best school in the UK."
Mr Day said that he hoped the next Ofsted monitoring visit, which could be in late January, would show some progress based on the plans under way and being proposed for January.
He said: "I have spoken with Schools Minister Lord Nash, who is carefully monitoring the situation at the school.
"He has told me he wants the school to prosper."
Arshed J Ahmed, secretary of the PFA, who has one child at the school, added: "It has been a very worrying time for everyone. The community had faith in the school and now we need to show them they were right to do so and, if necessary, re-earn their trust."
Mr Day, whose trust runs the City of Derby Academy, formerly Sinfin Community School, and specialises in sorting out challenging schools, is planning further meetings with the PFA and staff at the school.
He said he was keeping the current trustees – Shazia Parveen and Shabhan Rehmat – fully informed.
Al-Madinah School hit the headlines after Lord Nash ordered the school to stop insisting that non-Muslim members of staff should wear a hijab – Islamic head dress – and insisted that an action plan was drawn up within 15 days of the original damning Ofsted inspection.
Mr Day was called in three weeks ago.
A DfE spokesman said: "As set out in Lord Nash's letter of November 22, Barry Day has been working with Al-Madinah to deal with the failings at the school. That continues to be the case. Clearly the Greenwood Dale Foundation trustees must be satisfied before they can make a final decision about their role in the long term governance of the school and the department is providing all the support needed to ensure that can happen."
THE FULL MONITORING LETTER IS HERE:
Special measures monitoring inspection of Al-Madinah School
Following my visit to your school with Zarina Connolly HMI on 29 November 2013, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings. Thank you for the help your leadership team gave in your absence during the inspection and for the time they made available to
discuss the actions which have been taken since the school's recent section 5 inspection.
The inspection was the first monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in October 2013.
Evidence
During this inspection, meetings were held with the vice Principal and the leadership team, three members of the governing body and two members of the school's
sponsoring trust. Classrooms on both sites were visited. The sponsor's statement of action and the school's improvement plan were evaluated.
Context
The interim Principal is currently absent. The vice Principal is leading the school. Since the previous inspection 47 pupils have left the school and five members of staff have resigned.
The quality of leadership and management at the school
There are no signs of improvement in the school. Insufficient action has been taken to address the numerous failures in leadership and teaching. In addition, the uncertainty around governance and leadership has contributed to the school being
less stable than it was at the time of the last inspection. This school remains in chaos.
The school is not improving because relationships between school leaders, at all levels, are destructive and deteriorating. As a result there are tensions between the governing body and senior leadership team. Members of the senior leadership team
do not work together effectively; this has resulted in a lack of decisive leadership.The interim Principal is currently absent and governors have asked the willing, but inexperienced, vice Principal to lead the school during this period of absence. She
does not, however, have the necessary knowledge and skills to ensure the school makes rapid progress.
The school's plans are not good enough; they lack clear targets and actions. Teaching staff are not given clear messages about what has to be done. School
leaders are not holding teachers to account for the quality of teaching, which remains inadequate and, more worryingly, is not showing any signs of improving.
Governors have worked hard to ensure that pupils are now safe. They do not monitor the work of senior leaders effectively as they are too involved in the day-today running of the school. Governors do not have the necessary understanding,
experience or expertise to make decisions about how the school should operate.
The trustees have written a statement of action but this does not indicate how the school will tackle the weaknesses identified in the inspection. As a result the trustees have not communicated a clear strategy which will ensure that the quality of
leadership and teaching improves.
Following the monitoring inspection the following judgements were made:
The sponsor's statement of action is not fit for purpose
The school's improvement plan is not fit for purpose
Having considered all the evidence I strongly recommend that the school does not seek to appoint NQTs.
I am copying this letter to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body,and as below. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.
Yours sincerely
Wayne Norrie
Her Majesty's Inspector
