Dewsbury faith school reassures the community after ‘inadequate’ Ofsted judgement

The education watchdog’s June inspection of the independent Muslim all-girls school in Savile Town ruled the overall effectiveness as inadequate, although focuses on behaviour and attitudes and personal development were recorded as outstanding and good respectively.

The report, published on September 21, said: “Leaders have not ensured effective safeguarding arrangements. This puts pupils at risk.

"Many of the school’s risk assessments are poor. They do not include the risks that pupils may encounter or the actions that staff should take to reduce these risks.

“Safer recruitment procedures are not robust enough. Leaders do not ensure that the school’s own safeguarding policies and procedures are followed consistently.

“Concerns about pupils are not always referred to the local authority, when appropriate, or recorded consistently.

“Pupils are exceptionally well behaved. Staff have very high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. There is a strong culture of mutual respect between staff and pupils.

“Pupils are eager to learn. They have very positive attitudes towards their learning across the curriculum. The school is exceptionally calm and purposeful.

“Pupils show respectful and tolerant views. They have a good understanding of different faiths and cultures.

"Bullying is extremely rare. If it does happen, pupils are confident that staff will deal with any issues swiftly.”

In response to the report, a school spokesperson said: “In order to reassure all our parents, staff, well wishers and other interested parties, we would like to make clear on behalf of Rida Girls High School that the safeguarding issue which led to the Ofsted grading of inadequate did not involve any issue on the premises or any member of staff at the school.

“Ofsted have identified failings in risk assessments and procedures connected with the referrals to the local authority.

“We are confident that lessons have been learnt and our procedures have been carefully audited and reviewed to ensure compliance.

“The school is committed to excellence in academia and the personal development of pupils. In August, the school celebrated another outstanding set of GCSE results which placed the school amongst the top achievers in the country.”