Aim Habonim

Inspection of Aim Habonim 51 Rigby Street, Salford M7 4NX

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Sixth-form provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Aim Habonim is a happy place to be. Children in the early years, and pupils and students, are greeted with a smile and a friendly face each day. Pupils benefit from strong relationships with staff and their peers. Adults encourage and reassure pupils at every opportunity. Pupils recognise that staff want the best for them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations of pupils’ learning. This includes children in the early years and students in the sixth form. All pupils experience a relevant curriculum, which is appropriate to their needs. Children, pupils and students are taught by teachers who know them extremely well. Adults are skilled in supporting pupils’ individual learning and developmental needs. This prepares the school’s pupils, all of whom have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), well for their next steps in their education and adult life.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders expect pupils to behave well. Pupils across the school focus well on their learning. Staff successfully help pupils to learn to regulate their behaviour and manage their emotions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils said that bullying is extremely rare. If it should happen, pupils know that adults will deal with any issues immediately. Pupils across both school sites feel safe because they are confident that staff will help them if they are worried about anything.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils experience a wide range of therapies appropriate to their needs. Staff go to great lengths to get the right support and help for pupils. For example, staff support pupils to access hydrotherapy.

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better?

Leaders have made many improvements to the quality of the curriculum for pupils, including children in the early years and students in the sixth form. They have ensured that the curriculum is suitably ambitious. Leaders have also made sure that the curriculum is well designed in most subjects and key stages. Overall, adults skilfully use their information about pupils to design a curriculum that meets pupils’ individual needs.

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better?

In the majority of subjects, staff think carefully about the knowledge, skills and understanding that pupils must learn. However, a small number of curriculum areas are less well developed than others, particularly for some pupils in key stages 2 and 3. In these subjects, the order of knowledge teachers want pupils to learn is not as clear as it should be. Despite these minor weaknesses, children in the early years, pupils in key stages 1 to 3 and students in the sixth form achieve well over time.

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better?

Teachers are proficient at integrating each aspect of a pupil’s education, health and care plan (EHC plan) into the curriculum. Pupils, including children in the early years and students in the sixth form, engage well in learning, and they are motivated to 1 to 3 November 2022 complete the activities that teachers prepare for them. Teachers explain new ideas clearly and provide pupils with regular opportunities to revisit and recap important information, knowledge and skills. Adults often provide pupils with links to real-life experiences to help to strengthen their understanding.

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better?

Teachers skilfully use assessment information to check that pupils have retained new knowledge. They also use this information well to design future learning activities. Teachers are knowledgeable about most subjects. However, in a very small number of subjects, teachers’ subject knowledge is not quite as secure as it should be. Even so, this does not prevent children in the early years, and pupils and students across the school, from learning well.

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better?

At the heart of the curriculum is the development of pupils’ speech, communication and language skills. For example, pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) are skilfully and patiently encouraged to respond to the people and objects around them.

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better?

Leaders place a strong emphasis on ensuring that all pupils learn to read well. Pupils read every day. For those children and pupils who need it most, a suitable phonics programme is in place. This is supplemented by high-quality speech and language therapy when appropriate. Teachers are keen to deliver this newly introduced phonics programme, but their confidence and subject knowledge are not as strong as they could be.

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better?

Post-16 and post-19 students experience a highly personalised and motivating curriculum. This curriculum leads to appropriate qualifications. It also supports students’ development of personal, social and employability skills. Students are furnished with comprehensive careers education, information, advice and guidance. This includes work experience, weekly placement opportunities and other practical experiences, which are all geared toward developing students’ confidence, resilience and independence skills. Students are well equipped for adult life and the world of work.

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better?

Children, pupils and students benefit from staff’s strategies to support behaviour. For example, staff skilfully use body language and visual prompts to divert any unwanted behaviours. Over time, pupils increase their ability to manage their own behaviour. Pupils respond positively to the rewards that they receive for trying their best. Pupils attend school regularly and enjoy a harmonious environment that supports them to learn effectively.

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better?

Pupils across the school are given opportunities to develop as citizens through the wider personal development curriculum. For example, pupils raise money for local charities and students help elderly people in a local residential home. However, this personal development curriculum is new and is being refined. Leaders are in the process of adding further subject content to support pupils’ understanding of different cultures and other world religions. They are well on their way with this. 1 to 3 November 2022 Leaders have effectively implemented the statutory guidance on relationships and sex education and health education.

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better?

The building is well maintained, clean and well resourced. There is suitable outdoor space for children in the early years, and pupils and students, to get fresh air at breaktimes. The outdoor space is also suitable for regular physical education lessons.

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better?

Leaders have ensured that they adhere to health and safety requirements, including fire regulations and risk assessments. Leaders keep parents and carers well informed about their work to improve the school. Policies, including the school’s safeguarding policy, are available to parents and carers within the school prospectus and upon request. The complaints policy is fully compliant. The school has a suitable plan that describes how pupils with SEND can take part fully in the school’s curriculum.

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better?

The proprietor has ensured that all the independent school standards are met. There are systems in place to ensure that leaders are held to account for the quality of education that the school provides. Leaders and the proprietor have made arrangements to meet the requirements of paragraph 3 of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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better?

Staff are proud to work at the school. They feel that they are well supported by leaders, including in managing their workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff are well trained and knowledgeable about keeping pupils safe. The procedures in place to identify and report concerns are well understood by staff.

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Safeguarding

Staff are strong advocates for all pupils, including those that are particularly vulnerable. Where safeguarding needs are identified, leaders engage very well with external agencies to get timely support for pupils and their families.

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Safeguarding

Strong partnership working between leaders and parents helps to keep pupils safe. Leaders ensure that pupils learn about different risks in a way that is appropriate for their age and level of cognitive understanding. This is done in a way that is sensitive towards the tenets of their faith.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 In a small number of subjects, leaders have not considered exactly what pupils should learn and in what order. This hinders some pupils from achieving as highly as they could. Leaders should finalise the curriculum content in these remaining 1 to 3 November 2022 few subjects to ensure that teachers know exactly what knowledge pupils must learn.  In a small number of subjects, teachers are not as confident as they could be in their subject knowledge. This includes how to teach the newly introduced phonics programme. Sometimes, this prevents teachers from delivering subject content as effectively as they should. As a result, some pupils do not achieve as highly as they could. Leaders should ensure that teachers have the subject-specific training that they require, including how to teach the new phonics programme consistently well.

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How can I feed back my views?

or 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. 1 to 3 November 2022

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School details

School category Independent special school

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School details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Girls

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form

Annual fees (day pupils) £27,000 to £39,000

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form

Date of previous inspection 19 to 21 June 2018 1 to 3 November 2022

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Information about this school

 The previous standard inspection took place on 19 to 21 June 2018.  A material change inspection took place for the school’s second site in March 2022. This provision is located at 23 Knoll Street, Salford M7 2EQ. It provides accommodation for post-16 and post-19 students. At the time of the inspection, only girls were attending the post-16 and post-19 provision.  All the pupils that attend this school have SEND. The vast majority have an EHC plan. The school caters for pupils with a range of needs, including PMLD, severe learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties and autism spectrum disorder.  There is a nursery school, with the same name, on the main school site. It is separately registered.  At the time of the inspection, there were no key stage 4 pupils on roll.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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 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 that the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 During the inspection, inspectors spoke with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and other members of the senior leadership team. They also spoke to middle leaders and the leaders in charge of the post-16 unit. An inspector spoke to the special educational needs coordinator. Inspectors also spoke to staff about safeguarding arrangements.  An inspector met with school governors. This included the chair of governors who is also the proprietor.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including that relating to the independent school standards, the curriculum, school improvement, safeguarding and the checks undertaken on newly appointed staff.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free- text responses. Inspectors also considered the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey and spoke to members of staff about their well-being and workload. 1 to 3 November 2022  There were no responses to the pupil survey. However, inspectors spoke with

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Information about this inspection

some pupils and students about their work and school life. All meetings with pupils were carried out in the presence of a member of staff. The questions that were asked of the pupils were agreed with the headteacher.  An inspector heard pupils read.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: communication and language, which incorporated aspects of early reading and phonics; mathematics; and physical development. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with pathway leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also spoke to leaders about the curriculum in some other subjects.

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Inspection team

Sue Eastwood, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Phill Walmsley Ofsted Inspector 1 to 3 November 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 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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