Edgware Jewish Girls - Beis Chinuch

Inspection of Edgware Jewish Girls - Beis Chinuch 296 Hale Lane, Edgware, Middlesex HA8 8NP

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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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?

Pupils rise to the high expectations set for them and achieve well. Their excellent behaviour makes the school a calm, welcoming and safe place to learn. Pupils work hard and want to do well. They listen carefully in lessons and try their best. Pupils really enjoy coming to school. They arrive on time each day and attend well. Pupils particularly praise the way in which staff help them to achieve highly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils get to take part in a range of activities that enhance what happens in the classroom. For example, recently, pupils welcomed visitors to the school such as authors and the local mayor. They enjoyed preparing for these visits by planning the questions that they wanted to ask. The school is good at promoting pupils’ all-round development. For example, pupils routinely get the chance to plan special events and festivals, including outside of school hours. Older pupils run lunchtime clubs for the younger ones where they get to teach things like dance and singing.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are taught about the importance of respect and kindness. They know that bullying of any kind is not tolerated. Recently, pupils designed and showcased anti- bullying messages. They enjoyed entering a competition where the winner’s design was made into badges that everyone in the school could wear.

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better?

The school has worked effectively to address the areas for improvement that were identified at the previous inspection. The proprietor body and leaders have an accurate and clear understanding of the school’s work. Their plans for improvement are focused on the right things. Staff are highly supportive of the changes that have been made. They feel that leaders look out for their well-being at all times. The proprietor body has ensured that the school continues to meet all of the independent school standards and the statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage. The school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010 because it has an appropriate accessibility plan in place.

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better?

Pupils learn to read accurately and fluently. The school’s phonics programme is delivered effectively. It all starts in the early years where there is a strong focus on promoting children’s literacy skills. Children in the Nursery learn from stories, songs and rhymes. Pupils in Year 1 enjoyed moving around the classroom racetrack to spot words which included their ‘sound of the week’. Pupils were particularly well supported to be successful at writing words and sentences which contained these sounds. The school provides pupils with appropriate reading books. These are shared with parents and carers so that everyone can help pupils to read well. Pupils who need more time or support to catch up with their peers get the help that they need.

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better?

Leaders have worked particularly hard at improving the secular studies curriculum. Across all subjects, there is now clarity about what pupils need to be taught and when. The school has considered carefully how what children learn in the early 2 to 4 July 2024 years helps to prepare them for future learning in Year 1 and beyond. In addition, the school has considered where links can be made between subjects. Pupils like this. They said it makes learning meaningful. For example, pupils liked using their mathematics knowledge of patterns in their art and science work.

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better?

Pupils achieve well through the curriculum. Each subject is planned in a way which allows pupils to build on what they have been taught previously. For example, in physical education, pupils in Year 5 used their prior knowledge of defending and attacking tactics when they created their own netball matches. In mathematics, pupils in Year 4 used their knowledge of measure to draw a range of angles accurately. The work in pupils’ books shows that they deepen their knowledge of different concepts. For example, pupils’ knowledge of lifecycles and habitats becomes increasingly more sophisticated as they move through the school. The curriculum is also well planned in the early years. The school has worked out how children’s knowledge and skills should be promoted in each area of learning. Staff check children’s learning carefully and make adjustments to teaching to meet children’s needs and next steps. Staff provide opportunities for children to apply

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better?

what they have been taught. For example, as children played in the pretend shop, they used their phonics knowledge to write lists of shopping items. Meanwhile, other children retold accurately the story ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’. They used their knowledge of the story to create recipes for their very own tea party.

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better?

Staff waste no time in identifying pupils who need extra help or those who might have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school has strengthened further the support for these pupils, particularly in the early years. Staff are well trained. They work together, including with other professionals, to meet pupils’ needs. For example, the school puts in place speech and language support for pupils, as well as additional lessons in English and mathematics. The school has well-established approaches in place to check pupils’ learning in reading, mathematics and English. In some of the other subjects, these approaches are still being developed. This means that the school does not always have a clear understanding of what pupils know and remember in these subjects.

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better?

Pupils respond extremely well to the school’s high expectations. Everyone is clear about the part they play in helping the school to feel calm, orderly and a place to learn and achieve without disruption. Pupils work hard to earn weekly awards for their excellent behaviour and academic achievements. Routines are established and reinforced throughout the school. For example, the youngest children knew to wait their turn while their friends were riding the trikes around the playground. They waited sensibly and showed kindness to others. Further up the school, older pupils designed and implemented their own surveys to find out the views of their peers. They used their knowledge of statistics and computing to analyse the findings and display the results.

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better?

Pupils are taught, in an age-appropriate way, about relationships and well-being. For example, pupils learn about what makes a healthy friendship and why it is important to respect people’s differences. Through the curriculum, leaders have looked at ways to help pupils learn about others. For instance, the school’s ‘key texts’, which are 2 to 4 July 2024 used in English lessons and other topics, have been chosen carefully. During the inspection, pupils were reading and reflecting on the text ‘Coming to England’, which helped them to consider race, equality and the experiences of different people. In light of the recent elections, pupils focused on the meaning of democracy. They wrote insightful ‘If I were Prime Minister’ responses which were shared with their peers.

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better?

The school works in close partnership with parents. The school is very much a central part of the community. Parents are extremely pleased with all aspects of the school’s work. Phrases such as ‘nurturing environment’, ‘children flourish’ and ‘well- rounded education’ featured frequently in the responses to Ofsted Parent View.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 In some of the foundation subjects, the curriculum plans are new and now need to be embedded. The school has identified the content that pupils need to know in these subjects. However, the approaches for checking pupils’ knowledge and understanding are in various stages of development. This means that in these subjects, the school does not always have a clear picture of what pupils know and remember. The school should continue to embed the curriculum in these subjects. Without causing unnecessary workload for teachers, the school should develop and implement approaches to check pupils’ knowledge and understanding in these subjects.

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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. 2 to 4 July 2024

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School details

Type of school Other independent day school

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School details

Proprietor Beis Chinuch Primary School Ltd

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 to 12 May 2022 2 to 4 July 2024

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Information about this school

 This is an Orthodox Jewish independent day school which caters for girls. It is owned by the registered company Beis Chinuch Primary School Ltd.  The school has two sites: – Yeshurun Federation Synagogue, Fernhurst Gardens, Edgware, HA8 7PH – 296 Hale Lane, Edgware, HA8 8NP.  Pupils in the early years, Years 1 and 2 are located at the Fernhurst Gardens site. Pupils in Years 3 to 6 attend the Hale Lane site. Some staff work across both sites.  The school’s curriculum includes Kodesh (Jewish Studies) which is taught in English, as well as secular studies. The school day varies from year group to year group, but the day is shared equally between the two different curriculums.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.  The school does not have a website.  The school is operating beyond its registration agreement with the Department for Education (DfE). The school is registered to admit up to 274 pupils. At the

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Information about this school

time of this inspection, there are 288 pupils on roll. The school has not notified the DfE that it is operating beyond its registration agreement.

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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

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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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

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, the head of Kodesh, the head of secular studies, leaders responsible for safeguarding, the special educational needs coordinators and representatives of the governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, humanities and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also looked at curriculum plans, reviewed 2 to 4 July 2024 pupils’ work and spoke to pupils about their learning in art, science and English.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single

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Information about this inspection

central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors toured both sites and reviewed a range of documentation to check the school’s compliance with the independent school standards.  Inspectors reviewed the responses to Ofsted Parent View and the online staff survey. Inspectors held meetings with staff and pupils. Inspectors observed pupils during social times.

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Inspection team

Gary Rawlings, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jennifer Bax Ofsted Inspector 2 to 4 July 2024 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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