OYY Lubavitch Boys School

Inspection of OYY Lubavitch Boys School 4 Upper Park Road, Salford, Greater Manchester M7 4HL

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school with a strong faith ethos that underlies all its activities and relationships. Pupils get along well with each other and with staff. Staff know pupils and their needs well. People in this school are kind to each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There are small numbers of pupils in each class. This means that teachers give close attention to each pupil during lessons. Pupils are expected to work hard and behave well. The pupils who spoke to the inspector said that bullying hardly ever happens. If there are any problems with pupils’ behaviour, pupils said that these are quickly sorted out by staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils spend around half each school day, or more as they get older, following the kodesh (faith) curriculum. They spend the rest of the time learning chol (secular) subjects. Pupils learn about some chol subjects in their kodesh work. However, teachers do not have a clear enough picture of how all learning needed fits into this. Pupils use computers to help with much of their learning. Some of the plans for this do not match well with other plans for the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers are highly committed to looking after pupils. As part of this, they make sure that pupils feel, and are, safe in school.

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better?

Leaders have a well-established approach to the kodesh and chol curriculums. The kodesh curriculum is taught systematically. Pupils said that they enjoy their faith learning and explained that they build up their knowledge year by year. Overall, the chol curriculum covers a suitable array of subjects. That said, older pupils study fewer subjects. Leaders have set out their plans for the whole curriculum in schemes of work. However, in some subjects, including, for example, mathematics and physical education (PE), the work that pupils cover does not match these plans. This is partly because leaders have recently increased the amount of work pupils complete online, including in response to COVID-19 (coronavirus). Leaders have started to review the school’s curriculum plans to ensure that pupils will build their knowledge in a systematic way.

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better?

Staff’s use of online education has advantages. For example, the programs used automatically check what pupils have learned and pick up any gaps. However, there are disadvantages too. As well as making it more complicated for staff to follow the curriculum plans, it is harder for teachers to set pupils written and verbal tasks.

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better?

Leaders have developed an overall plan for personal, social and health education (PSHE) to be taught as part of the kodesh curriculum. This is working well. However, leaders’ work to identify what is to be taught, and when this will happen, is at an early stage. As part of the PSHE work, leaders have recently considered how the staff should teach relationships and sex education (RSE). They have consulted with parents and carers about this. Leaders provide a comprehensive programme of RSE, 8–10 June 2021 with sensitive aspects taught in age-appropriate ways. This helps pupils to understand and respect the full range of people that they will meet in modern Britain. Parents have told leaders that they do not want their children to receive sex education in school. Leaders explained that staff sometimes provide out-of-school activities for pupils. However, these are infrequent. Therefore, the contribution that

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better?

these activities make to pupils’ wider development is limited.

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better?

Leaders expect secondary-aged pupils to take GCSE examinations. Although, this has not been possible for the last two years because of COVID-19. Pupils take these examinations when they are one or two years younger than in most schools. This may restrict pupils from doing as well as possible.

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better?

Pupils read in Hebrew as part of their kodesh learning. Younger pupils are taught to read in English, including in one-to-one sessions with a teacher. However, the teaching of reading does not securely build on the phonics knowledge that pupils have gained before they join the school. Curriculum plans do not include opportunities for pupils to read fiction in English for pleasure. This restricts the range of literature that pupils experience.

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better?

Pupils have very positive attitudes to their learning. They typically behave well towards each other. This helps everyone to learn well and enjoy their learning.

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better?

Staff have a detailed understanding of pupils’ characters and needs. This includes the special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) of some pupils. Leaders ensure that staff are provided with the information they need to help them to meet the needs of pupils with SEND.

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better?

Leaders, including the members of the proprietor body, are highly committed to the success of pupils. Members of the proprietor body also act as a governing body to support and challenge leaders. There is regular contact between members of the proprietor body and other leaders in informal conversations and formal meetings. However, the records of these contacts, including the minutes of governing body meetings, lack detail.

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better?

Members of the proprietor body and other leaders are aware of their responsibility to ensure that the school meets the independent school standards (standards). Some small amendments to a few documents and a small number of maintenance tasks were completed during the inspection to ensure that the standards were met. Leaders have secured recent improvement to the school’s premises, for example, by improving the security and rewiring part of the building. However, the premises are shabby.

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better?

Relevant documents, including the safeguarding policy, are available to parents on request from the school office. Leaders have a clear plan that sets out how access to the school can be increased for pupils with SEND and other people who need to visit the premises. 8–10 June 2021

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders provide regular training for staff about safeguarding. This has recently included training about overall safeguarding, protecting children from radicalisation and extremism, and online safety.

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Safeguarding

If any safeguarding concerns arise, leaders follow these up quickly and carefully. This includes working with other professionals, for example in the local authority. This approach has meant that adults have been able to provide help at an earlier stage when pupils have needed this.

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Safeguarding

There are thorough systems in place for checking that adults working at the school are suitable to have contact with pupils. If there is any uncertainty about this, adults are not allowed to work on the school premises.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The reading curriculum does not build securely on pupils’ previous phonics knowledge. This means that teachers’ support for pupils who are still developing their reading is not as effective as possible. Leaders need to ensure that staff develop their knowledge about teaching early reading and confidently build this into their teaching.  The way that teachers build up pupils’ knowledge in some subjects does not match the planned schemes of work. This means that leaders and teachers cannot be certain that the sequence of learning across the curriculum is most effective. Leaders need to ensure that they complete their planned development and redesign of the curriculum so that pupils can learn more and remember more.  The mapping of how PSHE and RSE are covered in the kodesh curriculum is at an early stage. This means that leaders cannot be sure that all important content is included and taught effectively. Leaders need to ensure that learning in PSHE and

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

RSE is carefully identified within the kodesh curriculum.  Members of the proprietor body discuss the overall effectiveness of the school. However, the recording of these discussions lacks detail. This means that it is harder for those involved to be sure that important actions have been properly implemented over time. Members of the proprietor body need to ensure that they use systems that give greater assurance about their long-term impact. 8–10 June 2021

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the provider and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted . 8–10 June 2021

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School details

Unique reference number 147787 DfE registration number 355/6015

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School details

Inspection number 10193248 Type of school Other independent school

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) £2,700 to £3,500

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected 8–10 June 2021

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Information about this school

 The school is a Jewish faith school based in Salford. It follows Chassidic Lubavitch principles.  The school was first registered by the Department for Education (DfE) on 25 August 2020. It had previously operated as the boys’ department of a mixed school. This is the school’s first standard inspection.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008. The purpose of the inspection 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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Information about this inspection

The school meets the independent school standards. These are the requirements set out in the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. I discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders at the school and have taken that into account in my evaluation.

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Information about this inspection

 The DfE commissioned Ofsted to carry out this inspection earlier in the cycle than previously planned. This was to provide information about the school’s progress in responding to a long-standing safeguarding matter.  During this inspection, all secondary-aged pupils were self-isolating and working remotely following a case of COVID-19 in a person associated with the school.  During this inspection, I did deep dives in early reading, mathematics, PE and PSHE. I talked with the headteacher, members of staff and pupils. I examined plans for the curriculum, including some of the school’s schemes of work. I visited lessons and looked at examples of pupils’ written work.  I gathered evidence about pupils’ behaviour and attitudes, their personal development, and the school’s leadership and management. I observed the conduct of pupils during breaktimes.  I met with the headteacher to consider the work of the school and held a

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Information about this inspection

discussion by telephone with the chair of governors, who is also the chair of the proprietor body. I talked with groups of pupils about their experiences at school. This included a remote meeting with a group of secondary-aged pupils. I spoke with some members of staff by telephone.  I examined the school’s approach to safeguarding pupils. To do this, I used my discussions with the headteacher, other staff and pupils to find out about how staff keep pupils safe. I looked at the school’s safeguarding policy, the record of safeguarding checks on staff and other documents about safeguarding. 8–10 June 2021  I checked the school’s compliance with the standards. As part of this, I toured the school’s premises accompanied by the headteacher.  I scrutinised documents, such as school policies, risk assessments and minutes of meetings of the school’s governing body.  I considered eight responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey for parents,

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Information about this inspection

including two written comments. I read 12 responses to Ofsted’s inspection survey for pupils and a single response to Ofsted’s inspection survey for members of staff.

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Inspection team

David Selby, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 8–10 June 2021 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 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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