Talmud Torah Yetev Lev

School report Talmud Torah Yetev Lev 111-115 Cazenove Road, London, N16 6AX

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate 4

Leadership and management Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Early years provision Inadequate 4

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This is an inadequate school because

 Leaders and managers do not ensure the welfare, health and safety of pupils in the school and children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff are inadequately trained in child protection and safe recruitment. The buildings are not checked well enough for staff to be sure pupils are safe.  Leaders and managers do not hold teachers of English and mathematics closely enough to account. As a result, pupils do not have the opportunity to achieve well.  Pupils do not achieve as well as they can, especially in English, because the quality of the teaching is not good enough.  The range of subjects taught across the school is limited. Pupils have too few opportunities to develop technological or creative skills.  Leaders and managers do not make sure that fundamental British values are promoted throughout the school.  The quality of education, especially in secular subjects including English and mathematics, has

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This is an inadequate school because

not been maintained since the last full inspection.  A substantial number of the independent school standards are not met. Many of the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage are not met.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils achieve well in their Jewish religious studies. They are taught well in these subjects and receive effective support to enable them to make good progress.  Pupils in the main school and children in the Early Years Foundation Stage behave well. They are keen to learn, especially in the religious studies lessons.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 The school must take action to meet schedule 1 of The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010, as amended by The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) (Amendment) Regulations (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements. The details are listed in the full report.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was carried out with a day’s notice. The inspectors observed 35 lessons. An interpreter accompanied them in some lessons and one lesson was jointly observed with the headteacher of the Kodesh curriculum.  The inspectors looked at pupils’ work and spoke with them about it. They held meetings with the proprietor, both headteachers, staff members and pupils.  They looked at documentation including policy statements, schemes of work, teachers’ planning and records of pupils’ progress and of staff training.  There were too few responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, to provide any meaningful analysis. Six questionnaire responses from staff were taken into account

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Inspection team

John Gush, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Talmud Torah Yetev Lev is an independent, strictly orthodox, Jewish day school for boys aged from three to 12 years of age.  It opened in 1965.  There are 794 pupils on roll and 10 pupils have a statement of special educational needs.  There are 208 children in the early years of whom 120 attend on a part-time basis.  The school is located near Stamford Hill in the centre of North London’s orthodox Jewish community.  The school is owned and maintained by the Satmar Chassidic community.  Virtually all boys speak Yiddish as their first language.  Jewish religious studies (Kodesh) are taught in Yiddish. Secular subjects (Chol) are taught in English. There is a headteacher for the Jewish studies and one for the secular studies. The majority of time is spent on Kodesh studies. The school is open six days a week from Sunday to Friday.  A local swimming pool is used for physical education lessons for the older boys.

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Information about this school

 The school exists to meet the need ‘for learning, socialisation, care and support for Yiddish speaking children and parents in the locality’.  The school’s last full inspection was in July 2011. Subsequently, an unannounced emergency inspection took place in June 2014.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality and impact of leadership and management by:  ensuring that arrangements are made to promote and maintain pupils’ safety at all times  developing effective checking systems so that pupils’ safety and well-being are assured and pupils have the best possible opportunities to achieve well  ensuring that teachers’ performance is checked effectively so that teachers receive appropriate support to help them improve pupils’ rates of progress and attainment  ensuring that all staff members are aware of the policy not to promote partisan political views  ensuring that all the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage are met  ensuring the availability of dedicated outdoor space for all the early years children to provide better opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills in all the required areas of learning  implementing effective governance arrangements so that the school’s leaders are held to account for

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

the safety of pupils and staff members and the quaity of pupils’ learning.  Improve the quality of teaching in order to raise pupils’ achievement by ensuring that teachers plan lessons that take account of the needs and abilities of all the pupils in the class.  Improve the range and quality of pupils’ learning by ensuring that they have suitable opportunities to develop their ability to communicate in English.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance is highly recommended to be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 The school must meet the following independent school standards. Ensure that a written policy on the curriculum, supported by appropriate plans and schemes of work, is drawn up and implemented effectively (paragraph 2(1)). Ensure that the curriculum provides full-time supervised education which gives pupils experience in linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical and aesthetic and creative education (paragraph 2(2)(a)). Ensure that the curriculum proivdes subject matter appropriate for the ages and aptitudes of pupils, including those pupils with a statement of special educational needs (paragraph 2(2)(b)). Ensure that, where the principal language of instruction is a language other than English, lessons in written and spoken English are provided (paragraph 2(2)(d)). Ensure that the curriculum provides personal, social and health education which reflects the school’s

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

aims and ethos (paragraph 2(2)(f)). Ensure that the curriculum provides appropriate careers guidance for pupils receiving secondary education (paragraph 2(2)(g)). Ensure that, where the school has pupils below compulsory school age, it provides a programme of activities which is appropriate to their educational needs in relation to personal, social, emotional and physical development and communication and language skills (paragraph 2(2)(ga)). Ensure that the curriculum provides adequate preparation of pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life (paragraph 2(2)(j)). Ensure that teaching in the school fosters in pupils the application of intellectual, physical or creative effort, interest in their work and the ability to think and learn for themselves (paragraphs 3 and 3(a)). Ensure that teaching involves well-planned lessons and effective teaching methods, activities and

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

management of class time (paragraph 3(c)). Ensure that teachers show a good understanding of the aptitudes, needs and prior attainments of the pupils, and ensure that these are taken into account in the planning of lessons (paragraph 3(d)). Ensure that teachers utilise effectively classroom resources of an adequate quality, quantity and range (paragraph 3(f)). Ensure that a framework is in place to assess pupils’ work regularly and thoroughly and that teachers use information from those assessments to plan teaching so that pupils can progress (paragraph 3(g)). Ensure that a framework for pupils’ performance to be evaluated, by reference either to the school’s own aims as provided to parents and carers or national norms, or to both, is in place (paragraph 4). Ensure that the school actively promotes the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

(paragraphs 5 and 5(a)). Ensure that principles are actively promoted which enable pupils to acquire a broad general knowledge of and respect for public institutions and services in England (paragraph 5 (b)(iv)). Ensure that principles are actively promoted which further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures (paragraph 5(b)(v)). Ensure that principles are actively promoted which encourage respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010 (paragraph 5(b)(vi)). Ensure that arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school and that such arrangements have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State (paragraphs 7, 7(a) and 7(b)). Ensure that a written policy to promote good behaviour among pupils and which sets out the sanctions

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

to be adopted in the event of pupils’ misbehaviour is drawn up and effectively implemented (paragraph 9). Ensure that an effective anti-bullying strategy is drawn up and implemented (paragraph 10). Ensure that a written policy on compliance with relevant health and safety laws is drawn up and effectively implemented (paragraph 11). Comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (paragraph 13). Ensure that a written policy on first aid is drawn up and implemented (paragraph 14). Ensure that school staff are deployed to ensure the proper supervision of pupils (paragraph 15). Ensure that a record is kept of the sanctions imposed upon pupils for serious misbehaviour (paragraph 16). Ensure that an admission register is maintained in accordance with the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 (paragraph 17). Ensure that arrangements are made and carried out to record the outcome of checks of the National

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

Council for Teaching and Leadership’s prohibition of teachers list (paragraph 19(2)(a)). Ensure that checks are carried out and recorded in respect of staff members’ medical fitness (paragraph 19(2)(b)(ii). Ensure that further checks are carried out on staff members who have recently come to the United Kingdom or who have been out of the country for a period of time (paragraph 19(2)(d) and 19(3)). Ensure that the required checks are carried out to ensure that members of the proprietorial board are suitable to work with children (paragraphs 21(6) and 21(6)(a) to 21(6)(c) inclusive). Ensure that the school’s single central register provides information about the further checks referred to in paragraph 19(2)(d) above for staff members appointed both before and after August 2007 (paragraphs 22(3)(e) and 22(4)). Ensure that suitable toilet and washing facilities are provided for the sole use of pupils (paragraphs

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

23A(1) and 23A(1)(a)). Ensure that suitable outdoor space is provided to enable children in the early years settings to play outside (paragraphs 23G(1) and 23G(1)(b)). Ensure that all the information identified in paragraph 24(3) is made available to parents, carers and others (paragraph 14(1)(b)). Ensure that the school’s safeguarding children policy is provided to all parents and carers of pupils and prospective pupils at the school as well as to those of children in the early years setting (24(1)(c)).

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The school’s proprietor has failed to ensure that pupils are safe at school. This is because the school does not follow all the required procedures to promote pupils’ welfare, health and safety. This applies to children in the early years and to pupils in the main school. Some of the school’s policies and procedures have recently been reviewed but others have not been checked to make sure they are up to date. A substantial number of policies refer to procedures that are not fully carried out.  The range of lessons taught does not meet the requirements of the independent school standards. A large proportion of the school day is taken up with Jewish religious studies (Kodesh). Secular subjects (Chol), which include English and mathematics, are introduced in Year 2 and take place for one and a half hours in the afternoons for five days a week. Many of the required areas of learning are covered but the

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The leadership and management are inadequate

school does not make sure that pupils gain technological skills or develop their creativity. Although almost all pupils speak Yiddish as their main language, English is not taught to pupils in Year 1 or to the children in the early years. Schemes of work are not used to make sure that pupils receive adequate personal, social and health education. The pupils in Years 7 and 8 do not receive careers education.  The content of the lessons taught throughout the school does not actively promote fundamental British values. Pupils are not provided with sufficient opportunities to develop respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs.  The proprietor has made improvements to the school’s buildings since the previous inspection. However, toilets for the sole use of pupils are not available in all the school buildings. Children in some of the early years classes do not have their own outdoor areas in which to play and learn.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Some of the information that the school is required to provide for parents, carers and others is available in the school’s prospectus. However, the prospectus does not mention the school’s policies or its arrangements to support pupils with special educational needs and those who speak English is an additional language. In addition, the school’s policy about the way that the school safeguards children is not made available to parents and carers, as is required.  The leaders of the two areas of the school, the Jewish religious studies and the secular subjects, including English and mathematics, have separate arrangements to make sure that school is meeting the needs of the pupils. The leaders of the secular subjects have no formal arrangements to check how well the school is supporting pupils’ learning and no plans are made to make sure improvement takes place.  In the religious subjects school leaders watch lessons and test pupils’ knowledge. Teachers are given

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The leadership and management are inadequate

guidance about improving pupils’ learning and those pupils who require additional help are identified. These arrangements help pupils to make progress in these subjects. However, in the secular subjects, leaders only provide informal support for teachers. Leaders do not measure the progress of individual pupils and teachers do not receive any formal or consistent support to help them to improve pupils’ learning. Leaders also do not know whether groups of students, for instance those with special educational needs, are making as much progress from their starting points as others. As a result the school does not consistently provide the best possible support to help pupils to learn.  Middle leaders are used well throughout the school to enable the school day to run smoothly. Most work in the area of religious studies. They actively support teachers and help to improve learning in this area. The middle leader in the secular subjects area provides informal support for the secular subjects teachers

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The leadership and management are inadequate

but does not make use of consistent arrangements to enable them to improve their teaching.

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The governance of the school:

Although the proprietors are dedicated to the success of the school, the arrangements they make for its governance are inadequate. The systems that are used to make sure that children and pupils are safe and are making good progress are not checked as well or as regularly as they need to be. Senior staff members are not sufficiently challenged in relation to pupils’ safety or the effectiveness of the work of the teachers and other staff.

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Behaviour

 Children in the early years and pupils in the main school behave well. They are keen to learn and most take part actively in their lessons, especially in the religious subjects.  The school does not analyse the overall attendance of pupils. Evidence gathered during the inspection shows that pupils attend school regularly and, except for children in the early years, they are usually on time for their lessons. New arrangements to contact parents and carers of pupils who are not in school at the start of the school day have led to improved attendance and punctuality in the main school.  Pupils say that bullying is rare and that they know what to do if it occurs. They say that if they feel bullied the school will help. However, the way the school promotes an anti-bullying culture requires improvement because pupils are not made aware of the dangers they could experience through cyber bullying and they

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Behaviour

do not learn about bullying related to the differences between people.  Pupils know about a new system where they are shown a red card if they misbehave. This helps them to keep to the high standards of behaviour the school expects. They are respectful to staff members and get on well with each other.  The school nurtures pupils’ spiritual and moral development well. However, too little emphasis is placed on arrangements to promote their social and cultural development. No regular lessons or activities make sure that pupils learn about English institutions and services or develop awareness and appreciation of other religions or cultures. Pupils are encouraged to understand that people may be different from them and should still be respected. This includes those who are disabled or elderly. However, they are not made aware of other ways in which people may be different, for example because of their sexuality or

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Behaviour

gender identity.  The school has a policy that requires all staff members to ensure partisan political views are never promoted, and that whenever political views are brought to the attention of pupils they are presented in a balanced manner. However, this policy is not reinforced by being mentioned in the staff handbook.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is inadequate.  The designated safeguarding lead person has not received the required advanced-level training in child protection. The school’s child protection policy incorrectly states that he can be contacted during the school day, even though he does not attend the school in the mornings. The safeguarding children policy does not cover some key areas of child protection.  Staff members have not all received the required training to keep their knowledge of child protection matters up to date.  Some of the required checks to make sure that staff members are suitable to work with children have been carried out. However, the school does not provide evidence of further checks that are required when a staff member has recently arrived in the United Kingdom or spent time out of the country.  Checks to ensure the suitability of members of the proprietorial board to work with children are not

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Safety

recorded.  The employment history of staff members before they start at the school is not checked to ensure that any gaps in the evidence can be explained. The school is not able to confirm that all staff members are medically fit for work. No senior staff member has undertaken training in safe recruitment. Because of this, the school cannot be sure that all staff are suitable to work with children.  The school’s behaviour policy has been reviewed recently and does not adequately define the sanctions that the school uses in the event of pupils misbehaving. Sanctions books are now kept for each class but only record dates of misbehaviour, not the sanction imposed.  The school has appropriate policies to promote pupils’ health and safety, and to protect pupils in the event of fire. However, these are not always fully carried out and are not rigorously checked. For example, a fire door did not operate correctly in one of the school’s buildings and the fire risk assessment

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Safety

has not been reviewed recently. Assessment of risk to pupils’ health and safety in the various school buildings is not carried out regularly or monitored systematically. Because of this the school cannot be sure that pupils are safe in school.  The admissions register is not correctly maintained because it does not record when pupils leave the school. The school does not maintain a record of the schools to which leavers transfer and does not inform the local authority when pupils leave the school at the end of Year 8. As a result the school is not able to make sure that pupils remain in full-time education when they leave the school.  The supervision of pupils outside lessons has improved since the last inspection and is mostly adequate. A security concern, concerning the supervision of pupils, was raised with the school’s leaders during the inspection.  Pupils report that they feel safe and well cared for in school, and parents and carers agree. School staff

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Safety

make sure that pupils are safe and behave well during the swimming lessons which take place away from the school.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teachers of the secular subjects, including English and mathematics, do not use their knowledge of what pupils know and can do to plan lessons that enable all to learn to the best of their abilities.  More-able pupils as well as those who require additional support are not provided with opportunities to make sure that they can progress well from their own starting points.  Some teachers provide a good model for the use of spoken English, but others make mistakes that hinder pupils’ learning. Overall, because of the quality and extent of teaching of English throughout the main school, pupils are not able to communicate, read or write in English as well as they should.  Pupils gradually build up their mathematical abilities and some show knowledge at least at the level expected for their age. However, their progress is hindered by lack of adequate resources. In most lessons all pupils work from the same book or worksheet.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Pupils’ work in their books is not presented with care and is rarely marked. Pupils are not made aware in lessons of what they need to do to improve their work. Homework is only set if pupils do not finish the work that is set in lessons. Because of this pupils make slower progress that they could.  Classroom learning resources are limited to a small number of books and worksheets. No equipment is available to aid scientific enquiry or to support technological or creative activities.  Teachers do not measure pupils’ progress over a period of time and so are not aware of how their teaching supports individuals with their learning. In addition no measurements are made to find out if the additional support that is provided for pupils with a statement of special educational needs is helping those pupils to progress.  In the religious studies lessons teachers are very well trained and experienced. They have effective

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

processes to discover how much pupils know and they provide additional support where needed. Lessons are planned to enable all pupils to gain the knowledge and skills in these subjects that they want. The quality of teaching in these lessons enables most pupils to enjoy their learning. They take part in the various activities with enthusiasm.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 No record is kept by the school of pupils’ starting points or of the achievements they make in their secular subjects. As a result, it is not possible to compare their progress with others of a similar age.  Evidence was gathered during the inspection from the limited number of secular subject lessons that were observed and from pupils’ books. This suggests that some pupils make roughly expected progress in mathematics and that most pupils make less progress than expected in English. Pupils’ reading in English was hesitant and only a small number of the older pupils were able to express themselves clearly in English. This is likely to hinder their chances of success in the next stages of their education, training or employment.  The school is not able to say whether more-able students or those with special educational needs are making the progress they can.  Pupils make good progress in the Jewish religious studies as measured by the school and in the opinion of

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

their parents and carers. The school states that they are knowledgeable and confident in their understanding of the languages used by their community and of the texts that are sacred to their religion. This judgement is confirmed by inspectors’ observations during the inspection.

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The early years provision is inadequate

 The school’s leaders have failed to ensure the welfare, health and safety of children in the early years setting. The designated safeguarding lead for the early years has not received the required advanced- level training in child protection. Many of the school’s policies to promote children’s well-being are not fully carried out.  The leaders of the early years have no formal arrangements to check how well the setting is doing and no plans are made to make sure improvements take place. Although sufficient trained staff members are present, regular staff training does not take place. As a result, staff do not extend their understanding of the early years framework to enhance the children’s learning and progress. Leaders have no formal arrangements to make sure that teaching meets the children’s needs or to help teachers and assistants to improve.  The setting does not measure the progress that children make in the early years areas of learning and

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The early years provision is inadequate

development. Because of this they are not able to provide specific support to make sure that all children achieve as well as they can. The school does not provide the local authority with an Early Years Profile for each child when they are ready to transfer to the main school.  Children learn to take part in the religious observance of their community. They have regular opportunities for play, but a restricted range of play equipment limits their choice and the development of their imaginations. They develop their spoken and written Yiddish but do not learn English. This hinders their ability to develop good communication skills as they leave the early years and progress through the school.  Children behave well in their groups. They get on well together and respect the adults who care for them. Good informal contact is maintained with the children’s parents and carers but the setting has no system

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The early years provision is inadequate

of key workers to make sure there is consistently good contact.  Many children arrive up to half an hour late at the setting. As a result they miss chances to learn and teachers are hindered in their planning of learning activities.  Assistants are available in most of the groups. However, their contribution is frequently not well planned and they are not always well used to help children in their learning.  Some of the groups are located in buildings that have outdoor space that children can use to play and to extend their learning. However, most of the groups only have access to the main school playground and they share this with pupils of all ages in the school. As a result children do not play freely or develop their imagination through play.

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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 100289 Inspection number 447184 DfE registration number 204/6233 This inspection was carried out under section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as inserted 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.

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School details

Type of school Jewish boys’ school School status Independent school Age range of pupils 3–12 years Gender of pupils Boys Number of pupils on the school roll 794 Number of part time pupils 120 Proprietor Talmud Torah Education Ltd Chair Mr Shalom Cik Headteacher Rabbi Padwa Date of previous school inspection 23 June 2014 Annual fees (day pupils) No fees are charged Telephone number 020 8806 3834 Fax number 020 8806 3834 Email address head@satmar.co.uk guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available 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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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

inspects to 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 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,

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School details

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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School details

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

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