About Us – Al Aqsa School

Mission Statement

Founded in 1998, Al-Aqsa is a full-time, non-selective school for children aged 3 – 16. We offer a broad and balanced holistic curriculum that integrates Islamic perspectives throughout all academic subject areas, with a focus on the Qur’an and character development. Our curriculum places an emphasis on personalised learning. Pupils of all ages are challenged to do their personal best and guided to become independent, creative learners.

Al-Aqsa School is registered with the Department for Education as an independent school. We serve children and families of all backgrounds and teach respect for all schools of thought in the community, promote tolerance for people of all faiths and none in our British society, and encourage our pupils to develop a sense of national and global citizenship. We hope, through our staff and pupils, to make a positive contribution to our community, society and world, for the benefit of all, Insha’Allah.

The school seeks:

To develop the whole personality of pupils with Tauheed at the core and Islam as the main focus of their lives.
To help children acquire a moral attitude to life through conscientious awareness and the practice of Divine Guidance in all their affairs and transactions.
To encourage the pursuit and acquisition of general knowledge and skills.
To promote the dignity of each young person through self-respect, respect for parents, elders and others, and through the development of personal responsibility.
To help young people to understand the complexity of the world in which they live and that their own well-being is closely connected to the well-being of others.
To develop an understanding of, and respect for, differences that exist in multi-cultural, multi-faith British society.
To ensure that young people enjoy their life at school, and develop a love of learning and a strong desire to continue their education as a lifelong experience.
Al-Aqsa School is committed to remaining a small, friendly, independent school. We offer a independent Islamic education from nursery through to GCSE level for the families we serve, Alhamdulillah.

British & Islamic Values

The curriculum at Al Aqsa School actively promotes fundamental ‘British’ values. This includes the values of democracy, the rule of the law, individual liberty and mutual respect/ tolerance for others.

At Al Aqsa School each of these values are reinforced daily in the following ways:

Democracy- Students have a say in school life at the termly student forum meetings with the Principal.
Liberty- Students are actively encouraged to make choices, knowing that they are in a safe environment and also understanding that they are accountable for those choices.
Respect and Tolerance- Mutual respect is an integral part of the culture at Al Aqsa School.
Law- Pupils understand the difference between right and wrong. They recognise that there are consequences for every choice that they make and apply this to their lives inside and outside of school by respecting English civil and criminal law.
Responsibility - We expect our students to be proactive in their learning, understanding that they are equally responsible for their learning as the teacher. Homework assignments are set for students to work independently and develops organisational skills.

Our Governors

As a Trust school, the Trustees are the part of the Foundation Governing Body, where the formal role of the Governing Body is to play an important role in the strategic leadership of the school, working with and supporting the Head teacher and staff. The governing body is made up of a cross-section of the local community and includes parent representatives of children at the school. Some of the duties of the Governing Body include:

Setting strategic direction, Policies and Objectives.
Proving the school budget.
Reviewing progress against the schools budget and objectives.
Appointing, challenging and supporting the head teacher.

Al-Aqsa is committed to growing to become a beacon Muslim school, inshallah. In order to do this, we need people with a multitude of experiences and skills to join us in planning and delivering the school. In addition to the Trustees, in January 2015, we set up our first Governing body which is made up of parents, community partners and school staff. The governors will be developing a development plan for the school and will help manage change successfully. Alhamdulillah, the schools is now recruiting a new team of governors, with two of the ‘Founding Governors’ remaining to support transition for the new team. This is the start of a very exciting journey, Insha’Allah.

The Trustees of the school meet once every term with the Head Teacher to discuss the strategic direction of the school and the charity. They have overall legal responsibility and accountability of the school and approve all major changes to the way the school functions.

If you would like to contact chair of governors and trustees please see details below;

Ibrahim Hewitt - chair@alaqsaschool.co.uk - correspondence address below