Past Events 2006 – 2007

• Professional development training for Muslim schools
• Education consultancy service to Muslim education institutions
• Subject Support Forums
• Support & development to supplementary schools
• Head Teachers’ Training Course
• Annual education conference entitled “Raising the achievement of Muslim Pupils”
• Inter – Communal Dialogue
• Alif Course
• Nida Trust Football Academy
• Sporting Youth Cup – 5 a side football tournament
• Ash – Shabab youth leadership project

• Inter – Communal Dialogue
• Alif course

• Nida Trust Football Academy
• Sporting Youth Cup – 5 a side football tournament

• Ash – Shabab youth leadership project

The section below outlines a brief detail of the projects undertaken in 2006 - 2007

At Nida Trust we believe that it is crucial to further enhance the skills & knowledge of teachers who teach our children in Muslim Independent schools. We know that a lot of our schools do not have fully qualified teachers and due to financial problems are unable to provide continuous professional development. Indeed, lack of training and development has a huge impact on the quality of teaching and learning. To assist our schools to continue to provide high quality education to our children, Nida Trust delivered several courses, which included the following topics:

Effective Lesson Planning Behaviour Management Assessment for learning Learning styles & Motivation Developing an Islamic National Curriculum Student Engagement, participation and key skills Delivering the Arabic and Islamic Curriculum Preparing for an Ofsted Inspection

Each session was very well attended and received. Each course is normally over-booked. Due to limited resources we can only take 50 teachers per session. So far we have been delivering the above courses to schools located mainly in London and the surrounding areas, but have already received interest from schools within the midlands and the north of England, and would like to expand our services to schools in other parts of the country.

The courses were delivered by qualified individuals that included Dr. Jacek Brant (Institute of Education – University of London), Prof. Dawud Noibi OBE (Council of Nigerian Muslim Organisations), Dr. Imran Alawiye (Education consultant & Author), Sidi Ahmad Thomson (Author & Barrister), Dr. Tasneem Ghazi (IQRA International Education Foundation), Michele Messoaudi (Author & Registered Ofsted Inspector) to name a few. Furthermore, the feedback that we’ve received from each session has been excellent.

Through this project, we aim to provide first hand support to schools. So far we have been working with three schools. In our consultancy project we attach a fully qualified teacher to a school who then meets the teachers once a term to discuss teaching and learning. Furthermore, the mentor aims to observe a lesson once a term to provide suggestions for the teachers to develop further. If a school requires support, they get in contact with their respective mentor via email or telephone who then arranges appropriate support for them. So far the three schools that we have been supporting have found this service extremely beneficial as it provides their teachers with continuous support, thereby improving their confidence and the quality of their teaching.

We hold four subject forums in an academic year. Our subject forums focus on the core subjects. They include:

Islamic Studies & Arabic Language ICT English Maths Science Primary Education

In each forum, teachers from various schools come together to share good practice used in their respective schools. These forums enable teachers from Muslim schools to share teaching resources with each other and network to further develop their own teaching and learning.

Support & Development to Supplementary Schools

Supplementary or complementary schools are set up by various communities to help raise the educational, cultural and spiritual awareness of the community. Muslim pupils are amongst the lowest achievers in education within this country. Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Turkish and Somali students are achieving below the national average. Furthermore, we know that many state schools have been unsuccessful in meeting the needs of our students. Research suggests that Supplementary schools provide an invaluable support structure in helping to fill that gap.

At Nida Trust, we have been providing support to a number of supplementary schools. They are:

• Marylebone Bangladeshi Community School, Central London – caters for the Bangladeshi youth
• Ayesha Community School, in NW London – caters primarily for the Pakistani Community
• Aziziye Supplementary School, in North London – caters for the Turkish community
• Suleymeniye Supplementary School, in East London – caters for the Turkish community.
• Islamic Cultural Centre Supplementary Schools, in West London – caters for the Arab community
• Muslim Association of Nigeria (UK), in SE London – caters for African and Arab communities
• Al-Amanah Supplementary School, in Watford – caters for Asian and Arab communities
• Fitra Supplementary School, in Woking – caters for Asian and Arab communities

We have and will continue to provide support for the above schools in a number of ways. They include:

Assisting them with writing various policies Teacher training and development Monitoring systems Curriculum development Grant application and developing funding strategies

Annual education Conference entitled ‘Raising the achievement of Muslim Pupils’

On July 7 th 2007, Nida Trust held an annual national education conference targeting the Muslim educationalist at the Islamic Cultural Centre (Regents Park Mosque). We had 155 Muslim educationists attending the conference, which was televised in its entirety on one satellite television channel. Speakers at the conference included:

• Mohmmed Akram Cheema OBE – Education consultant and Ofsted Inspector
• Dr. Jacek Brant – Institute of Education, University of London
• Dr. Mohamed Mukadam – Chairman, Association of Muslim Schools
• Michele Messaoudi – School Inspector
• Attaullah Parker – Research Officer, Association of Muslim Schools
• Tahir Alam – Chair of MCB Education Committee
• Fatima D’Oyen – Quest Foundation for learning
• Mizan Raja – Chair of Association of Muslim Governors
• Rukshana Yaqoob – DFES
• Dr. Abdul Bari – Secretary General MCB

The conference focused mainly around the achievements of Muslim pupils and how we can develop strategies to counter underachievement.

Head Teachers’ Training course

The first training course was held in May 2007 at Ibrahim community College for Muslim Head teachers. This course was attended by 14 schools from around the country. The topic of the training was “Every Child Matters: Why it matters to school leaders?”. The main tutor for his course is Mohammed Akram Khan Cheema (OBE), who is a registered OFSTED inspector.

Inter – Communal Dialogue

This project is set in a “Question Time” format where the representatives from the Muslim, Jewish & Christian community sit on a panel to answer questions from a diverse audience from the local area. We held Inter – Communal dialogue event at Aziziye Mosque conference hall in Stoke Newington, St. Thomas Church in Stamford Hill, Simon Marks Jewish Primary school in Stamford Hill and plan to hold another three more in the London Borough of Hackney. Next year we hope to expand this project to another borough and plan to hold each dialogue in a different faith centre. The programme normally lasts for 2 hours and covers a wide range of topics from cultural and religious identity to political participation.

Alif Course

This course mainly focuses on the teaching of Islamic beliefs and culture and its implications on Muslim life and the wider community. Its main target groups are those people who work and interact with the Muslim community on a regular basis which may include the local communities, the local police forces, local authority and the prison service. This course is offered to the community on a quarterly basis and everyone is welcome irrespective of their faith background. The course will be offered as a training package for the other target audiences such as public sector workers

Nida Trust Football Academy

As part of improving health and the general well – being of the community, Nida Trust launched a football academy. This academy attracts young people from 8 – 17 years of age from many different a backgrounds. At the moment the academy has 52 young people registered.

Sporting Youth Cup – 5 a side football tournament

The first Sporting youth cup was held in May 2007 in Mile End Stadium. This competition attracted 29 teams from different backgrounds.

Ash – Shabab youth leadership project

The main aim of this project is to develop the leadership qualities of our youth. The programme focuses on topics such as public speaking, team building, conducting a meeting, leadership style, etc.