A damning inspection of a boarding school found that ‘bird faecal matter was found in pupils’ bedrooms’ and ‘insects were crawling around the shower base’.

It comes as the Al Jamiah Al Islamiyyah in Deane, was rated as inadequate in June 2023 when looking at the effectiveness of the service, and how well it complied with the national minimum standards.

At the time of the emergency inspection in June, inspectors found that “leaders did not promote the health and welfare of pupils”, and leaders did not fulfil their legal obligations to keep pupils safe.

The school is currently closed to pupils and inspectors say that it is “far from ready to receive them back”.

The Bolton News: The monitoring inspection in September was to see the progress of the unmet national minimum standards previously inspected.

The report said: “Many parts of the school and boarding accommodation remain in a very poor state of repair.

“For example, repainted walls were peeling because of damp and mould.

“Rubbish, including food waste, has not been cleared.

“Bird faecal matter was found in pupils’ bedrooms.”

Inspectors say that they deem the school and boarding premises “entirely unsuitable for use by pupils, boarders and staff”.

The report continued: “The lack of cleanliness poses a considerable risk to pupils’, boarders’ and staff’s health and well-being.

“Leaders have failed to ensure that the toilet and washing facilities are clean and well maintained. There is a lack of handwash, toilet rolls and hand drying facilities.

The Bolton News: “Toilet facilities do not have signs to indicate that water may be hot, nor that water is not suitable for drinking.

“Water dispensers are filthy, insufficient in number and inappropriately located.

“The changing area and showering facilities are wholly unsuitable.

“Some showers have been repaired.

“However, the quality of the workmanship is poor, for example tiles are missing, sealant is poorly applied, and the showers are not made waterproof.

“These cubicles are already showing signs of deterioration; many are still unclean, and some have insects crawling around the shower base.”

There have been no cleaning staff employed for over five months, and there is no member of staff responsible for the maintenance of the school’s premises and accommodation.

Ofsted found that school leaders had made a start on improving boarding accommodation.

The report said: “They have improved the number of workable showers and toilets and have begun painting some of the walls.

“While there are improvements, the boarding accommodation for children is not yet of a good quality throughout.

“Leaders are aware that the refurbishment of accommodation is a long-term project, and they are planning accordingly.”

The inspection found that fire safety was not in place, and that some fire doors were locked during the visit, as well as the exit routes to assembly areas not being lit for after-dark evacuation.

The report said: “The structure and personnel in place are insufficient to promote compliance with fire safety law.

“The risks associated with under and over 18-year-olds mixing together are still in evidence.

“However, there is an action plan for assessing and managing children’s areas of risk from their contact with adult students.

“This is a positive start on improving children’s safety, although this continues to be a work in progress.”

This was the first progress monitoring inspection since the emergency inspection in June.

The report said: “The proprietor body and leaders are at the early stages of ensuring that pupils are safe at school.

“They have not fulfilled the requirements set out in the most up-to-date statutory guidance issued by the Secretary of State, nor have they ensured compliance with relevant health and safety laws.”

However, the proprietor body and the newly formed governing body, has appointed designated safeguarding leads who have had suitable training.

At the time of the inspection, 16 out of the 23 staff members had completed the safeguarding training.

The report said: “The proprietor body has a health and safety policy that has been rewritten to comply with all relevant laws.

“However, leaders do not follow this policy.”

The quality of education and school standards itself was classed as ‘requires improvement’ following an inspection in May 2022.

During an inspection to assess the effectiveness of the service in 2017, the school was rated as ‘good’.

At the time of the progress monitoring inspection, there was no headteacher in post, and there were a number of other unfilled key posts.

The report added: “The leadership and management of the school is weak.

“The proprietor body is ill equipped to hold leaders to account for pupils’ welfare, well-being and safety.”

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