Manchester Junior Girls' School

Manchester Junior Girls’ School 64 Upper Park Road, Salford, Lancashire M7 4JA

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Inspection dates 7–9 February and 7 March 2017

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The progress that pupils make in their written work is not as strong as that seen in reading and mathematics. Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve in their written work are not consistently high enough.  Teachers provide too few opportunities for pupils to practise their writing skills by writing at length or within different subjects.  The Chol (secular) curriculum is heavily weighted towards improving pupils’ subject knowledge. As a result, opportunities are missed to develop important skills, such as making comparisons or drawing conclusions.  Leaders have not ensured that the independent school standards about equalities are met.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders have a clear and accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Self-evaluation is accurate and development plans clearly identify how the school can continue to improve.  Pupils are very polite, thoughtful and highly respectful to both adults and their peers. Their behaviour is outstanding.  Pupils say that they are happy and feel safe in school. Parents overwhelmingly agree, and almost all are highly appreciative of the way that the school teaches and cares for its pupils.  Pupils make good progress overall, particularly in the Kodesh (religious) curriculum, reading and mathematics.  Teaching across the school is effective and pupils learn well. Relationships between teachers and pupils are extremely positive.  The school provides good support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. As a result, these pupils make good progress from their different starting points.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Children get off to a good start to their school lives in the early years.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school must take action to meet the requirements of the schedule to The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 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 quality of teaching and learning, so that the progress pupils make in writing matches that in reading and mathematics by:  raising teachers’ expectations of what pupils are able to achieve in their written work  ensuring that teachers provide pupils with more opportunities to practise and develop their skills by writing at length and in different areas of the curriculum.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that:  there is a better balance in the Chol (secular) curriculum between developing skills and acquiring knowledge across different subjects  the school pays particular regard to people with the full range of protected characteristics identified in the national equality legislation.

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The school must meet the following independent school standards

 The proprietor must ensure that the curriculum policy, plans and schemes of work provide for and effectively implement personal, social, health and economic education which encourages respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010 (paragraph 2(1), 2(1)(a), 2(2), 2(2)(d), 2(2)(d)(ii)).  The proprietor must ensure that the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils 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 and ensures 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, 5(a), 5(b), 5(b)(vi)).  The proprietor must ensure that persons with leadership and management responsibilities

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The school must meet the following independent school standards

at the school demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently and fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently and actively promote the well-being of pupils (paragraph 34(1), 34(1)(a), 34(1)(b), 34(1)(c)).

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Senior leaders, including the proprietor, have ensured that the school meets most of the independent school standards. However, those standards which require the school to pay particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in national laws about equality are not met.  The promotion of many aspects of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a significant strength of the school. However, pupils have restricted opportunities to develop awareness of the full range of different people they may meet in their lives. These aspects of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are therefore less strong than those which align more easily to Orthodox Jewish conviction.  Leaders have ensured that teaching about the Jewish faith is skilfully interwoven with learning about British values, such as democracy. There is an ethos throughout the school that accepts differences in people’s beliefs, values and religion. As a result, pupils learn to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

be tolerant, respectful and caring towards others, both within and outside school.  The proprietor, headteacher and senior leaders have a clear and strong commitment to ensuring that the school provides a high quality of education for all of its pupils. They are successful in ensuring that pupils achieve well academically and become well-rounded individuals.  School leaders know the school extremely well and have accurately identified its strengths and weaknesses in their own self-evaluation. Their development plans are well thought out and clearly set out how leaders intend to address the areas for improvement that they have noted. This illustrates the school’s good capacity to continue to improve.  Policies are detailed and current, and staff are all kept aware of important procedures. The school buildings are well maintained and best use is made of the available space inside.  Leaders are aware that outdoor space, particularly for children in the early years, has

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

been limited. The early years outdoor area is currently being redeveloped. The new facilities will provide better opportunities for play and learning. Equipment is provided on the playground for use at breaktimes, and this encourages pupils to be active and play collaboratively. Pupils have a good awareness of the importance of being healthy and active.  Staff appreciate having access to a range of professional development opportunities, including attending training courses and meeting with staff from other schools. Staff say that they feel very well supported by the senior leadership team and unanimously agree that they are happy and proud to work at the school. One member of staff described the school as ‘a fantastic place for everyone, students and teachers alike’.  Leaders carry out regular, focused checks on the quality of teaching and learning in the school and provide teachers with timely and helpful feedback.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Leaders have put in place an effective system of assessing pupils’ progress across all of the different areas of the curriculum, and meet regularly with teachers to ensure that this information is used effectively to inform teachers’ planning and identify any pupils who may be in need of additional help. The leader responsible for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities then makes sure that appropriate support is put in place for these pupils.  The school’s curriculum provides pupils with opportunities to learn across a broad range of subjects. The Kodesh curriculum (religious studies) is taught each morning, covering a wide range of subjects linked to the Jewish faith and including work in both Hebrew and English. The Chol curriculum (secular studies) is taught each afternoon. It is heavily focused on work in English and mathematics, but also covers other areas such as science,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

humanities and the arts. Pupils’ learning is enhanced by trips to places of interest linked to their studies, such as Manchester Transport Museum and Heaton Park, and also through access to a range of extra-curricular activities.  Within the Chol curriculum there is a strong emphasis on developing pupils’ factual knowledge. This limits the opportunities that pupils have to develop and apply higher- order skills, such as making comparisons and drawing conclusions.

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Governance

 Governance of the school is effective. The proprietor has a clear and ambitious vision for the school which is shared by school leaders and staff.  The proprietor is closely involved in the life of the school and has a good understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. He works closely with the headteacher and other school leaders to ensure that teachers’ work is effective and pupils succeed.  The proprietor has ensured that the school is safe for its pupils. The external boundaries are secure and staff are vigilant in order to ensure that only authorised people enter the school grounds and buildings.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  School leaders have ensured that safeguarding is given a high priority in school. Staff receive regular safeguarding training and the school’s safeguarding policy is kept up to date. As the school does not have a website, this policy is made available to parents on request.  Staff understand clearly what to do if they are worried about a child’s well-being. The headteacher, who has responsibility for safeguarding, ensures that any such concerns are quickly followed up.  Thorough checks are made on all staff to ensure that they are suitable people to work with children and the school maintains detailed and appropriate records of these checks.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 The quality of teaching and learning is good throughout the school and, as a result, pupils make good progress overall.  The warm, positive relationships that exist between staff and pupils have a positive impact on the learning that goes on in class. Teachers encourage pupils to participate in lessons and pupils work hard and are eager to learn.  The teaching of mathematics is a strength of the school. Teachers display good subject knowledge which they use effectively to explain new concepts clearly. There is a strong focus on number and calculation work, and pupils quickly become confident in performing calculations using addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. Teachers ensure that pupils are then challenged to apply their knowledge to solve practical problems. In one effective example observed, work on multiplication and division by tens, hundreds and thousands was enhanced by asking pupils to use their knowledge to convert units of

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

length, such as kilometres and centimetres. This approach contributes to pupils’ typically swift progress in mathematics.  Reading is taught effectively throughout the school. Younger pupils make good progress in learning to use phonics to help them read unfamiliar words, and this work is then built on effectively across the rest of the school. Pupils use many of the skills that they learn in the Kodesh curriculum to help them to work out the meaning of books and texts that they are reading, and so their comprehension skills develop well.  The teaching of writing is not as effective as that of reading and mathematics. Pupils’ skills in grammar, punctuation and spelling develop at a good pace and they achieve well in this aspect of writing. However, teachers provide pupils with too few opportunities to practise and develop their writing skills in longer pieces of writing and in different subjects, and not all teachers have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

in their written work. As a result, achievement in writing is not as strong as in reading and mathematics.  There are good systems in place for assessing pupils’ attainment and progress across a range of subjects, and teachers generally use this information well to ensure that the work that they plan is at an appropriate level. This is most evident in mathematics, where work is well matched to pupils’ needs and the most able pupils are particularly well challenged.  Effective support is provided for pupils who need help to catch up. Gaps in pupils’ learning are quickly identified and addressed through additional individual or small-group teaching sessions. This approach is having a positive impact on the progress made by the pupils involved.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  Pupils’ awareness of people with some of the protected characteristics set out in equality law is limited. The school has started to broaden pupils’ understanding about relationships and how different families may be made up but this work is at a very early stage.  The school provides a caring, nurturing environment for its pupils, in which their personal development and welfare are at the heart of its Jewish ethos. The school is a harmonious place in which pupils work happily and purposefully together.  Pupils are very tolerant and respectful of others’ rights, views and beliefs. Leaders are successful in ensuring that pupils gain an understanding of, and respect for, the different faiths represented in modern British society.  The overwhelming majority of parents who spoke with inspectors, or who submitted

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Personal development and welfare

comments by letter or through Parent View, were highly positive about the school’s work. One parent’s comments were typical of many others that inspectors received, saying that pupils ‘are extremely well educated, with dedicated, caring teachers, in an exceptionally safe environment’.  Pupils confirm that they feel safe in school. They are aware that different types of bullying exist but say that it is unheard of in their school. Pupils are confident that any unkind behaviour would be dealt with effectively by their teachers, but that any such negative behaviour was extremely rare.  Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe in different situations and how to deal with problems, such as if they received an unwanted message on their mobile phone. They can explain clearly what is meant by ‘stranger danger’ and talk confidently about road safety and fire safety.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  Pupils are extremely well mannered and polite, and their conduct around school is impeccable. Older pupils show thought and care towards the younger pupils, helping to make the school a calm and harmonious place.  In class, pupils are attentive and eager to learn. They work very well collaboratively and are good listeners, showing respect for the views and ideas of their classmates. Pupils display highly positive attitudes to learning across a range of subjects, and take care to make sure that their work is neatly presented. Staff and pupils get along extremely well together and classrooms are typically happily productive places.  Attendance rates are consistently above the national average, and the proportion of pupils who miss school regularly is low. It is clear that pupils enjoy coming to school, and both pupils and parents confirm that this is the case.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Pupils’ achievement throughout the school is good. Leaders are ambitious for all pupils to do well, keep careful track of the progress that pupils are making and put additional support in place where a concern is identified. As a result, the vast majority of pupils are making good progress.  At the end of key stage 2 in 2016, the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in mathematics was well above that found nationally. This was also the case for grammar, spelling and punctuation. In reading, the proportion was above that found nationally, but in writing, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard was broadly similar to the national average. The results in 2016 were in line with the typical performance over time of pupils in Year 6 at the school, and confirm that pupils leave the school well equipped to cope with the next stage of their education.  Achievement is good at the end of key stage 1, with the proportion of pupils reaching the

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Outcomes for pupils Good

expected standard in reading and mathematics being above the national average. Pupils’ attainment in writing is less secure, with the proportion reaching the expected standard being just below the national average in 2016.  Higher-attaining pupils typically achieve very well in mathematics by the time they leave Year 6, and the proportion reaching the higher standards in reading has also been typically above the national average. In writing, although their performance in grammar, punctuation and spelling is very strong, fewer pupils reach the higher standards overall.  Pupils develop phonics skills quickly and confidently, and use these well to help them to read and spell words that they do not know. Pupils perform well in the national screening check for phonics, and results in 2016 indicated that the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard was above the national average.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities progress well from their

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Outcomes for pupils Good

differing starting points. This is because the school quickly identifies their individual learning needs and provides effective support, either individually or in small groups, that moves pupils’ learning forward.  The evidence of the school’s own tracking and work seen in pupils’ books confirm that pupils currently in the school progress well across a range of subjects. They develop and apply skills and knowledge well within the Kodesh curriculum. Within the Chol curriculum, while pupils’ knowledge increases through the work that they do in subjects such as history, geography and science, they have too few opportunities to practise and develop skills such as comparing and deducing within these areas.

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Early years provision Good

 The majority of children enter Nursery with skills and knowledge that are broadly typical for their age in most areas, but that are less well developed in aspects of language and literacy. Children make good progress throughout their time in the early years, and the vast majority of children achieve the early learning goals across most areas of learning by the time they leave Reception class.  The proportion of children achieving the good level of development by the end of Reception class has been typically below the national average because fewer children than is typical achieve the early learning goal in writing. This is because teachers initially focus on developing children’s reading and writing skills in Hebrew, and developing these skills in English only becomes a focus part-way through Reception class.  Once children start to learn to write in English, they are able to use many of the skills that

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Early years provision Good

they have already learned and almost all progress quickly, showing that they are ready for the move into Year 1.  The leadership of the early years is good. The leader responsible for the early years knows the strengths and weaknesses of the provision well and is eager to continue to improve. She ensures that safeguarding is effective and welfare requirements are met. The Nursery and Reception classrooms provide a safe environment for children. School leaders have recognised the previous limitations of the outdoor provision for children in the early years. New facilities are being installed in response.  Children’s behaviour in the early years is excellent. Staff have high expectations and insist that children treat each other with respect and kindness. Children respond well to this and play and learn together effectively.  Relationships between staff and children in the early years are extremely warm and

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Early years provision Good

positive. Children clearly enjoy coming to school. They are very well engaged by a range of enjoyable activities which capture their imagination and provide plenty of opportunities to practise and develop key skills.  Teaching in the early years is good. Teachers and teaching assistants carry out detailed observations and assessments of children’s learning, and these are then well used to identify individual children’s learning needs. Both the Nursery and Reception classrooms are well organised so that children are easily able to choose from and access a range of learning activities.  Relationships between home and school are positive throughout the school, and are especially strong in the early years. Parents are able to contribute to assessments, particularly at the start of the school year, and almost all say that they appreciate the work that staff do in caring for and teaching their children.

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School details

Unique reference number 106003 DfE registration number 355/6027 Inspection number 10026002

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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 Other independent school School category Independent school Age range of pupils 3 to 11 Gender of pupils Girls Number of pupils on the school roll 221 Proprietor Mr Aryeh Ehrentreu Headteacher Mrs Esther Lieberman Annual fees (day pupils) Voluntary contributions Telephone number 0161 740 0566 Website None Email address office@bchschool.org.uk Date of previous inspection 15 March 2012

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Information about this school

 Manchester Junior Girls’ School is an independent primary day school in Salford. It opened in 1993 to provide education for girls from Orthodox Jewish families. Within the local community the school is known as Beis Chinuch.  The school previously provided education for girls up to the age of 13. However, since the opening of Beis Chinuch High School in 2015, the school now has no pupils in Years 7 and 8, and girls move on from the school at the end of Year 6.  The school aims to ‘equip girls with the academic skills needed to move confidently into British Jewish seminaries and to develop in each girl a deep appreciation for, and a joy in the practice of, the Jewish religion, as laid down by the Torah.’  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly similar to the national average.  The school does not receive additional government funding to support disadvantaged

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in a range of lessons, year groups and subjects. They also looked at pupils’ work in books, records of children’s learning in the early years and other information about pupils’ attainment and progress.  Inspectors listened to pupils reading in class and held discussions with three groups of pupils. Inspectors also talked informally with pupils around the school and in the playground.  Inspectors talked with a number of parents before the start of the school day and also took account of seven parental letters and six written responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire. Inspectors also considered 16 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  Inspectors met the proprietor. Meetings were also held with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, head of religious studies (Kodesh), head of secular studies (Chol) and the leaders responsible for children in the early years and pupils who have special educational

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Information about this inspection

needs and/or disabilities. Inspectors also met with other members of staff.  Inspectors toured the school to check that the premises were suitable.  Inspectors examined a range of documents to check compliance with the independent school standards and to provide further inspection evidence. These included the school’s own self-evaluation and development plan, records of school leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching and outcomes for pupils, the school’s assessment information and various policy documents.  Inspectors also scrutinised a range of documentation regarding safeguarding, including attendance records and behaviour logs.  One of Her Majesty’s Inspectors made a further visit to the school on 7 March 2017 to gather additional evidence about the school’s compliance with some of the independent school standards.

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Inspection team

Neil Dixon, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

David Selby 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

Parent View 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

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Inspection team

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 .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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