Talmud Torah Yetev Lev

Reason for inspection

This was an unannounced emergency inspection commissioned by the Department for Education because there were concerns about pupils’ welfare, health and safety.

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Conclusions

Procedures for ensuring pupils’ welfare, health and safety are inadequate.

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Conclusions

School leaders are not diligent in ensuring that welfare policies are up to date and that they take full regard of the latest national guidance, for example ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ and ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’.

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Conclusions

Staff have not had adequate training in child protection. The staff member with responsibility for child protection does not have current training at a suitable level and does not have a job description that clearly outlines his responsibilities. Staff training has not been formal enough or systematic. Staff are not suitably knowledgeable about the procedures that they should follow and are not adequately aware of the latest guidance including where there may be allegations made against a member of staff.

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Conclusions

The single central register does not show all the required information and staff files have only very limited records about what information was checked and sought during the appointment of staff.

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Conclusions

Staff have been checked with the Disclosure and Barring Service for criminal records but it is not clear if they have been checked against the ‘barred list’ or ‘prohibition from teaching check’.

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Conclusions

Pupils were polite and courteous. They said they enjoyed going to school. During the inspection the behaviour observed was satisfactory though sometimes over-boisterous. Written policies to promote good behaviour are not implemented fully. The policy to prevent bullying does not include information about cyber bullying. Those pupils who met with the inspector agreed that bullying was rare. They were aware of some types of bullying but they did not know about cyber bullying. They said that they had no access to computers or mobile phones in school or at home.

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Conclusions

Despite requests from the inspector, the school did not present any record of sanctions for serious misbehaviour. Pupils mentioned that common sanctions were additional homework, writing lines, sitting at the front of the class or ‘standing up’ for up to 20 minutes. Not all these sanctions are appropriate or appear in the behaviour policy.

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Conclusions

Senior leaders are not adequately diligent on matters of general health and safety. Risk assessments are not thorough or accurate. Too many parts of the buildings are untidy, dirty and in a poor state of repair. Emergency inspection: Talmud Torah Yetev Lev, 23 June 2014 2 of 6

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Conclusions

Arrangements for checking who is entering the school buildings are not undertaken thoroughly. There are no signs to show visitors where to go in order to register their presence. Not all the pupil attendance registers are marked appropriately at the start of the morning and afternoon sessions. Procedures for ensuring that attendance and admissions registers are fully up to date are unclear.

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Conclusions

Arrangements for fire risk assessments and checking fire fighting appliances are adequate. Fire drills are carried out and the time taken to evacuate the buildings is recorded appropriately. The arrangements for testing portable electrical appliances (PAT) are inadequate so that pupils’ health and safety is not assured.

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Conclusions

The procedures and practices for first aid are inadequate. A suitable number of staff have first-aid training. Procedures for recording accidents are not maintained adequately. They are too sketchy, for example about letting parents or carers know about a head injury and recording that it has been done. The school sometimes administers non-prescribed medicines such as paracetamol. However, no written parental agreement, as indicated in national guidance, is sought, although the school does telephone parents and carers. Procedures to check first-aid kits around the school are not rigorous.

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Conclusions

The school has a complex site made up of four premises. Supervision of pupils is inadequate. There are times outside lessons when pupils are left unsupervised in classrooms both individually and in small groups. During break times staff are not adequately alert to ensure that they can see what pupils are doing. Too often staff are talking in a huddle in the playground instead of moving around the premises.

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Conclusions

Not all parts of the building are adequately maintained. Flooring in some parts of the school is in a poor state of repair and in other parts the fabric of buildings is poor. For example, plaster is falling off leaving walls in an unsuitable condition. Parts of the buildings are untidy and dirty, including some small kitchen areas and smaller teaching rooms around the school.

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Early Years

The school is not meeting the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory requirements because the provision for welfare, health and safety in the school is inadequate, parts of the premises are in a poor state of repair and not clean, equipment is unhygienic and there is no suitably qualified coordinator for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Early Years

Children are encouraged to use toys and other large equipment freely in classrooms. However, this is not well enough supervised by staff and sometimes floor space becomes unsafe because toys and equipment are strewn too widely.

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Regulations’), and associated requirements

Ensure that there are arrangements made to safeguard and promote the paragraph 7 Emergency inspection: Talmud Torah Yetev Lev, 23 June 2014 3 of 6

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Regulations’), and associated requirements

welfare of pupils at the school which have sufficient regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State. Ensure that the written policy to promote good behaviour among pupils sets out the sanctions to be applied in the event of pupils misbehaving and ensure that the policy is implemented effectively. paragraph 9

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Regulations’), and associated requirements

Ensure that the anti-bullying strategy is comprehensive in identifying all types of bullying and is being implemented. paragraph 10

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Regulations’), and associated requirements

Ensure that the written policy complies with all health and safety laws and is implemented effectively. paragraph 11

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Regulations’), and associated requirements

Ensure that the first-aid policy is more reflective of national guidance and implemented fully. paragraph 14

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Regulations’), and associated requirements

Ensure that staff are deployed in such a way as to ensure the proper supervision of pupils. paragraph 15

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Regulations’), and associated requirements

Ensure that there is a formal record of sanctions imposed on pupils for serious misbehaviour. paragraph 16

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Regulations’), and associated requirements

Ensure that the admission and attendance registers are maintained in accordance with the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006. paragraph 17

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Regulations’), and associated requirements

Ensure that records can verify that no member of staff is barred from regulated activity in accordance with section 3(2) of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (ISA Barred list). paragraph 19(2)(a)

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Regulations’), and associated requirements

Ensure that the single central register shows that for all staff appointed on or after May 2007 that all the required checks on staff have been made. paragraph 22(3) Ensure that the single central register shows that for all staff appointed before 1 May 2007 that all the required checks have been made. paragraph 22(4) Ensure that the school’s accommodation and facilities are maintained to a sufficient standard to ensure the health and safety and welfare of pupils as far as reasonably practicable. paragraph 23C Emergency inspection: Talmud Torah Yetev Lev, 23 June 2014 4 of 6

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Inspection team

Daniel Towl, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Talmud Torah Yetev Lev is a strictly orthodox Jewish day school for boys aged between three and 12 years of age. The school opened in 1965. There are 762 pupils on roll. About a quarter of the pupils are in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  It is housed in four separate buildings: three former residential buildings and one purpose-built school building.  Nearly all boys speak Yiddish as their first language. Pupils have both Jewish (Kodesh) and secular (Chol) studies.  The school is open six days each week, Sunday to Friday. Emergency inspection: Talmud Torah Yetev Lev, 23 June 2014 5 of 6

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School details

Unique reference number 100289 Inspection number 441643 DfE registration number 204/6233 This inspection was conducted at the request of the registration authority for independent schools. It was carried out under section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as amended by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Orthodox Jewish School status Independent Age range of pupils 3–12 Gender of pupils Boys Number of pupils on the school roll 762 Proprietor Talmud Torah Education Limited Headteachers Rabbi E Padwa and Mr I Krauss Date of previous school inspection 5–6 July 2011 Annual fees (day pupils) None Telephone number 020 8806 3834 Fax number 020 8806 8414 Email address mail@satmar.co.uk Emergency inspection: Talmud Torah Yetev Lev, 23 June 2014 6 of 6

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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

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