A school funded by the Iranian government whose safeguarding policy offers “limited” information about radicalisation and extremism has been issued with a warning notice by the Department for Education.

The School of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in Brent, north-west London, has 120 pupils on its roll, and was rated “inadequate” in three out of four areas following an Ofsted inspection in September.

The warning notice, dated 15 November and published today, lists a series of independent school standards that the school does not meet, including some relating to the quality of education, the welfare, health and safety of pupils, and the suitability of staff, supply staff and proprietors.

It says that Ofsted “noted serious regulatory failings”, and tells the school to submit an action plan 18 December.

Safeguarding concerns

The Ofsted report said: “The safeguarding policy covers most aspects of safeguarding, although information about radicalisation and extremism, female genital mutilation and forced marriage is limited.”

The inspectors said that while the school met some of the standards it had failed at its previous inspection in February, “standards relating to the vetting of staff, fire safety and the curriculum remain unmet”.

They wrote that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development “is improving”, and pupils had a basic understanding of other religious traditions, but “the depth of their knowledge is limited”.

They added: “Visits to the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace help to develop pupils’ understanding of modern Britain. For example, they know about the roles of the Queen and members of Parliament and can describe fundamental British values.”

The report also said that PSHE lessons dealt with topics such as democracy, tolerance, respect and British institutions.

The warning notice published today says: “It has been recognised that the school has made good progress in meeting the independent standards, although a number of regulatory failings still remain, and we hope that the action plan will set out carefully how the remaining standards will soon be met.”

The school has been contacted for comment.

Its warning notice was one of 21 the DfE sent to independent schools in November, and published on its website today.