Bnos Yisroel School Manchester

Bnos Yisroel School Manchester Leicester Road, Salford, Lancashire, M7 4DA

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Overall effectiveness Good 2

Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Good 2

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This is a good school

 Pupils make good progress from their starting points in English, mathematics and science in the primary and secondary departments of the school.  The quality of teaching is good because staff know the pupils’ well and through excellent relations ensure that pupils become very well motivated learners.  Pupils’ impeccable behaviour contributes to the very positive atmosphere in school and helps them to achieve well. Excellent arrangements for safety ensure that pupils feel very safe.  Leaders and managers at all levels are forward thinking with a shared vision for the school to become outstanding. They deserve much credit for the successful expansion of the school’s accommodation since the last inspection and how well they have maintained the overall quality of education.  Parents and pupils like the good balance of learning activities and subjects in religious studies (Limudei Kodesh) and secular studies (Limudei Chol).

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers’ planning for pupils with different capabilities, including the least and most able, lacks the rigor to ensure that everyone can achieve outstandingly.  Teachers’ comments in pupils' workbooks do not always tell pupils what they must do in order to make their work outstanding.  Pupils’ progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage is not as good as that in other departments.  Leaders do not have a single, central overview of strengths and weaknesses in different departments upon which further improvement can be based.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 The school meets schedule 1 of the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010, as amended by the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection took place with one day’s notice.  The inspectors observed 22 lessons taught by 22 different teachers and scrutinised samples of pupils’ work in many subjects.  Discussions took place with senior leaders including governors, the principal, middle managers, and with teachers, the school’s educational psychologist and pupils.  Questionnaire responses from 217 returns completed by parents were considered along with responses from 65 members of staff.  A wide range of school documentation was scrutinised including policies and records of pupils’ progress.  A material change application to the school’s registration was assessed regarding the school’s capacity (the school wishes to increase the number of pupils it can accommodate to 650).

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Inspection team

Saleem Hussain, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Fayge Levenberg Additional Inspector Shellie Barcroft Additional Inspector Sarah Drake Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Bnos Yisroel School was established in 1965 as a mainstream Haredi (orthodox) Jewish religious school for girls to serve the strictly observant Jewish communities of Broughton Park and Prestwich, Greater Manchester. All the pupils come from strictly orthodox Jewish homes. They represent wide socio-economic backgrounds and a relatively wide spectrum of Jewish cultural backgrounds (Chassidic and non Chassidic).  The school completed building work on its premises by establishing a new building on its campus in 2007. This houses the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 pupils.  The school has three departments: these are the Early Years Foundation Stage, primary and secondary school.  There are currently 573 pupils on roll, aged 3 to 16 years, all of whom speak English and are of White British heritage. At the time of this inspection there were 74 pupils in the Early Years Foundation Stage, 259 in the primary department and 240 in the secondary.

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Information about this school

 The school admits pupils of differing abilities, including those with special educational needs and disabilities, a small number of whom currently have statements of special educational needs.  The school aims to instil in the pupils ‘a firm foundation in the orthodox Jewish way of life, together with a solid secular education whilst putting a strong emphasis on character development and personal behaviour’.  The school’s last inspection was in November 2008 where it was judged as providing a good quality of education for pupils throughout the school. Behaviour was judged as outstanding.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that teachers plan activities more rigorously for pupils with different capabilities, including the least and most able, so that everyone has clear opportunities to achieve outstandingly.  Ensure that teachers’ comments in pupils' workbooks always tell pupils what they must do in order to make their work outstanding.  Ensure that plans to improve pupils’ progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage are fully and effectively implemented.  Develop a whole school approach to gaining an accurate view of how well the school is doing so that leaders have a single, central overview of strengths and weaknesses in different departments which can be used as a basis for further improvement.

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Achievement of pupils Good

 Achievement is good because teaching is strong and pupils enjoy the learning activities on offer.  All groups of pupils, including those with a statement of special educational needs, the least able and the most able, make good progress across year groups in English, mathematics and science because basic skills in these subjects are taught well. This is evident in pupils’ workbooks, where it is clear that they are given suitably challenging work which enables them to make progress in line with their capability.  Pupils in the Early Years Foundation Stage are provided with a number of opportunities to develop their letter recognition of both Hebrew and English. As pupils get older, they increasingly read a good variety of text and this helps them, ultimately, to reach high standards. Teachers and their assistants frequently help to promote reading with feeling and expression by modelling reading for pupils to start with and then asking pupils to follow their lead.

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Achievement of pupils Good

 Pupils starting school in the Early Years Foundation Stage enter showing typical levels of development for their age. They make satisfactory progress in all areas of learning, except regarding their creative, personal and social development which are good. In the primary department, pupils make rapid gains in their knowledge and understanding in most subjects. This rate of progress continues throughout the secondary department.  Early entries for GCSE examinations in Year 10 are well justified with those pupils gaining good grades.  By the time pupils leave in Year 11, the great majority have achieved well over their time in school, culminating in very good pass grades at GCSE level including subjects such as English, mathematics, science, art, textiles and citizenship. Clearly, pupils are well prepared for the future.  Achievement in Kodesh is good. For example, pupils make good gains in their knowledge and

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Achievement of pupils Good

understanding of Jewish history, law and ethics. A good number of students gain high GCSE grades in Biblical Hebrew.

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Quality of teaching Good

 Teaching is generally good in the Early Years Foundation Stage and consistently good, and sometimes outstanding across the rest of the school. As a result, pupils make good progress and achieve well over their time in school.  In the Early Years Foundation Stage, teachers observe pupils carefully and based on this, provide them with a good number of stimulating activities indoors and outdoors.  Teachers and their assistants provide excellent levels of care, guidance and support for pupils in each of the school’s three departments. This ensures that pupils of all ages and capabilities develop their confidence and self-esteem as learners.  Teachers accurately assess pupils’ skills throughout the school. Frequent, ongoing tests in all subjects ensure that leaders and teachers keep a check on pupils’ progress as they get older.  There is a good level of subject expertise among teachers. This is used well to make lessons

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Quality of teaching Good

interesting, communicate essential points for learning and help pupils to develop a range of skills in different subjects.  Teachers have high expectations of pupils. They frequently tell pupils that they are all capable of achieving well and set challenging learning targets for them.  Teachers carefully question and prompt pupils to ensure that they all participate in learning activities. Particular questions are often targeted at the most or least able pupils to ensure that they make good progress.  There are many opportunities in English and other subjects for pupils to develop their reading, speaking, listening and writing skills. For example, pupils are often encouraged to explain their ideas or approaches to problem solving in mathematics and this helps them to develop their speaking skills.  Pupils enjoy good opportunities to deepen their knowledge and understanding of mathematics. For example, difficult mathematical concepts are very carefully explained to pupils in the primary

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Quality of teaching Good

and secondary departments and this serves them well with a good number of more able pupils taking GCSE mathematics early in Year 10.  Although teaching is skilful, a number of teachers do not plan learning activities for pupils with sufficient rigor and detail to enable pupils of all abilities to achieve outstandingly.  Marking has improved since the last inspection. However, teachers’ comments in some workbooks do not always tell pupils about the next steps they must take in order to improve their work to make it outstanding. As a result, some good opportunities to raise standards are lost.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding

 Pupils’ behaviour and extremely positive attitudes make a highly significant contribution to their learning and progress.  Relationships between pupils are excellent. Comments from pupils included ‘we all get on very well with each other and it’s like belonging to one big, happy family’.  Attendance and punctuality are good. Pupils are excellent ambassadors for the school. They are very well mannered, courteous and respectful towards others. Behaviour in lessons and around school is exemplary. School records indicate that serious incidents of misbehaviour are very rare.  Pupils’ love learning. They persevere with tasks extremely well. For example, they focus very closely in art and design when sustained concentration with intricate work is required.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. Pupils have many opportunities for personal development including through teaching in religious studies, citizenship, English,

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Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding

history, cookery and also through visits and visitors. Pupils often lead prayers and this helps them to develop their self-confidence very effectively.  Pupils develop their understanding of right and wrong from an early age. For example, pupils in the Early Years Foundation Stage are always encouraged to share toys and learning resources with each other and older pupils discuss topics such as discrimination and oppression in a moral context as part of their work in history.  Pupils make a valuable contribution to the wider community by raising funds for good causes, supporting a local elderly persons’ home and inviting members of the community into school for concerts and shows.  There are many opportunities for pupils to learn about their own and other cultures in a way that promotes community harmony. Discussions with pupils indicate that they develop high levels of respect and tolerance for diverse cultures in the local and world communities. Pupils

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Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding

have a clear understanding of fundamental British values such as democracy and freedom of speech.  The school’s anti-bullying policy is very effective. Pupils say that bullying is not a problem. They feel very safe and know what to do if they feel anxious or worried about anything.  The school has fully implemented all of the necessary policies and procedures to ensure the welfare, health and safety of pupils. Arrangements for the recruitment of staff and other safeguarding requirements are fully met.

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Leadership and management Good

 Leaders have successfully maintained the good quality of academic progress and outstanding behaviour, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils since the last inspection. Leaders ensure that pupils continue to benefit positively from the good range of learning activities and subjects on offer. Good improvement can be seen in the arrangements for welfare, health and safety which are now excellent.  Forward thinking is a strong feature of leadership. New ways to develop pupils’ skills in reading, writing, speaking and mathematics are frequently discussed by senior leaders with a view to developing school initiatives. For example, the school has just implemented a series of activities to develop pupils’ skills in public speaking in partnership with the educational psychologist.  Leaders, including governors, know how well the school is doing and communicate high expectations and ambition in all aspects of the school’s work including teaching. The senior

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Leadership and management Good

leadership team and middle managers frequently observe teaching throughout the school and each department evaluates teaching accurately. The principal and department leaders place a strong emphasis on staff training. The effectiveness of this and staff appraisal is reported regularly to governors.  Leaders acknowledge that progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage is not as good as in other departments. Leaders have analysed pupils’ progress very carefully in this department and have developed clear plans to remedy this.  Governors manage financial resources effectively and ensure that good value for money is received from spending related to improvements in the accommodation and learning resources for pupils.  Although each department leader has a good awareness of the strengths and weaknesses in their department, the school does not have a single, central system for checking how well it is doing overall. This limits the school’s ability to make further improvements through concerted

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Leadership and management Good

efforts.  Leaders and managers responsible for making arrangements to support the learning of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities play an effective role. They ensure that those pupils make as much progress as others.  The school has developed effective working relationships with external agencies to support pupils’ learning and also to ensure that their well-being is safeguarded.  Responses to the inspection questionnaire from staff and parents indicate that they are very pleased about the quality of leadership. It is clear that parents are very appreciative of the quality of education provided, their children’s achievements, behaviour and the arrangements for safety.  The school meets all of the standards for independent schools and requirements for the Early Years Foundation Stage.  In relation to the school’s application to increase its capacity, inspectors recommend to the

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Leadership and management Good

Department for Education (DfE) that the change is approved. The current accommodation and other relevant arrangements have been considered by inspectors and were found to meet requirements for an increase in the school’s capacity to a maximum of 650 pupils.

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Grade Judgement

Grade 1 Outstanding Grade 2 Good Grade 3 Requires improvement Grade 4 Inadequate

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Grade Judgement

Detailed grade characteristics can be viewed in the Non-association independent school inspection handbook which is published on the Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/140053 .

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School details

Unique reference number 105996 Inspection number 443502 DfE registration number 355/6011 This inspection was carried out under section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as amended by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school. Type of school Jewish faith, day school for girls School status Independent School Age range of pupils 3 to 16 years Gender of pupils Girls Number of pupils on the school roll 573 Number of part time pupils 0 Proprietor Board of Governors Chair Mr M Brunner Principal Rabbi Raphael Spitzer Date of previous school inspection 6 November 2008 Annual fees (day pupils) By donation Telephone number 0161 792 3896 Fax number 0161 708 0125 Email address office@bnos.co.uk guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If

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School details

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School details

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School details

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School details

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School details

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School details

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

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