Beis Aharon School

Inspection of Beis Aharon School 83-95 Bethune Road, London N16 5ED

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Inadequate Leadership and management Inadequate Early years provision Inadequate Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

The secular education provided is poor. Leaders have not planned what the children need to learn. Teachers are not shown how to help pupils make progress in each subject. As a result, achievement at the end of the early years, Year 2 and Year 6 is poor. Pupils do not learn to read well or early enough. This makes it difficult for them to learn successfully in all other secular subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils do not learn enough about tolerance and respect for people who may be outside their immediate community. They know a lot about their own religion but hardly anything about other faiths and cultures. They have little understanding of different families and relationships. Staff do not prepare them on how to keep safe online. This means that pupils are not well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Despite this, pupils behave well. They are happy and show respect towards one another. They are safe in school, and all have at least one adult they can trust to help them. Bullying is extremely rare and when it happens, staff deal with it seriously. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive.

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better?

Leaders, including governors and the proprietor, do not provide an acceptable standard of education. Not enough time is allocated to secular subjects. Although they recognise that improvements are necessary, leaders’ work on a new curriculum is at a very early stage and is currently only in the planning stage. Teachers have not received any curriculum training and are poorly prepared to teach most subjects.

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better?

Leaders have not developed proper schemes of work for most secular subjects. Teachers plan their own sequence of lessons. These are often of a poor standard. In these subjects, pupils move from one lesson to the next. They struggle to make any connections between what they have learned. They can list some of the topics they have covered but struggle to remember any information about them.

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better?

Teaching is stronger in mathematics. Staff use a programme which follows a clear sequence of lessons from Year 1 to Year 6. Teachers have secure subject knowledge in this subject. Pupils enjoy mathematics and can show how they make progress over time. Nevertheless. teachers do not regularly ask them to recall prior learning, so they sometimes struggle to remember what they have learned in the past. They do not routinely pick up on pupils’ misconceptions in lessons. In early years, children are taught mathematics through a range of activities and whole-class lessons. They build their confidence over time. Leaders have not made sure that children in Reception have access to the same curriculum as pupils in Year 1. This means that they are not fully prepared for that transition.

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better?

Leaders do not take a consistent method when assessing pupils. Too many different tools and tests are used. The information these provide does not clearly identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge or inform teachers on how to adapt their lessons. 28 to 30 June 2022 Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not receive appropriate help in class. The leader for SEND knows the pupils’ needs and has suitable records and plans in place. Teachers of pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan, however, do not make the necessary adaptations to ensure that these pupils’ needs are met. Staff have not received the training they need to make sure that all pupils with SEND succeed in their learning.

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better?

Although leaders have identified a programme to deliver phonics teaching, none of the staff have received any training. Pupils in Year 1 use some of the programme resources but they do not receive appropriate phonics lessons. Children in Nursery and Reception are not taught how to read in English, although leaders have begun to develop plans to address this. This means that children are not prepared to access the secular curriculum when they join Year 1. Although pupils across the school have access to some literature, both in Yiddish and English, this is extremely limited. They do not have the chance to read any books that represent other cultures and faiths, or celebrate differences.

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better?

Children in the early years are happy and settled. Staff interact positively with them and move them on with their learning. The children have access to a range of planned learning activities. They engage with these enthusiastically. Children behave well and learn how to take turns and share. Pupils develop into kind and caring young people as they move up the school. Their behaviour in class and around the school is good. Pupils are taught to respect one another. However, leaders do not actively promote all the British values. For example, pupils do not learn about other religions and cultures. This does not prepare them for life in modern Britain.

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better?

Governors have employed staff who make sure that all the requirements for health and safety are met. All statutory policies and systems are in place. However, they have not ensured that all the independent school standards are met.

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better?

The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have ensured that all staff have received the necessary training about important safeguarding. Staff know what to do if they have concerns about a child. The processes for checking the suitability of staff to work with children are effective. Leaders refer cases to the local authority and engage with all the appropriate outside agencies. Governors understand their statutory duties.

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Safeguarding

Pupils are safe and can talk to staff about their concerns. While, as pupils, they are not permitted to use the internet, because they are not taught to stay safe online, this does not prepare them well for later life. 28 to 30 June 2022

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 Leaders have not made reading a priority. They have made the decision not to teach reading in early years. Staff have not received training. There is not a clear programme to teach reading across the school. Consequently, many pupils cannot read well enough. This means they have limited access to the secular curriculum. Leaders should ensure that reading becomes a high priority and that pupils become competent readers as early as possible. They must invest in training and resources so that teachers are equipped to teach pupils to read well.  The secular curriculum is sparse, and is poorly planned and sequenced. Consequently, pupils’ experience is disjointed. Key knowledge and skills are not built on over time. Leaders must quickly put in place an ambitious curriculum for all pupils. They must make sure that it is organised so that pupils can build on their knowledge as they move up the school. They need to make sure that

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

teachers have secure subject knowledge so that they can deliver the curriculum to a high standard and help all pupils make progress.  Not enough time is allocated to the secular curriculum. Leaders need to make sure that they allocate enough time so that pupils can develop a deeper understanding of each subject.  Although the needs of pupils with SEND are accurately identified, teaching staff do not plan for them sufficiently. As a result, pupils with SEND do not receive the support to which they are entitled. All staff must implement the planned strategies for supporting pupils with SEND.  Leaders should ensure that pupils are taught about other cultures and faiths. They must also make sure that pupils have an understanding of different families and relationships. This way they will prepare them better for life in modern Britain.

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How can I feed back my views?

to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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 . 28 to 30 June 2022

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School details

Unique reference number 131170 DfE registration number 204/6398

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School details

Inspection number 10226776 Type of school Other Independent School

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School details

Email address admin@beisaharonschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 2 to 4 July 2019 28 to 30 June 2022

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Information about this school

 Beis Aharon is a strictly Orthodox Jewish day school for boys aged three to 13. In practice, pupils attend up to age 11. The school therefore operates as a primary school.  The school’s most recent full standard inspection was in July 2019, when its overall effectiveness was judged to be requires improvement. The independent school standards were met.  The school occupies a purpose-built building.  The early years section is housed in a separate building directly opposite the main school. Since January 2019, the school has been admitting nursery-age children as a part of its early years provision.  All pupils speak Yiddish as a first language and Hebrew as a second language. Pupils speak English as an additional language.  The school does not use any off-site educational provision for pupils.  A small minority of pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities; this includes some with an education, health and care (EHC) plan.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors 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 has failed to meet the independent school standards. These are the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection was carried out with one day’s notice.  Inspectors considered early reading, mathematics,personal, social and health education, and history as part of this inspection.  Inspectors talked to pupils about their learning in these subjects and looked at their work. Inspectors met with the teachers who teach the secular curriculum. They also met with a group of pupils to discuss their views about the school, behaviour and safety.  Several meetings were held with the headteacher compliance officer and the safeguarding leads. Inspectors also held discussions with three governors, including the chair of the governing body.  The proprietor did not make himself available during the inspection.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of policies and documents. They checked the school’s compliance with the independent school standards. 28 to 30 June 2022

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Inspection team

Aliki Constantopoulou, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Raj Mehta Ofsted Inspector 28 to 30 June 2022

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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 sub-paragraph (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; and – 2(1)(b)(ii) 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.  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

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

social, physical and aesthetic and creative education; – 2(2)(b) that pupils acquire speaking, listening, literacy and numeracy skills; – 2(2)(c) where the principal language of instruction is a language other than English, lessons in written and spoken English, except that this matter does not apply in respect of a school which provides education for pupils who are all temporarily resident in England and which follows the curriculum of another country; – 2(2)(d) personal, social, health and economic education which- – 2(2)(d)(ii) encourages respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the 2010 Act[9]; – 2(2)(h) that all pupils have the opportunity to learn and make progress; and – 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

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

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; – 3(e) demonstrates good knowledge and understanding of the subject matter being taught; – 3(f) utilises effectively classroom resources of a good quality, quantity and range; 28 to 30 June 2022 – 3(g) demonstrates that a framework is in place to assess pupils' work regularly and thoroughly and use information from that assessment to plan teaching so that pupils can progress; – 3(i) does not undermine the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs; and

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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(a) 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; – 5(b)(v) further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures;

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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 28 to 30 June 2022 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

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

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