ISLAMIA PRIMARY SCHOOL
www.islamiaprimary.org.uk
1. Meet our New Headteacher Assalamu alaikum. As the new Headteacher, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the latest Islamia Primary School newsletter. This year, we have been busy providing children with opportunities to explore, develop and enjoy learning.
Issue: Summer 2017 Following the Grenfell Tower Fire tragedy, our school hosted a unique open air Iftar in the playground feeding 400 people including the Mayor of Brent, local councillors and neighbours, as well as families who were left homeless by the fire. The Iftar was made up entirely of donations from a number of very generous local companies and caterers. Funds were also raised which went towards helping a number of families affected by the tragedy.
3. New Mini Buses Ceremony
This newsletter showcases a broad range of exciting and innovative events and activities that have taken place throughout the year. A special thank you to all of our parents, staff, governors and partners who have all contributed towards making this year so successful. Islamia Primary School is a special place where all stakeholders work in partnership to create a loving and caring school where children are happy, confident and thrive within a secure environment of high expectations and educational excellence.
2. Islamia Iftar for Grenfell On 23rd September, the school held a special ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the purchasing of two new school mini buses. The ceremony was attended by local dignitaries, including the Mayor of Brent, Mother Christine from the Interfaith Centre, Representatives from the Queen’s Park Residents’ Association (Qpara) and Asmaa Islam from the Yusuf Islam Foundation. Parents fundraised for one of the mini buses and the second mini bus was purchased by the school.
4. Family Eid Fundays The PSA (Parent Staff Association) organised two great family fundays. One at the start of the year in September for Eid ul Adha and another in July for Eid ul Fitr. Both family fun-
The programme itself lasted ten weeks, with a weekly hourlong session where the students covered themes such as confidence, communication, and role models, whilst parents looked at themes such as citizenship and understanding the British education system.
7. Choir Performances During the year, pupils took part in numerous choir performances across London helping to raise money for various charities.
days were well attended and packed with bouncy castles, stalls, delicious food and live performances.
5. BMX Stunt Show
Queen’s Park Day
At the start of the year, pupils were treated to a Freestyle BMX Stunt show performance to celebrate Eid. The children couldn’t contain their excitement as they watched wheelies, bunny hops and pogos. It was also an opportunity to promote cycling.
6. Mosaic Mentoring Programme
Anti-Bullying Event at Brent Civic Centre
Charity Dinner Organised by Islamic Relief
Year 6 girls took part the Mosaic Mentoring programme. The programme helped to equip our girls with the skills to connect education to work at an early age through mentors from professional backgrounds acting as role models, helping them to aspire to careers in a range of different sectors. Mothers participated in lessons raising their awareness of the importance of education and how to support their children through school and beyond.
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Choir Meets Zain Bhikha
Choir at Mayor of London's Eid Festival, Trafalgar Square
Choir Meets Dawud Warnsby Ali
Choir at National Teachers' Awards
Choir at Science Museum Charity Dinner
Choir at Grenfell iftar Choir at Muslim Lifestyle Show, Olympia
Tea Party with the Elderly
Choir at Mayor of London's Eid Festival, Trafalgar Square
Tribute to Manchester
Choir at Mayor of London's Eid Festival, Trafalgar Square
Choir at Brent Cross Shopping Centre
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8. Fundraising
9. Visitors
Throughout the year, pupils fundraised donating large sums of money to various charitable causes including the famine in East Africa, Orphan projects around the world and the Yemen Crisis Appeal along with local projects like Comic Relief, victims of the Grenfell Fire and local food banks.
The school hosts regular visitors throughout the year. Some of the visitors this year included:
Talha Bozkurt from Ilim College, Australia.
East Africa Appeal by Islamic Relief - £6000
Orphan Projects by Penny Appeal - £2000
Enis Sener from Bilgicagi School, Istanbul.
Grenfell Appeal - £6000 & Food/Clothing
Avicenna Private School from Austria.
Comic relief - £1000
Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens)
Food donated to the Islamia & Sufra Food Banks
Yemen Crisis Appeal - £3000
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Harris J (Nasheed Artist)
10. Qur’an Celebration Day
community’ and working to ‘broaden pupils’ knowledge and understanding of faiths and cultures other than their own.’ Amanda Carter-Fraser reported that ‘Pupils set high standards for themselves and others, led by the example of their teachers, upholding the importance of mutual respect, friendliness and being kind to others.’ Parents’ views were also captured, with the majority of parents who completed the online Ofsted survey agreeing that ‘their child feels safe in the school and that pupils are well behaved.’
Our school hosted the annual Qur’an Celebration Day 201617 again this year. A total of 10 Muslims faith schools from across London took part in the event which focussed on celebrating the Qur’an. Performances included recitation of the Qur’an, plays, speeches, poems and nasheeds. It was an inspirational morning for all.
11. Glowing Ofsted Inspection Report
On 12th January 2017, our school received its published Ofsted inspection report following a Section 8 inspection on 29th November 2016. This was the fourth inspection in four years.
Pupils were interviewed and described ‘how assemblies regularly emphasise the importance of love, friendship and consideration for others.’ Pupils also said ‘they feel safe in school and there are no areas in the school where they feel unsafe.’ As all Ofsted inspections focus on Safeguarding, the inspector reported that ‘Leaders are alert to risks within the wider community, including radicalisation and female genital mutilation. Staff follow up concerns rapidly and effectively, providing valuable information and reassurance to parents.’ Attendance levels were also a focus of the inspection and highlighted that ‘Leaders emphasise to parents the importance of reducing levels of absence; as a result, attendance at school continues to improve and is above the national average.’ Islamia Primary School recently celebrated achieving very positive KS2 SATs Results in Reading, Writing and Maths coming 14th out of all 55 Brent Primary Schools (who publish KS2 SATs results) which puts Islamia Primary School in the top 25% of all primary schools in Brent. Babar Mirza, the Headteacher said: ‘There is never a day that I do not feel proud of the wonderful work being carried at Islamia Primary School. The staff and parents work tremendously hard to nurture our child and the latest Ofsted
The school received a Section 5 inspection in March 2013, where the school was graded as ‘Good’ in all areas. In September 2014, the school received an unannounced ‘no notice’ Section 8 inspection with a focus on safeguarding and was judged to have ‘met requirements’. In June 2015, the school received a Section 48 inspection with a focus on religious education. The quality of religious education provided at the school was judged to be ‘Good’ and the extent of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development was judged to be ‘Outstanding’. The school’s latest Ofsted report, on the new, much tougher Ofsted inspection framework, judged the school to have ‘maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.’ Amanda Carter-Fraser, Her Majesty’s Inspector (HMI), praised the work of the new Headteacher, Babar Mirza, who had ‘rightly prioritised the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection’, and ‘provided leadership development opportunities for subject and middle leaders so they have become more involved in monitoring and evaluating the quality of teaching across the school’. The broad and balanced curriculum was recognised for giving pupils ‘opportunities across a wide range of subjects to improve their skills in reading, writing and mathematics so that they make good progress.’ The school was praised for being ‘committed to promoting close and positive relationships within and beyond the local
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inspection report is an accurate evaluation of their hard work.’ Nur Enver, Vice-Chair of Governors said: ‘I am delighted with the recent Ofsted report which reiterates that the school is providing a 'Good' education for all. It is evident that the new leadership team have set the stones to pave the upward path to achieving an Outstanding education for all its pupils, I look forward to supporting our school to achieve this.’ Dr. Ahsan Mirza, Chair of Governors said: ‘As governors, we are certainly very pleased with the inspection report and feel it is a positive testament to what we are doing. Recently the national inspection framework has changed significantly and has become increasingly demanding. It is therefore credit to the school staff, governors, parents and most importantly the pupils, that this is such a good report. There is so much to be proud of and this is a real step up from previous inspections.’ Brian Grady, Operational Director, Safeguarding, Performance and Strategy, Brent, wrote to the school following the inspection outcomes and said: ‘Brent Council is very grateful to you and your colleagues for your work to ensure the best possible provision and outcomes for the pupils at Islamia.’
12. STEMs Education
Visit to Imperial College
Computing with Mbots
This year the school launched its focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEMs) education through its partnership with Imperial College, utilising STEMs ambassadors in the school, running a STEMs Day and after school STEMs clubs, along with visiting Imperial College for Science Lab sessions and the Imperial Festival where pupils were able to speak to Scientists and take part in experiments and demonstrations. STEMS - Club
STEMs Day
STEMS - Imperial Festival
13. Brent Petition
STEMS Ambassadors
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Earlier this year, the PSA launched an e-petition for Brent Council to keep the school as a two-form entry school. The petition received over 1000 signatures in just 24 hours (total 1283 signatures), which resulted in our PSA chair being invited to address the case (in person) to all Brent councillors at the full council meeting in the Civic Centre. The petition was successful, as the school remains as a two-form entry school after being granted additional playground space at the Winkworth Hall site.
14. Year 6 Street Clean
Parent Introduction Meetings
One of the Year 6 pupils sent his ideas about keeping the area clean around Queen’s Park to Brent Council. They wrote back thanking him for his ideas and concern for the local area. The Year 6 pupil approached the Headteacher to ask if he and his classmates could take part in a street clean outside the parade of shops near the school. Year 6 pupils then took part in a number of street cleans. The local businesses were so impressed that on one occasion the pupils received complimentary hot chocolate and on another occasion complimentary waffles. A great initiative and example of serving the community!
Coffee Mornings
Parenting Course
15. Safer Internet Day / E-Safety Week
Parenting Workshops
During E-Safety week, all pupils further developed their understanding of Online Safety. Pupils took part in dedicated lessons on E-Safety delivered by a specialist from 3BM and took part in E-Safety assemblies. Staff held an information stall in the playground after school for parents to provide them with useful tips and advice on how to keep their children safe online (including use of smart phones).
16. Parental Engagement The school has used a variety of opportunities to engage with parents through introduction meetings, weekly coffee mornings, weekly parenting courses (by ParentingU), monthly parent workshops (Literacy, Numeracy, Deen, SRE, Transition), termly progress meetings, consultations and pastoral care through our own school chaplain.
Pastoral Care
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17. School Values We have been promoting a different value each half term: Respect – We respect each other for who we are Love – We love each other as one big family Patience – We show patience when things don’t go the way we planned Striving – We strive to go beyond expectations Sharing – We share what we have to help others succeed Honesty – We always act with honesty and integrity
powerful and encouraging individual and collective action to stop bullying. • To help parents to use their Power for Good – through supporting children with issues relating to bullying and working together with schools to stop bullying. • To encourage all teachers, school support staff and youth workers to use their Power for Good – by valuing the difference they can make in a child’s life, and taking individual and collective action to prevent bullying and create safe environments where children can thrive. We delivered assemblies and lessons on anti-bullying to ensure that bullying does not take place in our school.
20. Seerah Week
18. Black History Week
Pupils had a great week learning about the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his life during the school’s annual Seerah week. We displayed pupils work on special display boards in the school’s prayer hall and held our annual whole school Seerah assembly where each class delivered a special performance.
21. Prophet ‘Isa (AS) week
This year’s Black History Week was on the theme of Respect. • Respect for one another’s ideas • Respect for one another’s differences • How respecting one another can bring about change Pupils were given an opportunity to study the lives of historical and contemporary figures like May Seacle, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, Walter Tull and William Wilberforce. We also launched a competition for the best speech about Respect.
19. Anti-Bullying Week Anti-Bullying Week took place on 14th to 18th November 2016. The theme this year was 'Power for Good', and achieved the following aims: • To support children and young people to use their Power for Good – by understanding the ways in which they are
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We held our annual ‘Isa (AS) themed week, where children were taught about the life of Prophet ‘Isa (AS), Maryam (Mother of Prophet ‘Isa) and the Qur’anic chapter of the Family of Imran, through all of their subjects.
22. School Trips Our pupils visited a broad range of places this year taking learning outside of the classroom.
Kidzania Urban Studies Centre
Kentish Town Farm
Arts Depot Theatre
Science Museum RAF Museum
Natural History Museum
British Museum
Kingswood Residential Activity Centre
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23. Sports
Royal Theatre Stratford
This year has seen an increase in the amount of Sport being played at the school. The school has ensured that its Sports provision was inclusive by providing Girls with equal opportunities as well as pupils with Special Educational Needs. At each event, our children displayed the school values well. Respecting each other and themselves, caring for their team members and striving to give of their best. Both girls and boys have taken part in regular football league matches / tournaments and have brought back a number of trophies.
Winners of i7 Champions Trophy
Hampstead Heath
Winners of 5-a-side Girls Football Tournament
Regents Park Mosque
London Sports Day for SEN pupil at Copperbox Arena
Regents Park Mosque Cross Country Running
Gordon Brown Centre
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Year 3 & 4 Learn to Swim
Visit to Women’s FA Cup Final Year 5 Twins take part in Paris World Games
24. School Leaders’ Study Tour of Turkey
Pupil Learn to Cycle In February 2017, the Headteacher and Assistant Headteacher (KS1) joined a group of 50 school leaders from across the UK on the School Leaders’ Study Tour of Istanbul, Turkey. The packed week included visiting schools as well as historical and religious sites. The purpose of the trip was the help school leaders to develop a broader perspective of leadership within international, historical and contemporary contexts.
25. Achievement Assemblies Pupil Learn Cycle A-Life Healthtoand Fitness Workshops
A-LifePara Health and Fitness Workshops World Athletics Championships
We held two series of Achievement Assemblies this year, one in February and another at the end of the year in July. Pupils were awarded with medals and certificates for outstanding achievement in all the subjects along with attendance, behaviour and overall improvement. Turn out from parents was very high and pupils were also reminded of the importance fo having a growth mindset and remaining positive.
26. Book Week / World Book Day
This year’s World Book Day and Book Week were packed
Sports Day at Willesden Sports Stadium
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with fun activities to help promote the love of Reading. We held a book fair which was open throughout the week. On World Book Day children and staff dressed up as a book character. During our special assembly, staff delivered a play. We had a whole school competition where children wrote about the school values. We had Jumana Moon (storyteller) in school delivering assemblies and running workshops with all classes. The week also included library visits and prizes for the best dressed character. We also emphasised the importance of the Qur’an and reading stories of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and the Sahaba (companions). What an exciting and inspirational week it was.
27. Science Week
used this opportunity to teach children about the Islamic perspective on events like the crucifixion allowing pupils to draw comparisons between their faith and that of others.
30. Winners of the Creativity and Innovation Awards
We took part in British Science Week. The theme for this year’s British Science Week was “Change”, encouraging young people to think about and investigate the changes happening in the world all around us; from seasons and climate, to materials and energy. It was also a chance for young people to consider the changes they can enact to have a positive impact on the future. Pupils took part in a range of activities including:
Four of our teachers were awarded creativity and innovation awards at a prestigious awards ceremony at the Hilton Hotel Edgware Road in April 2017. Teacher Afaf won 1st Prize (Arabic Award), Teacher Aisha won 2nd Prize (Numeracy Award), Teacher Abdesselam won 1st Prize (Arts Award) and Teacher Muzammil won 2nd Prize (Literacy Award). Congratulations to all the teachers.
• Practical Science investigations in class. • Science Boffins delivered a whole school assembly where they carried out live experiments on stage.
31. Maths Week
• Science Boffins delivered Science workshops to every class. • There was also a live rocket launch from the playground!
28. 100% Attendance Assemblies
All pupils who achieved 100% attendance received a medal and certificate during a special assembly. The class with the highest attendance received the attendance cup and were invited to a Pizza Party. Pupils were also informed that attending school every day in a week automatically generates 3 positive points on our Class Charts Behaviour points system.
29. Visits to Interfaith Centre At the end of March, all 240 KS2 pupils visited the local Interfaith Centre to learn about Easter. The school has an excellent relationship with Father Laurence and Mother Christine who both run the centre and each year our children learn about the Christian beliefs and rituals related to Easter. We
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Our annual Maths week gave our pupils an enriched insight of applying their mathematical skills in a variety of contexts. They were challenged with thought provoking experiences of problem solving and were given an opportunity to explore multiplication and division in depth. We brought in the Quantum Maths theatre to further avail the chances of making the pupils think deeper, further and wider in Maths. The pupils were challenged to create a Maths Hatter Hat to celebrate the entire Maths week and the results were astounding. The week was rounded up with a sensational assembly with numerous activities with prizes.
32. Art Week For Art Week each year group has was allocated a different artist, art technique and school value as a focus for their work: Reception: British Art & Artists (Respect)
recitation. The pupils recited beautifully and the winners of each category were awarded with generous prizes from the PSA (including bikes!).
35. After School Clubs We have had another year of successful clubs. This year, we had 19 after school clubs running every week, from a range of Sports clubs including Taekwondo to breakfast club, homework club, gardening club and STEMs club, there has been something for everyone. Year 1: Piet Mondrian: Exploring Line Art and 2D Shapes (Love) Year 2: Henri Matisse: Experimenting with cutting shapes and choosing colours (Patience) Year 3: Wassily Kandinsky (Investigating colours/shapes and repeated patterns through water colours (Sharing) Year 4: African Sunset Silhouettes: Colour, mixing, shadow light and dark (Honesty) Year 5: Pointillism: Small dots to create a whole piece of art (Striving) Year 6: Dot Art with Aboriginal theme (Remembrance of Allah).
STEMs Club
33. Ramadan
Garden Club
During the blessed month of Ramadan, pupils were immersed in Ramadan related activities over the entire month, including: Reading the Qur’an, Qur’an Quizzes, Qur’an competition, Salawat Drive, Dua writing competition, Homeless Charity drive, Akhlaq quiz, a school iftar and lots more. Pupils also received an Ibadah Chart, which they were encouraged to use every day to record daily acts of ibadah during Ramadan.
Art Club
34. Qur’an Competition
During Ramadan, we held our annual Qur’an Competition. Pupils from all year groups were entered into different categories and were judged on their memorisation and quality of
Cookery Club
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36. Student Leadership Pupils have had lots of opportunity to develop their leadership skills. Class monitors were appointed to help teachers manage their classes. Masjid monitors were appointed to help pupils in the mosque during prayers. Student Council members were elected to represent the views of the pupils. The students council meet regularly and help make important decisions for the school. • 35a. School Monitors & Student Council • 35b. Student Council Meet Local Brent Councillors • 35c. Student Council Visit Houses of Parliament • 35d. Student Council Talk about Grenfell Tower Tragedy • 35e. Student Council Display
Student Council Visit Houses of Parliament
Student Council Talk about Grenfell Tower Tragedy
School Monitors & Student Council
Student Council Display
37. New School Entrance and School Website In order to give a fresh new feel to the school, the new Headteacher launched a new website for the school and installed a new entrance area along with a new electronic signing system.
Student Council Meet Local Brent Councillors
Keep up to date at www.islamiaprimary.org.uk 14
New Website
40. 3FF Linking programme
Our school has been involved with the Three Faiths Forum Schools Linking Programme for many year. We continued with our partnership with the North West London Jewish Day School. The programme helped our pupils to take part in engaging and memorable link experiences throughout the academic year. It deepen their knowledge and understanding of different beliefs by engaging directly with pupils from different backgrounds and developed their skills of communication, empathy and reflection.
41. Farewell to Year 6 New Entrance Area
38. VIP Pizza Parties
Well done to Year 6 for completing 7 years at Islamia Primary School. They will now be starting secondary school in September. We shall miss them all. We wish them all the best for the future. May Allah guide and protect them always. Ameen. • 40a – Farewell Cake • 40b – Class 6A • 40c – Class 6B
At the end of each half term, the three highest point scorers from each class where invited to a special VIP Pizza Party where they had delicious Pizza, Cake, Ice-cream and listened to jokes and riddles.
39. Tea Party for the Elderly
Our staff hosted the residents of the Carlton Dene Residential Care Home. Staff picked up the elderly residents using our new school mini buses and treated them to tea, cakes, great conversation and light entertainment from our school choir. The feedback was exceptional. The school plans to organise more visits in the future.
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For more information visit www.islamiaprimary.org.uk
Islamia Primary School Address Telephone Fax Email
: 129 Salusbury Road London NW6 6PE, U.K. : + 44 (0) 20 7372 2532 : + 44 (0) 20 7372 2425 : admin@islamia.brent.sch.uk