Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School

Age group 3–11 Inspection date(s) 28–29 November 2011 Inspection number 381424 Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School Inspection report

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Unique Reference Number 131916 Local Authority Brent Inspection number 381424 Inspection dates 28–29 November 2011 Reporting inspector Barnard Payne

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Boys Number of pupils on the school roll 204 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Uri Kaplan Headteacher Rabbi Yitzchak Freeman Date of previous school inspection 4–5 July 2007 School address Parkside Dollis Hill London NW2 6RJ Telephone number 020 8450 4377 Fax number 020 8208 7998 Email address admin@torahtemimah.brent.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by three additional inspectors. They observed all eight teachers of the secular curriculum in 15 lessons and attended an assembly. They also held meetings with a group of parents and carers, representatives from the governing body, a group of pupils and staff. They observed the school’s work, and looked at a sample of pupils’ books and the school’s plans and policies, including those for safeguarding. Inspectors also looked at questionnaires completed by 71 pupils, 26 staff and 93 parents and carers.

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Introduction

The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school’s work. It looked in detail at a number of key areas.

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Introduction

 The extent to which attainment in writing is catching up with that in mathematics.  The progress pupils make in reading, writing and mathematics in Key Stage 1.  The extent to which teachers’ marking is of consistent quality to help pupils understand their progress and whether teachers make good use of assessment information to set pupils targets across the school.  What the school is doing to build leadership capacity to deal with the increase in pupil numbers.

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Information about the school

This primary school for Orthodox Jewish boys is slightly smaller than the average sized primary school, but, recently, numbers have increased in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1. A below average percentage of pupils are known to be eligible for free school meals. Most pupils are from White British backgrounds and all speak English as a first language. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average. Over 15% of pupils receive additional external support or have a statement of special educational needs, which is a high proportion compared to the national average. These are predominantly pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. The provision for the Early Years Foundation Stage consists of a Nursery and a Reception class.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Main findings

The school has a very clear ethos based on values that are shared and strongly supported by staff, pupils and their parents and carers. Consequently, pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. A parental comment stated: ‘Despite the narrow range of ethnicities represented within the school, they effectively instil an amazing tolerance and respect for those who appear different to us. I have noticed this in my children on several occasions.’ Levels of satisfaction among parents and carers are high as exemplified in another parental comment, ‘The school is exceptionally warm and caring to both the children and parents.’

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Main findings

Pupils behave well and enjoy learning. The achievement of all groups of pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, is good. Children make satisfactory progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage and by the end of Reception their level of skills is just above that expected. They continue to make satisfactory progress in Key Stage 1, although this is improving due to better teaching. In recent years pupils have reached the national average in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 2 but current work shows a significant improvement. Their progress accelerates in Key Stage 2 and their attainment at the end of Year 6 in English is above average and in mathematics it is high. Teaching is good overall, but satisfactory teaching in some lessons leads to slower progress because the learning objectives set for each range of ability are not clear enough. Teachers make good use of marking and assessment information to set personal

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Main findings

The school meets pupils’ needs well and those with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties integrate very effectively. This is because care, guidance and support are outstanding. Learning opportunities are broad and varied and the integration of Jewish studies with the secular curriculum makes a strong contribution to achievement. Pupils’ adoption of healthy lifestyles is satisfactory; they have a good understanding of healthy diets and take part in a satisfactory range of physical activities. The school provides a good range of extra-curricular activities. Pupils acquire a good level of literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) skills, which contribute well to their future economic well-being, and their attendance is high. Pupils make a good contribution to the school and wider community. The school’s leadership has a very accurate picture of the school’s performance

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Main findings

based on detailed self-evaluation. This has been used effectively to bring about improvements, notably in teaching, which has been affected by staff turnover in

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

recent years; and in writing, where achievement, although at least satisfactory, has been relatively weaker than in reading and mathematics. The school’s leadership has managed the increase in the number of pupils well, but has accurately identified a need to increase its leadership capacity to deal with anticipated future increases. Since the previous inspection the school has consolidated and built upon its strengths, which shows that its capacity for sustained improvement is good.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve outcomes in the Early Years Foundation Stage by:  ensuring that activities are tied to clear learning objectives to accelerate rates of progress for children of all abilities.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that teaching is of a consistently good or better standard across the school by:  setting learning objectives in all lessons that are precise and cater well for the full range of ability  increasing opportunities for teachers to observe one another teaching and for collaborative working in order to share the best practice.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 2

Pupils particularly enjoy lively, active lessons with clear learning objectives. A good example was the excitement pupils showed in an outstanding Year 5 science lesson, where they investigated which combinations of solids and liquids would produce a gas. The fast pace and range of activities in another outstanding Year 6 lesson, in English, led to pupils participating and contributing ideas very effectively to develop their writing. Attainment on entry is a little higher than that of pupils of a similar age, although there is now more variation as more pupils join the school. Pupils’ books show that, due to the school’s focus on improving writing, the gap with achievement in mathematics is closing. Pupils are given effective strategies in English and at the end of Key Stage 2 attainment exceeds the national average for all pupils and is much higher than the national average for boys. A dip in results in Key Stage 1,

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 2

partly due to a high turnover of staff, is being addressed effectively through clear targets for pupils and a more rigorous approach to setting clear learning objectives; this is particularly evident in Year 2 work, where attainment is improving rapidly in writing and mathematics due to precise learning objectives being set in lessons and effective teaching to enable pupils to develop their literacy and numeracy skills. The school has effectively developed pupils’ use of investigative skills in science and in other subjects. An outstanding mathematics investigation in Year 2 addressed the question: ‘What activities do you think there should be in the playground to improve break-times and lunchtimes?’ Pupils planned the investigation, collected data using a tally chart, transferred them to a bar chart and then analysed the data.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 2

Pupils make a good contribution to their school community. They share its aims and

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

consider that the school gives them confidence and prepares them well for secondary school. They feel safe and agree that behaviour is mostly good. Their spiritual, moral and social development is excellent. They acquire deeply held values, in line with the school’s exceptionally strong Jewish ethos. Their cultural development is more limited; pupils mostly have contact with the Jewish community, but they do learn about people from other faiths and cultural backgrounds. The school is involved in fund raising for both Jewish and non-Jewish charities and the school council guides the decision as to which charities are selected.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for pupils’ outcomes

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

Taking into account: Pupils’ attainment 1 The quality of pupils’ learning and their progress The quality of learning for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their progress

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contribute to their future economic well-being

Taking into account: Pupils’ attendance 1

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How effective is the provision?

Teaching in the majority of lessons is good or better. In the best lessons, activities are tied to clear learning objectives and pupils are involved in agreeing success criteria, which clarifies their learning goals. In a lively Year 5 lesson, as part of a Greek day, the planning for each range of ability was excellent and the way the teacher presented the work to engage the pupils was outstanding and included highly effective use of ICT. All pupils have personal targets and teachers provide good feedback through marking, including the level at which pupils are working and the next steps for them to take. Teachers mostly make good use of assessment information to plan lessons. Where teaching is satisfactory, the work tends to be pitched more at one level with learning objectives that are less precise. In these lessons, assessment information is not used as effectively to plan work that meets the needs of pupils with different levels of ability. Support staff make an effective

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How effective is the provision?

contribution to pupils’ progress and their impact is significant where the planning is

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How effective is the provision?

1 The grades for attainment and attendance are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; and 4 is low

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

most effective and their efforts can be targeted at those with the highest level of need.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

The school provides a curriculum with a strong emphasis on religious studies. The links made between the secular curriculum and Jewish studies have a strong impact on achievement, contributing particularly to the development of literacy, numeracy and ICT skills and also to the creative curriculum, where pupils have designed and made religious artefacts. The school provides weekly physical education lessons to meet statutory requirements but the time is more limited than in many schools, which is why pupils’ adoption of healthy lifestyles is satisfactory rather than good. While the school provides a good range of extra-curricular activities it has not measured the impact these have on the achievement of different groups. The curriculum for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities effectively meets their needs and includes well-focused deployment of support staff.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

The very strong emphasis the school places on care, guidance and support reflects its values; there is excellent support for families as well as individual pupils. Transition arrangements are effective at all points in pupils’ schooling and there are good links with secondary schools. The school has been extremely successful in promoting high attendance.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for the quality of provision

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The quality of teaching

Taking into account: The use of assessment to support learning

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How effective are leadership and management?

The school’s leadership has effectively managed changes in staffing to ensure continuing good achievement. There is growing rigour in the teaching because the expectations of staff are clear and the school’s leadership identifies the best practice and strongly encourages and builds on it by, for example, increasing opportunities for teachers to observe one another. Effective middle leadership has brought about improvements in writing across the school. The school plans ahead effectively and, in anticipation of continued growth, is reviewing its leadership structure. The governing body shares a vision for the school and is very supportive; governors are knowledgeable about the school’s performance and effectively hold it to account.

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How effective are leadership and management?

Parents and carers are highly supportive of the school; there is a strong partnership with them and the school has effective systems in place to advise and support parents and carers. Good links with outside agencies include effective work with local authority staff to develop literacy and the Early Years Foundation Stage. There are

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

also well-established links with agencies that support pupils’ well-being, and these contribute to the school’s outstanding care, guidance and support. The school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils fully meet statutory requirements; staff are well trained and the school is a safe and secure environment. All parents and carers returning questionnaires agree that the school keeps their children safe. The school is effective in closing any gaps in performance between different groups, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This reflects its good promotion of equality of opportunity. The school has a secure understanding of its community and has the required policy in place to promote community cohesion, but it has not systematically analysed outcomes and there is limited evaluation of the impact of action taken. Outcomes for pupils are good and resources are used effectively to support continuing improvement. The school therefore provides good

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for leadership and management

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driving improvement

Taking into account: The leadership and management of teaching and learning

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Early Years Foundation Stage

Children make satisfactory progress, settle well into the life of the school and enjoy taking part in the activities provided. The provision looks after children well and their health and safety are given a high priority. Parents and carers are happy with the provision. Adults build good relationships with children and manage behaviour well. Their use of observation and assessment is satisfactory. However, this does not consistently lead to clear targets; learning objectives are not always clear enough and, while there are a variety of activities, they are not always cohesively planned to accelerate rates of progress. On occasion, a small minority of children do not make the progress they could because all children do the same work, regardless of their relative abilities. There are examples of good teaching; for example, in a lesson

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

where children learned the Hebrew alphabet the teaching was lively and encouraging, which led to children listening carefully to instructions and being keen to learn. The leadership and management of the provision have built excellent links with parents and carers and ensured a consistent approach to managing behaviour and in providing a safe, secure environment for learning. There is less consistency in ensuring that all groups of children are suitably challenged and that planning is tied to clear learning objectives.

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Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage

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Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage

Taking into account: Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage The effectiveness of leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage

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Views of parents and carers

The response rate to the questionnaires was above the average rate for primary schools. Levels of satisfaction are above average compared to national figures. A few parents and carers included written comments, mainly expressing positive views of the school.

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Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s questionnaire

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school. In the questionnaire, parents and carers were asked to record how strongly they agreed with 13 statements about the school. The inspection team received 93 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 204 pupils registered at the school.

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

My child enjoys school 74 80 19 20 0 0 0 0 The school keeps my child safe 77 83 16 17 0 0 0 0 The school informs me about my child’s progress 53 57 40 43 0 0 0 0 My child is making enough progress at this school 54 58 39 42 0 0 0 0 The teaching is good at this school 63 68 29 31 0 0 0 0 The school helps me to support my child’s learning 54 58 37 40 2 2 0 0 The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle 63 68 29 31 1 1 0 0 The school makes sure that my child is well prepared for the future (for example changing year group, changing school, and for children who are finishing school, entering further or higher education, or entering employment) 52 56 35 38 3 3 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school meets my child’s particular needs 58 62 35 38 0 0 0 0 The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour 45 48 35 38 7 8 5 5 The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns 53 57 27 29 6 6 6 6

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The school is led and managed effectively 60 65 23 25 1 1 9 10 Overall, I am happy with my child’s experience at this school 70 75 23 25 0 0 0 0

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Total % Total % Total % Total %

The table above summarises the responses that parents and carers made to each statement. The percentages indicate the proportion of parents and carers giving that response out of the total number of completed questionnaires. Where one or more parents and carers chose not to answer a particular question, the percentages will not add up to 100%.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 43 47 10 0 Primary schools 6 46 42 6 Secondary schools 14 36 41 9

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Sixth forms 15 42 41 3 Special schools 30 48 19 3 Pupil referral units 14 50 31 5

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements were introduced on 1 September 2009. This means that inspectors now make some additional judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 08 April 2011 and are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100. Sixth form figures reflect the judgements made for the overall effectiveness of the sixth form in secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning, development or training.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving. Inspectors base this judgement on what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school. The following judgements, in particular, influence what the overall effectiveness judgement will be.  The school’s capacity for sustained improvement.  Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils.  The quality of teaching.  The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils’ needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships.  The effectiveness of care, guidance and support.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Thank you for helping us to find things out about your school. We really enjoyed our visit. We found that you make good progress so that by the time you leave you reach above average standards in English and high standards in mathematics. The school makes sure you are safe and well cared for and you behave well. You make good progress in acquiring the skills you will need later in your lives and your attendance is high. We were particularly impressed with your outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This shows that you fully understand the values the school teaches you. Overall, you attend a good school. There are some aspects that are satisfactory rather than good. While most of the teaching is good, there are some lessons where your progress could be quicker. We have therefore asked the school to:

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 improve learning in the Nursery and Reception by making sure that the activities for children are planned more effectively to help them make faster progress

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 ensure all teaching is good or better across the school by setting clear learning objectives in all lessons to cater well for all abilities and by increasing opportunities for teachers to share the best ideas.

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6RJ

You can help by always making sure you know what is expected and helping your teachers to make learning exciting.

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from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy

of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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