Ateres Girls High School

Inspection of Ateres Girls High School Willow Grove, Felling, Gateshead NE10 9PQ

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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

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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?

Pupils are polite and friendly. They show respect and kindness to all. This is a Jewish school with strong religious and moral foundations. The school builds caring and trusting relationships with pupils and with parents and carers. It has established a true community spirit. This is of great benefit to pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for what pupils can achieve. Pupils realise these expectations. They show positive attitudes to their learning and achieve well in their GCSE examinations. The school prepares pupils well for the next stage of their academic education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s ethos promotes good behaviour. Pupils behave well because they know it is the right thing to do. As they progress through the school, they take increasing responsibility for their own behaviour. This is a calm and orderly school. Pupils are happy here. They enjoy educational visits and take part in activities, including sports and arts and crafts.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school does not teach pupils about two of the protected characteristics. These protected characteristics are sexual orientation and gender reassignment. The school has not had regard to the requirements of the Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education statutory guidance. The school’s provision for pupils’ personal development requires improvement. It does not give pupils enough knowledge about relationships.

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better?

The school has established a broad curriculum. Pupil study languages, the arts, science and technology and mathematics. The school has identified the essential knowledge that it wants pupils to know and remember. In most subjects, the curriculum is well sequenced. Pupils build their knowledge and skills in increasing depth and complexity as they progress through the school. Pupils achieve well in their GCSE examinations. However, in some subjects the curriculum is not organised well enough. In these subjects, some pupils do not gain a deep and coherent body of knowledge.

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better?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) access the same curriculum as their peers. The school identifies pupils’ needs well. It provides staff with relevant information and training about SEND. This helps staff to meet pupils’ needs. Pupils with SEND achieve well from their individual starting points.

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better?

The school prioritises reading. Pupils at an early stage of reading get the help that they need. The school provides them with extra support in reading fluency and comprehension. As pupils move through the school, they read ever more challenging texts. This develops pupils’ love for reading and widens their vocabulary. 25 to 27 June 2024 Teachers have a secure subject knowledge. They use this well to present new information to pupils. They model subject specific methods and approaches. This helps pupils to structure their writing and solve mathematical problems. Teachers help pupils to address gaps in their knowledge. They provide pupils with individual support in lessons and use frequent testing to assess what pupils know and remember. However, at times teachers do not secure or extend pupils’ knowledge effectively enough.

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better?

The school has established a positive learning environment. Pupils show an interest in their learning. They work hard in lessons and they are keen to engage in class discussion. The school rewards pupils for their good behaviour. Form teachers know the pupils well. They work with pupils and their parents to ensure that the school’s high expectations for learning and behaviour are met. Levels of attendance are very high. This reflects the value the school and its community place on education. It also reflects pupils’ enjoyment of school life.

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better?

The school’s provision for personal development requires improvement. The school’s strong Jewish religious ethos informs its approach to pupils’ personal development. The school does not teach pupils about sexual orientation and gender reassignment. The school includes these protected characteristics in its sex education curriculum, but all parents exercise their statutory right to withdraw their children from sex education lessons. However, these protected characteristics are part of compulsory relationships education. The school’s relationships education programme does not provide pupils with sufficient knowledge, including about lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender relationships. Also, pupils do not learn in enough depth about important issues, such as sexual harassment, sexual violence and coercive and controlling behaviour.

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better?

In other aspects of personal development, the school provides pupils with an appropriate education. Pupils learn about physical and mental health and about different faiths and religions. Pupils get the careers information and guidance that they need to make well-informed decisions about their next steps in training or employment. Pupils understand and exhibit the values of respect and tolerance. However, the school’s personal development provision is neither comprehensive nor coherent enough. In particular, pupils do not gain enough knowledge about relationships. They are not prepared fully for life in modern Britain.

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better?

The school does not meet all the independent school standards. The requirements relating to the protected characteristics were not met at the previous standard inspection in July 2022. Over time, the proprietor is not ensuring that the school meets the independent school standards. The school does comply with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 25 to 27 June 2024

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The school does not teach pupils about two of the nine protected characteristics. Pupils do not gain an appropriate knowledge of sexual orientation or gender reassignment. In the context of its Jewish religious ethos, the school should teach these two characteristics in a manner that meets statutory guidance.  The school’s provision for personal development is not coherently organised. It does not provide pupils with an increasingly deep and age-appropriate knowledge with particular regard to relationships education. The school should ensure that it develops its personal development provision so that all pupils receive a logically sequenced, appropriate body of knowledge that prepares them for life in modern Britain.  In some subjects, the curriculum is not organised coherently enough. This means that sometimes teachers do not build as effectively as they might on pupils’ prior learning. At times, they do not select activities or use pedagogies to secure or

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

extend pupils’ learning well enough. The school should ensure that it provides teachers with the training and development that they need, in both curriculum design and pedagogical content knowledge, so that pupils can acquire a deep and coherent knowledge across all 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. 25 to 27 June 2024

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School details

Unique reference number 138118 DfE registration number 390/6000

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School details

Type of school Other Independent School School category Independent school

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) Voluntary contributions

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 to 14 July 2022 25 to 27 June 2024

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Information about this school

 The school received a material change inspection in May 2023. As a result of this inspection, the Department for Education granted an increase to the maximum number of pupils the school can admit. The school is now registered to admit 300 pupils.  The school does not use alternative provision.  The school has a Jewish ethos.

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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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  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, deputy headteacher, proprietor, and with a member of the governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics, geography and art and design. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, 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 in other subjects.  Inspectors met with the school’s designated safeguarding lead. They looked at safeguarding documentation and record keeping, including the single central record. Inspectors also spoke with staff and pupils about safeguarding.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors toured the school site and scrutinised a wide range of documentary evidence to check on the statutory requirements of the independent school standards.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s surveys for pupils and staff. They also considered responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey for parents.  Inspectors were requested by the school not to ask pupils directly about two of the protected characteristics, sexual orientation and gender reassignment. They were also requested not to ask pupils directly about sexual harassment and sexual violence. Inspectors used language that was agreed with the school in 25 to 27 June 2024 talking to pupils about these aspects of personal development. Terms such as ‘lifestyle choices’, ‘different tendencies’ and ‘unacceptable touch’ were suggested by the school. Inspectors used these terms when discussing these aspects of personal development with pupils. This limited the nature of the evidence

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Information about this inspection

inspectors could gather from pupils with regard to what they were taught, knew and understood about these aspects of personal development. However, sufficient evidence was gathered about these aspects of personal development from other sources, in addition to discussions with pupils, to inform inspectors’ evaluation of the school’s provision for personal development.

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Inspection team

Ian Rawstorne, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Andrea Batley His Majesty’s Inspector 25 to 27 June 2024

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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(2) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(1)(a), the matters are- – 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];  2A(1) The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor- – 2A(1)(d) in making arrangements for the purposes of paragraphs (a), (b) or (c), has regard to any guidance under section 80A of the Education Act 2002 that applies in relation to the provision of education by maintained schools,

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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; and

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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 25 to 27 June 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

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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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