Beis Ruchel D'Satmar London

School report Beis Ruchel D’Satmar, London

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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This is an inadequate school

 Leaders and governors have not ensured that all the independent school standards are met. This includes the statutory requirements for the early years foundation stage.  Leaders and governors do not have an accurate view of the progress that pupils are making because information is not collected, analysed or presented in a coherent or systematic way.  Staff do not have high enough expectations of what the most able pupils can achieve. Teachers’ questioning does not routinely probe their understanding. As a result, their progress is steady rather than good.  The checks made on the quality of teaching are not rigorous enough to enable teachers to have a clear view of how to help pupils to make faster progress. Performance management is not in place for teachers or leaders.  Provision for the early years is inadequate. It does not establish children’s starting points accurately enough nor build on these sufficiently well.

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This is an inadequate school

 Safeguarding for children in the early years is not adequate because staff do not have the right qualifications. Governance does not follow the statutory guidance concerning safeguarding in this respect.  Teachers and leaders do not routinely use the information they glean from assessment to deepen pupils’ learning and accelerate progress. As a result, pupils’ outcomes require improvement.  Many teachers of Chol subjects do not have strong subject knowledge. In addition, there is insufficient effective training and guidance to help them develop their skills.  The school development plan does not contain any measurable targets for improvement. This means that leaders do not know if their work is successful. In addition, governors cannot challenge the senior leaders or hold them to account for their improvement work.  Pupils do not have opportunities to learn enough about people of other faiths or those of none.

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The school has the following strengths

 The ethos of the school is one of care and respect. Relationships in the school are good and pupils feel very safe.  Parents are very happy with the education their children receive and strongly support the school.  School leaders have the trust and support of all their staff; the school has the capacity to improve.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. They enjoy learning and work hard in lessons.  The school works well with external agencies to secure good provision for the few pupils with complex special educational needs and/or disabilities.  The teaching of early reading in Year 1 is effective.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 The school must take action to meet the requirements of the schedule to The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements. The details are listed in the full report.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that: – leaders collate, analyse and use information about pupils’ progress to identify areas for improvement, and act effectively to address these – leaders, including governors, develop plans which are more precise and include criteria by which success can be measured, based on pupils’ outcomes where possible – more rigorous checks are made on the quality of teaching, followed by precise feedback to teachers on how to improve – teachers have access to quality training to improve their subject knowledge and teaching skills – a performance management system is implemented that allows teachers and leaders to be held to account for pupils’ progress – governors have systems in place that enable them to be fully informed about the effectiveness of the school’s work – the curriculum makes provision for pupils to learn more explicitly about people of other faiths and

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

those of none – all the statutory requirements for the early years foundation stage are met.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of the early years provision, by: – making sure that all staff who teach in the setting are appropriately qualified – improving the teaching skills and enhancing the subject knowledge of all adults in the setting so they are more effective in delivering the early years curriculum – more rigorously establishing what each child knows and can do when they start at the school and then using this information to check progress and plan their next steps in learning – improving the quality of resources available for children and providing better access to play and learning outdoors.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching by ensuring that: – all teachers have strong subject knowledge and the skills required to teach effectively in all areas of the Chol curriculum – teachers consistently use effective questioning techniques which encourage pupils to think more deeply – teachers routinely use information about pupils’ progress to set work that challenges them and extends their learning, in particular the most able – all teachers meet the school’s expectations about feedback by providing pupils with more helpful guidance on how to improve their work.

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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 the curriculum policy, plans and schemes of work do not undermine the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs (paragraphs 2(1) and 2(1)(b)(ii)). – Ensure that the school’s policies and schemes of work relating to personal, social, health and economic education encourage respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010 (paragraphs 2(2) and 2(2)(d)(ii)). – Ensure that the school’s programme of activities for pupils below compulsory school age is appropriate to their educational needs in relation to personal, social, emotional and physical development, and communication and language skills (paragraphs 2(2) and 2(2)(f)). – Ensure that the proprietor ensures that the teaching at the school does not undermine the

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs (paragraphs 3(i)); and does not discriminate against pupils contrary to Part 6 of the 2010 Act (paragraphs 3(j)). – Ensure that the proprietor 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 (paragraphs 5 and 5(a)). – Ensure that the proprietor promotes further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures (paragraphs 5 and 5(b)(v)). – Ensure that the proprietor promotes principles which encourage respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the Equalities Act 2010 (paragraphs 5 and

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

5(b)(vi)). – Ensure that the proprietor ensures that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently; and that they fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently (paragraphs 34, 34(1)(a) and 34(1)(b)). – Ensure that the proprietor implements both the safeguarding and welfare requirements and the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage as described in the statutory framework: Paragraphs 1.3–1.12; Paragraphs 3.20–3.26.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 The school must ensure that the safeguarding and welfare requirements and the learning and development requirements (apart from where there is an exemption in place) of the statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage are met.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

 Leaders and governors have not ensured that all the independent school standards relating to the quality of pupils’ education and the early years foundation stage are met. They have not ensured that teaching is consistently good enough to allow all pupils to make good progress and reach the standards of which they are capable.  The checks made on the quality of teaching are not followed up thoroughly to ensure that teachers know precisely how to improve. In addition, leaders do not link the rates of pupils’ progress to their judgements about the quality of teaching. As a result, they have an overgenerous view of teaching and lack a sense of urgency about improving it. Teachers are not routinely set targets related to the progress that pupils are expected to make.  Information about pupils’ attainment is collected regularly in reading, writing and mathematics. However, leaders do not use this information to check how much progress pupils are making from their starting points.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

As a result, leaders and governors cannot diagnose or prioritise precise areas for improvement.  School improvement planning is not systematic or rigorous. Although individually different leaders can identify weaknesses that need to be addressed, these issues are not brought together in any organised way. Consequently, while all leaders focus on making improvements, there are no timescales for their work or any measurable ways of checking if their actions have had an impact on pupils’ progress.  The school’s ethos and curriculum reflect the Orthodox Jewish community’s aim. This desire to provide a sheltered learning environment for its children means that pupils have very few opportunities to learn about other faiths. As a result, the curriculum is not broad enough and pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is not as well developed as their knowledge and understanding of their own faith. Leaders

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

ensure that pupils are taught the importance of respecting all people as a fundamental aspect of their Jewish faith.  Leaders have ensured that pupils have a range of opportunities to learn about British institutions and values. Pupils have visited museums and celebrated the Queen’s 90th birthday, and local police officers have visited the school. Older pupils recently debated the merits of Britain remaining in, or leaving, the European Union. They carried out their own in-house referendum and consolidated their understanding of democracy as a result.  The arrangements for the leadership and management of Kodesh subjects are effective. This ensures that pupils learn well and in a way which meets parents’ expectations. Those parents who completed Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, or a paper questionnaire during the inspection, were happy to recommend the school.  As part of this inspection, the Department for Education asked inspectors to consider whether the school is

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

likely to meet relevant independent school standards if it makes a material change to the school’s registration. The school has applied to be registered to take pupils aged five to 12 onto its roll. It is the judgement of the inspectors that the school is unlikely to meet these standards. Although there are strengths, the key reason for this is the provision of a curriculum that is not sufficiently broad and balanced and fails to meet the requirements of the Equality Act of 2010.  The governance of the school The proprietor is also the chair of the governing body. He leads a small governing body, with some members being parents of pupils in the school. The governors have regular informal meetings with the headteacher to talk about different aspects of the school’s work. However, they do not have systems in place to find out fully about the effectiveness of the school’s work, for example about the quality of teaching in Kodesh and Chol subjects.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

The governors do not have an accurate view of the progress that pupils make and the standards that they reach. This is because they do not receive enough information from the school leaders or provide appropriate levels of challenge, for example through a system of performance management. The school relies on charitable donations, voluntary contributions from parents and fund raising to fund its activities. Governors manage the available resources well. They are very supportive of the school and its aims and are ambitious for the school to improve.  The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective. The school has not ensured that staff who work in the early years foundation stage have appropriate qualifications, including those who lead and manage the setting. In other respects, the school’s safeguarding arrangements are secure. For example, pupils of all ages are taught how to be safe through recognising potential dangers and then how to deal successfully

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 Some teachers in key stages 1 and 2 do not have strong teaching skills or specific subject knowledge to teach effectively. As a result, too many pupils do not make good progress.  Teachers are not ambitious enough about what the most able pupils can achieve. They play safe and provide pupils with work that is too straightforward and does not stretch their thinking. In addition, teachers’ questioning does not probe pupils’ understanding well enough, resulting in the rate of progress slowing down.  Teachers do not consistently use information about pupils’ progress to inform their planning. As a consequence, they are not skilful in judging when pupils are ready to move on to something trickier or ready to apply their learning in different situations.  In the main, teachers are skilful in identifying what pupils have done well and providing positive feedback. Sometimes, however, teachers do not follow all the school’s expectations about feedback to show pupils

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

what they need to do to improve their learning to make quicker progress.  In many classes there is use of practical resources to motivate pupils and help them to learn. For example, in mathematics pupils used measuring tapes, rulers and metre sticks to practise their measuring skills and sharpen their ability to convert units. In English, pupils made inferences about a character’s feelings and emotions by reading and commenting on a range of texts.  The teaching of early reading is effective. Many key stage 1 staff are skilled at teaching phonics (letters and the sounds they represent). Pupils quickly learn their sounds and develop confidence to have a go at new and unfamiliar words. Pupils’ understanding of what they read is not yet as advanced as their ability to decode the words.  Sewing is taught well, particularly through good modelling and one-to-one support. Pupils work over several weeks on their chosen object and make good progress over time.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 Staff develop good relationships with pupils and are highly motivated to help them succeed. Teaching assistants effectively support the needs of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and they make steady progress as a result. Some of these pupils have made strides in progress as a result of well-tailored support which combats specific barriers to learning.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  Leaders have not ensured that all the independent school standards relating to spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are met. For example, pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the main religions of the world is limited due to the fact that this learning is neither part of the school’s Kodesh nor Chol curricula.  Pupils feel safe in school and are encouraged to share their own ideas and respect the opinions of others. In lessons, pupils listen carefully to the contributions made by their peers before sharing their thoughtful response.  Pupils’ social skills are good and they are friendly and polite. For example, they stand up in respect whenever a visitor enters and leaves their classroom.  Pupils’ books in a wide range of subjects show that they take pride in their work. Pupils’ handwriting is neat

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Personal development and welfare

and the right equipment is used to draw tables, graphs and diagrams. As a result, pupils’ work is legible and serves as a useful reference point when preparing for assessments.  Pupils have benefited from a range of trips, for example to the local Hackney Museum and to observe the British tradition of the changing of the guard. Pupils understand how to keep themselves clean and are knowledgeable about the importance of eating healthily.  Pupils have learned about keeping themselves safe in a range of situations, for example in the case of fire and when crossing the road. During the inspection, Year 2 pupils listened carefully to their local police officers talking to them about ‘stranger danger’ and how to keep themselves safe.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Staff, parents and pupils agree that this is the case. Pupils respond quickly to adults’ instructions and demonstrate good manners spontaneously. Adults are good role models in this regard.  Playtimes are busy, sociable times. Pupils state that bullying is extremely rare. They understand what constitutes verbal and physical bullying, though they have less awareness of other types of bullying, for example online bullying. School records confirm that incidents of poor behaviour and bullying are very rare and are followed up swiftly and thoroughly when they occur.  Lessons are not interrupted by poor behaviour. They are characterised by sensible and enthusiastic pupils who pay attention even when the learning is too hard or too easy.  Attendance is in line with the national average for primary schools. Pupils say they enjoy coming to school and would recommend the school to others in their community.

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Behaviour

 Pupils do not take enough pride in their school environment as seen in the fact that litter is sometimes left inside the building and in the playground outside.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 Leaders do not routinely measure pupils’ progress from their starting points. As a result, although information is available about pupils’ attainment, leaders do not have an overview of how well individuals or groups of pupils are progressing. Evidence from pupils’ books shows that they make steady progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Across the school there is insufficient provision made for the most able pupils. Part of the problem is that these pupils are not properly identified. Scrutiny of the books of the most able pupils shows that they, too, make steady rather than good progress. Pupils’ work across a wide range of subjects shows insufficient opportunities for problem-solving that requires the use of reasoning skills.  The school’s information shows that most pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2 and at the end of Year 6. Pupils’ attainment is variable across the year

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

groups and insufficient pupils reach above average standards. This is partly because pupils have too few opportunities to apply their writing and mathematics skills across other areas of their learning.  The school has identified pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and made appropriate provision for this group. As a result, they are fully included in lessons and their progress is reasonable. Where there has been work with outside agencies to provide additional support for some pupils, progress has been more rapid and sustained.  Pupils make rapid progress in their reading skills in Year 1. Some of these pupils started school in Year 1 with no previous school experience and limited understanding of the sounds that letters make. The progress of these pupils in reading is therefore good.  Pupils in Year 7 are taught in the main by specialist teachers with good knowledge of their subject. This,

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

coupled with Year 7 pupils’ strong motivation to learn, enables them to build well on their knowledge and understanding at key stage 2.  Pupils make strong progress across all areas of the Kodesh curriculum. In all year groups, pupils communicate effectively in Yiddish, the target language, and make purposeful links between different areas of learning.

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Early years provision is inadequate

 Leadership and management of the early years provision is inadequate. Leaders have not ensured that adults who work in the setting have the right qualifications. As a result, the statutory welfare and safeguarding requirements of the early years foundation stage are not met.  Staff have insufficient understanding of what fully effective early years learning is like. The school does not meet the statutory learning and development requirements of the early years foundation stage.  Staff lack the knowledge and understanding as well as the teaching skills required to teach children in this age range. In particular, they lack the knowledge and skills required to build and develop, on a day-to-day basis, children’s language and communication skills. As a result, children’s progress in this key area of learning is inadequate and they are poorly prepared for Year 1.  Children’s starting points are not clear and progress in the different areas of learning is not systematically

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Early years provision is inadequate

checked. The school’s evidence about children’s progress is anecdotal and not supported by assessment information.  The outdoor area has limited resources and children do not get enough opportunity for purposeful play. As a result, children make slow progress in their physical development.  Children’s behaviour is good. They show kindness and consideration to each other. For example, they know how to take turns and look after each other. Children take part in their activities with enthusiasm. They are well cared for.  Staff are skilful in developing children’s social and emotional skills. They are good role models for how to engage with each other and how to respond when frustrated by someone’s actions. Children learn these values quickly and begin to demonstrate early signs of tolerance and understanding.  Partnerships with parents are strong. Much of the communication with children is in Yiddish and parents are

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Early years provision is inadequate

pleased with how quickly children settle.

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School details

Unique reference number 137505 Inspection number 10012789 DfE registration number 204/6002

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, 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 Orthodox Jewish Chassidim School status Independent school Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Girls Number of pupils on the school roll 490 Number of part time pupils 0 Proprietor Abraham Klein Chair Abraham Klein Headteacher Jacob Kornbluh Annual fees (day pupils) £0 Telephone number 020 8809 9636 Website The school has no website Email address satmar117@gmail.com Date of previous inspection 21–22 June 2012

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Information about this school

 Beis Ruchel D’Satmar opened in January 2009, with several girls of three years of age, and was not registered.  In March 2011, the school was granted registration for 40 girls aged from five to six years.  At the time of the previous inspection (June 2012) and the subsequent progress monitoring visit (February 2013), the school was not registered for the three- to five-year-olds. These inspections covered only the registered provision for the pupils in Key Stage 1.  Currently, the school is not registered for the 207 children aged three to five that comprise the early years foundation stage. This is a significant increase since the previous inspection. The early years setting is made up of three nursery classes, three kindergarten classes and three reception classes.  The school occupies the large premises of a former independent mixed school in Stamford Hill, Hackney. It serves the ultra-orthodox Jewish Satmar community and the language spoken in the pupils’ homes is

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Information about this school

Yiddish.  Pupils learn in Yiddish in the morning (Kodesh curriculum) and in English in the afternoon (Chol, or secular, curriculum).  In adherence to its religious ethos and commitment, the school follows the educational traditions and rules of this particular religious Chasidic community.  The school aims to ‘develop in each girl her Charedi, Satmar Jewish Identity while enabling her to experience success, progress and enjoyment academically, personally and socially’.  The school has a few pupils with a statement of special educational needs, or an education, health and care plan. The school also educates a small minority of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.  The school has made a request to the Department for Education (DfE) to change its age range from five to 11, to five to 12 with no increase in pupil numbers. At the time of inspection there were 24 Year 7 pupils being educated full time at the school. The current inspection therefore incorporates a material

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Information about this school

change inspection.  There is a small onsite crèche for the very young children of some staff. The crèche is not registered with the DfE.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection was carried out with one day’s notice.  Learning was observed in 23 lessons; three of these were joint observations with school leaders.  Samples of pupils’ work were scrutinised. The school’s information about pupils’ progress was also checked.  Inspectors spoke to teachers, the headteacher, the school coordinator and three members of the governing body, including the proprietor. There was also a discussion with two groups of pupils.  Inspectors took account of the 124 responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire for parents, and the 29 responses to the questionnaire for staff.  Documentation and policies were checked for compliance with the independent school standards.

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Inspection team

Nasim Butt, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Mary Hinds Her Majesty’s Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . 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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Inspection team

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 and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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