Ofsted rates Birmingham's Jamia Islamia secondary school urgent improvement

The UK education watchdog Ofsted has issued a critical report on Jamia Islamia, an independent secondary school in Birmingham's Sparkbrook district. Inspectors gave the school an "urgent improvement" rating in four categories, citing failures to meet safeguarding standards, poor attendance monitoring and insufficient staff training to protect pupils.

In a separate release, Ofsted published inspection outcomes for schools across Greater Manchester. The results show a mixed picture, with several schools praised for strong attendance, wellbeing support and inclusive environments, while others received warnings to address low attendance, bullying or academic standards. The new grading system replaces single‑word labels with descriptive ratings such as "exceptional," "strong standard" and "needs attention."