Talmud Torah Chaim Meirim Wiznitz School

Talmud Torah Chaim Meirim Wiznitz School 26 Lampard Grove, London N16 6XB

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Inadequate

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leadership and management are inadequate. Leaders, including governors, have not ensured that all the independent school standards are met.  Leaders have breached the school’s registration by increasing the number of pupils and extending the age range to include four-year- olds.  The curriculum is too narrow and teachers do not consistently follow schemes of work. Consequently, teaching, learning and assessment are inadequate and pupils’ outcomes are inadequate.  Safeguarding is not effective. Leaders do not follow their policies and the statutory guidance.  Leaders have not encouraged pupils’ understanding of and respect for all groups of people with protected characteristics.  Pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate because of safeguarding concerns and weaknesses in pupils’ behaviour.  The early years provision is inadequate. Leaders have not ensured that all the statutory requirements for the early years are met.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders’ inclusive and team approach to their work is starting to improve the school.  Parents and carers are supportive of the school. They say that leaders respond well to any concerns that they have and keep them well informed.  Phonics teaching is having a positive impact on pupils’ learning in Years 1 and 2.  Pupils feel safe from bullying. The school’s work to respond to rare instances of bullying is effective.

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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 annex to the full report.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management to ensure that: – leaders follow the school’s safeguarding policy and statutory guidance when responding to concerns so that pupils are safe – leaders refer concerns to external agencies and respond promptly and appropriately to information received from them – staff understand and implement the behaviour policy – respect for all groups of people is actively promoted, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the 2010 Equalities Act.  Improve the curriculum by providing pupils with: – opportunities to develop knowledge, understanding and skills in technology – science skills, including practical skills – the relevant skills in geography and history – skills and a broader range of activities and games in physical education (PE) – a broader range of activities in art and music.  Improve teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that teachers:

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– follow the schemes of work so that there is continuity in pupils’ learning and they make more progress – use their questioning skills to check that pupils have understood the work.  Improve outcomes for pupils by ensuring that: – pupils complete all their work and gaps in pupils’ knowledge are identified and addressed – teachers use assessment information about pupils’ starting points and progress to adapt work so that pupils make consistently good progress across all subjects.  Improve pupils’ behaviour by ensuring that: – teachers set work which engages pupils in their learning – leaders continue to support staff to develop their behaviour management skills.  Improve the provision for the early years by ensuring that: – all the requirements of the early years statutory framework are met – it is clear who is leading the provision.  The school must meet the independent school standards, as set out in the annex of this

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 School leaders have not ensured that all the independent school standards are met.  The school’s curriculum does not meet requirements. Pupils do not study, make progress and learn skills in technology over time. Pupils’ experience of science is limited. They do not develop scientific understanding and skills to measure and evaluate evidence, or experience practical science. The range of activities and skill development in PE is limited to ball games. Pupils acquire knowledge in geography and history but lack opportunities to develop subject skills. Leaders have recognised that there is more work to do to improve the curriculum and have recently appointed a specialist to lead this work across the school.  The school is registered for up to 237 pupils between the ages of five to 13. However, at the time of the inspection, there were 290 pupils on roll, which is a breach of the school’s registration. The school had also admitted four-year-olds. This is also a breach of the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

school’s registration.  Leaders have not ensured that they encourage respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics. Other aspects of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are improving. Pupils know about British values. The wide range of trips and visiting speakers enable pupils to find out about the city they live in and beyond.  Working effectively with an external consultant, performance management arrangements have included the observation of teaching. Leaders rightly identified weaknesses in teaching, with behaviour management a priority for improvement. Leaders were also accurate in their evaluation of strengths and weaknesses in teaching in the visits made to classes during the inspection. However, improvements in teaching are too slow and the relevant independent school standards remain unmet.  Leaders are now taking action to improve pupils’ behaviour but this remains inconsistent.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

Training for staff in behaviour management is underway.  Following the previous full inspection, school leaders appointed a compliance manager for meeting the independent school standards. Although key standards remain unmet, there have been improvements, particularly in the maintenance of the premises. Classrooms are bright, warm and well maintained, providing a positive learning environment for pupils. Daily checks of the premises minimise health and safety risks.  Parents are very supportive of the school and feel well informed. School leaders call them to give positive feedback on their child’s learning and personal development and respond well to any concerns parents raise about their child. Parents value the work of the headteacher and staff to improve the school.

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Governance

 Governors have not ensured that all the independent school standards are met. They have not held leaders to account for failing to follow the school’s safeguarding policy.  Governors are ambitious for the school and have made improvements since the previous inspection. Staff and parents can talk about the improvements and the positive impact these have had on the experience of pupils. However, these improvements do not go far enough, so the quality of education for pupils remains inadequate.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.  Leaders have not developed a culture of safeguarding. The safeguarding policy meets requirements and is available for parents. However, leaders do not follow the safeguarding policy or put their training into practice. They do not follow the guidance in ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’. This places pupils at risk of harm.  School leaders have failed to seek or follow the advice of the local authority designated safeguarding officer. During the inspection, an inspector saw a member of staff mishandling pupils in the playground. Pupils say that this happens. This breaches the school’s behaviour policy.  All the required recruitment checks on the suitability of staff and leaders to work with children are recorded on the single central register.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate because of weaknesses in the curriculum, teachers’ selective use of the schemes of work and the inconsistent quality of teaching. As a result, pupils’ progress is inadequate.  Leaders have not ensured that agreed schemes of work are being used as they should be in the classroom, leaving many gaps in pupils’ learning. Pupils therefore do not gain the knowledge, understanding and skills that they need to make progress. Teachers do not routinely follow the guidance in the accompanying teachers’ books. They do not ensure that pupils complete all the sections of their workbooks before moving pupils’ learning on.  Teachers do not build on pupils’ prior attainment by tailoring the work to meet pupils’ needs. For example, the texts being used in Year 6 were too difficult for pupils, while pupils in Year 4 found their work too easy.  Teachers’ questioning skills are improving but are still variable. Some teachers encourage

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

dialogue with pupils, giving them the confidence to ask a range of questions. However, teachers do not always direct questions to individual pupils to check on their understanding. When teachers’ questioning is less effective, pupils call out and do not listen to each other’s answers, so noise levels rise.  There is some strong teaching that captures pupils’ imagination and interest. For example, pupils were keen to talk to inspectors about what they had learned in reading comprehension in English lessons. This included earthquakes, airships and the use of satellites to track the movement of whales in the ocean. Such work was particularly effective when teachers took time to explain key words to develop pupils’ vocabulary.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate.  Leaders do not follow the safeguarding policy and do not enforce that part of the school’s behaviour policy relating to staff conduct. Consequently, pupils are at risk of harm.  Pupils do not know how to keep themselves safe online.  Pupils’ self-confidence is improving. Most pupils have positive attitudes to learning and were keen to talk to inspectors about their work and their views of the school. Pupil leadership is in the early stages of development. Although members of the school council can talk about the improvements they have asked for and how they provide feedback to their classes, some pupils do not know the school council exists.  Pupils say they feel safe from bullying and are confident that adults will always sort out any concerns they have. School records show that bullying is rare. Leaders take effective

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Personal development and welfare

action when it happens and monitor the situation so that repeat incidents do not occur.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  Pupils’ behaviour is inconsistent in classrooms. Where teaching involves pupils in engaging activities, pupils are attentive and behave well. However, there are times when pupils are not focused on the task, they call out, noise levels rise and the learning of other pupils is disrupted.  Pupils’ conduct is also inconsistent. Pupils generally get on well together and are supervised effectively. They are polite and welcoming to visitors. However, as is the case in classrooms, a few pupils lack self-discipline.  Pupils’ attendance is low. However, the school is open for more sessions than is usual. Leaders monitor attendance and take action to follow up on persistent absentees to improve their attendance. This is starting to have an impact on attendance figures.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Outcomes for pupils are inadequate because the curriculum is too narrow and pupils do not have opportunities to develop their understanding and skills across all areas of the curriculum. In English and mathematics, there are important gaps in pupils’ knowledge.  Pupils are working at about two years below age-related expectations. In mathematics lessons, inspectors observed that pupils in Year 4 are doing work expected of pupils in Year 2, such as counting in multiples of two and five. Pupils make better progress in their understanding of space and shape than number. For example, pupils are confident in identifying shapes, including three-dimensional shapes, and understand the relationships between the number of sides and shape properties.  In English, pupils’ attainment is below age-related expectations. Year 4 pupils have only just been introduced to conjunctions. In Year 6, pupils do not have the phonetic skill to

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

sound out words such as ‘tectonic’, which was used in the context of earthquakes.  The most able pupils do not have opportunities to make the progress of which they are capable. Although teachers set higher targets for these pupils in their test scores, in practice, all pupils do the same work so the most able pupils find most work too easy.  Pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities have one-to-one interventions and are well supported. These sessions help them to develop their speech and language skills, as well as their fine motor skills. This builds their confidence so that they do not fall behind.  The phonics teaching introduced 18 months ago is having a positive impact on pupils’ progress in reading and writing in Years 1 and 2. Phonics activities are age-appropriate and pupils can apply their phonics knowledge to sound out unfamiliar words.

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Early years provision Inadequate

 The provision for the early years is inadequate because many of the statutory requirements for the early years are unmet and safeguarding is not effective. Children are not effectively prepared for Year 1.  Leaders gave inspectors a confused picture of the extent of the early years provision. In addition to children of Reception age, there are others who are younger than this. This is in breach of the school’s registration.  Children learn alongside pupils in Year 1 classes. They follow the religious curriculum in the mornings and have additional classes in English and mathematics in the afternoon. They also have additional play sessions. Consequently, children do not have opportunities to learn and develop across all the areas of learning.  Children do not experience activities which would enable them to learn and develop in ‘understanding the world’ and ‘expressive art and design’. Children’s experiences in

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Early years provision Inadequate

‘communication and language’ and ‘physical development’ are limited.  Children’s experience of outdoor learning is restricted. Children have access to the playground at break and lunchtime with other year groups. However, they do not have other opportunities for outdoor activities, equipment or resources to support their learning, language development, creative play and development of gross motor skills.  Leaders have set up an assessment system to monitor children’s learning and progress and parents receive weekly information about their child’s progress. However, the aspects of children’s learning that are being monitored do not correspond to the early learning goals.  There is also scant evidence of assessment in children’s profiles. The recorded observations are descriptive of the activity rather than evaluative of the child’s progress. There is no evidence that children’s progress is reported to the local authority as required.

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Early years provision Inadequate

 Safeguarding is ineffective because leaders do not follow the school’s safeguarding policy.  Children have access to a well-designed and well-resourced playroom. Children play well independently and together. Activities provide opportunities for children to develop their communication and language skills. They share toys and participate in activities, show respect for each other and behave well.

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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

Proprietor Chaim Meirim Association Community Nursery Chair Mr E Gottesfeld

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School details

Website The school does not have a website

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10–12 June 2014

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Information about this school

 Talmud Torah Chaim Meirim Wiznitz School is an independent Orthodox Jewish day school for boys in the London Borough of Hackney.  The school occupies a site in Lampard Grove, consisting of a purpose-built school building with additional sections added over time. The school entrance is on Margaret Road. Part of the building and playground is occupied by nursery provision which has a separate registration.  The school’s previous full standard inspection took place in June 2014, when the school was judged to be inadequate. The school has had four progress monitoring inspections to check on its progress towards meeting all the independent school standards.  The school does not use any off-site educational provision for pupils.  The school has 50 pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. One pupil has an education, health and care (EHC) plan.  Pupils study Jewish religious studies for the majority of their time in school. This is taught

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Information about this school

in Yiddish. The secular curriculum is taught in English.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited classes in all year groups. All of these visits were made jointly with senior leaders.  Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work in their workbooks.  Four groups of pupils talked to inspectors about their views of the school. Inspectors also talked informally with pupils at break and lunchtime.  Inspectors undertook a tour of the premises.  Meetings were held with the headteacher and senior staff to discuss the impact of their work.  The lead inspector met with the chair of governors.  The lead inspector held a telephone conversation with the designated officer for safeguarding for Hackney local authority.  Inspectors considered the views of parents, including the six responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, a letter received from a parent and in meetings with parents at their request.  Inspectors considered the five responses to the Ofsted staff survey.  Inspectors scrutinised documentation including records of attendance, safeguarding, the

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Information about this inspection

curriculum and teaching, the maintenance of the premises and pupils’ progress.

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Inspection team

Janet Hallett, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

 2(1) The standard in this paragraph is met if: – 2(1)(a) the proprietor ensures that a written policy on the curriculum, supported by appropriate plans and schemes of work, which provides for the matters specified in subparagraph (2) is drawn up and implemented effectively; and – 2(1)(b) the written policy, plans and schemes of work – – 2(1)(b)(i) take into account the ages, aptitudes and needs of all pupils, including those pupils with an EHC plan.  2(2) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(1)(a), the matters are: – 2(2)(a) full-time supervised education for pupils of compulsory school age (construed in accordance with section 8 of the Education Act 1996), which gives pupils experience in linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical and aesthetic and creative education; – 2(2)(d) personal, social, health and economic education which – – 2(2)(d)(ii) encourages respect for other people, paying particular regard to the

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

protected characteristics set out in the 2010 Act – 2(2)(f) where the school has pupils below compulsory school age, 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; – 2(2)(i) effective preparation of pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life in British society.  3 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that the teaching at the school: – 3(a) enables pupils to acquire new knowledge and make good progress according to their ability so that they increase their understanding and develop their skills in the subjects taught; – 3(c) involves well-planned lessons and effective teaching methods, activities and management of class time – 3(d) shows a good understanding of the aptitudes, needs and prior attainments of the pupils, and ensures that these are taken into account in the planning of lessons.

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Part 2. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils

 5 The standard about the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils at the school is met if the proprietor: – 5(b) ensures that principles are actively promoted which – – 5(b)(vi) encourage respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the 2010 Act.

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

 7 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that: – 7(a) arrangements are made to safeguard and promote the welfare of pupils at the school; and – 7(b) such arrangements have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State.  9 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor promotes good behaviour among pupils by ensuring that: – 9(b) the policy is implemented effectively.

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

 34(1) The standard about the quality of leadership and management is met if the proprietor ensures that persons with leadership and management responsibilities at the school: – 34(1)(a) demonstrate good skills and knowledge appropriate to their role so that the independent school standards are met consistently; – 34(1)(b) fulfil their responsibilities effectively so that the independent school standards are met consistently; and – 34(1)(c) actively promote the well-being of pupils.

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requirements

 1.3 Deliver a programme that is shaped by the three prime areas of learning, communication and language, physical development and personal, social and emotional development.  1.4 Support children in their learning and development in literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts and design.  1.6 Include the three prime areas and four specific areas in planning for children’s individual needs.  1.8 Include each area for learning and development in planned and purposeful play and a mix of child-initiated and adult-led activities.  1.9 Incorporate the characteristics of effective teaching and learning in the early years in the planning and delivery of activities.  2.1 Assess children’s learning and development through observation.  2.2 Keep parents up to date with their child’s progress towards achieving the early learning goals.  2.7 The profile must show a full assessment of all the areas of learning.

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requirements

 3.4 The school must follow its safeguarding policy.  3.5 The person with lead responsibility for safeguarding must liaise effectively with the local children’s services agencies.  3.52 Manage pupils’ behaviour in an appropriate way.  3.54 Ensure that children have appropriate floor space and suitable outdoor provision.  3.57 Provide appropriate space organised to suit the needs of children.  3.58 Provide a suitable outdoor space.  3.68 Ensure that information for parents is focused on areas for learning.  3.69 Keep detailed records of children’s progress towards the early learning goals.  3.7 Follow the statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’.  3.76 Display the registration certificate for the provision. 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

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requirements

of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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requirements

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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requirements

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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requirements

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requirements

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