Islamic faith school set to drop fee-paying model from September

Barnet Hill Academy has been operating as an independent Islamic faith school for 20 years but will now become accessible to more primary school pupils, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

Barnet Hill Academy, West Hendon (credit Google)

Barnet will have its first council-maintained Islamic faith school from September, with the local authority taking a key role in a formerly independent primary school.

Barnet Hill Academy, in West Hendon, is set to change from being fee-paying to a ‘voluntary aided’ school and nursery from the start of the new academic year.

It follows a decision signed off last week by Barnet Council’s executive director of children’s services, John Anthony.

It means that Barnet Hill Academy, which has been operating as an independent Islamic faith school in Montagu Road for the past 20 years, will be accessible to more primary school pupils aged four to eleven years.

The council hopes the move will help provide school places to more of the borough’s Muslim community, in response “to a clear and evidenced demand from residents”.

The local authority says it has a legal responsibility “to secure diversity in the provision of schools, increase opportunities for parental choice and consider parental representations”.

The council says “no changes are proposed to the age range, capacity, accommodation or operating arrangements of the nursery provision” following the introduction of the council’s role.

As of the 2021 Census there were 47,700 Muslim residents in Barnet, just over 12% of the borough’s population.

A council report explained that the borough’s current school provision “reflects the major faiths present in the borough”, including Church of England, Roman Catholic and Jewish faith-based education.

However, the council argues that “Islam is not represented within the state-funded education sector in Barnet.

“As a result, Muslim families do not have the same opportunity as those of other faiths to access a school aligned with their religious ethos.”

Up until now, Barnet Hill Academy has operated as an independent, fee-paying school. This, the council says, has meant that “access is limited to those able to afford the associated fees, restricting provision for the majority of the borough’s Muslim community”.

Voluntary-aided schools are founded by voluntary bodies, usually religious organisations. Receiving a mixture of funding from the local authority, a governing body and the Department for Education, the education they provide counts as part of provision offered by the local authority.

In forecasts, described by the council as “ambitious”, the school is projecting pupil numbers to essentially double from the 2026/27 school year to around 400 pupils by the early 2030s, aided by the removal of fees.

Audited financial statements for the last three financial years “indicate” that the private school has been struggling to balance the books lately, with income levels not having “consistently met expenditure requirements”.

As a result, the council has sought a ‘deed of indemnity’ from Barnet Hill Academy in respect of liabilities arising before Tuesday, 1st September, when the school will come under the wing of the local authority and begin to receive public funding.

A statutory four-week “representation period” was held from 8th May to 5th June, during which respondents were invited to express their views directly to the council, who reported that all respondents expressed “unequivocal support for the proposal”.

The council says the move will help “better reflect the borough’s demographic profile and respond to a clear and evidenced demand from residents for provision that aligns with the religious, cultural and ethnic diversity of the community”.

And it also claims the new arrangement will “support inclusive access to education and contribute positively to social value by promoting equality of opportunity and reflecting the needs of the local community”.

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