Beis Yaakov High School

Inspection of Beis Yaakov High School 69 Broom Lane, Bury New Road, Salford, Greater Manchester M7 4FF

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Inadequate

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The headteacher of this school is Benjamin Myers. This school is a single academy trust. The chair of the trust board is Avrom Topperman.

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When Beis Yaakov High School was inspected in September 2022, it was judged to require special measures. Subsequently, the school was inspected on two occasions. At the last monitoring inspection, leaders were judged to have made progress to improve the school, but more work was necessary for the category of concern to be removed. 8 and 9 October 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel happy and proud to be part of a caring, close-knit school community. They share respectful relationships with staff who know them well. Pupils trust that there are people who they can talk to if they have a concern or worry.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils rise to meet the high academic expectations that the school sets and their achievement is improving. However, the curriculum does not meet the needs and interests of some pupils as well as it should. In addition, there remains variation in how well subjects are taught. This impacts on the extent and depth of some pupils’ learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Typically, new behaviour rules are helping most pupils to enjoy a calm and purposeful atmosphere around school and in lessons, where they can learn without disruption. However, a minority of pupils do not attend school often enough and this disrupts their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils embrace the opportunities that they have to contribute to the school community and to socialise with their peers, for example by fundraising for local charities or taking part in residential trips. However, the opportunities that they have to understand and participate more widely in the world, beyond their own community, are limited. This hinders how well pupils are prepared for life in modern Britain.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school, supported by trustees, has considerably improved the breadth and ambition of the overarching curriculum. Pupils now study a wider range of subjects than they did in the past. Typically, most pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well in the subjects that they study. However, more work is needed to ensure that the breadth of subjects is fully commensurate with that of the national curriculum. The school is aware of this and it is taking action, for example by introducing geography in Years 10 and 11. It hopes to improve the proportion of pupils who study the suite of subjects that make up the English Baccalaureate.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Since the previous inspection, the school has undertaken significant work to improve the quality of education. For example, external support has been used effectively to train subject leaders to develop their curriculum thinking and subject-specific expertise. In many subjects, the key knowledge that pupils should learn and the sequence in which it is taught have been carefully identified. In these subjects, teachers deliver the curriculum well. Similarly, approaches to checking pupils’ understanding have improved so that teachers more routinely identify and address gaps in pupils’ learning. However, in some subjects this work is in its early stages and remains underdeveloped. Opportunities to identify misconceptions in pupils’ learning are sometimes missed. Sometimes, teachers do not choose the most appropriate activities to support pupils’ learning. This leads to variability across subjects in how securely pupils are able to build on their prior knowledge

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

and achieve highly. 8 and 9 October 2024

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The school has improved the systems that it uses to identify the additional needs that pupils have. It ensures that this information is now routinely shared with teachers to help inform their teaching. However, in subjects where inconsistences remain in the delivery of the curriculum, some staff do not use this information as well as they could to support vulnerable pupils, including those with SEND. This hinders the learning of these pupils. Similarly, the school has started to routinely identify those pupils who have gaps in their reading knowledge and this information is shared with staff. However, there is not a coordinated approach in place to help pupils improve their reading knowledge. This negatively impacts how well some pupils can access the curriculum.

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The newly introduced systems for behaviour have significantly improved the school’s atmosphere and culture. Typically, pupils attend lessons on time. They are attentive and enthusiastic in their approach to learning. However, where deficiencies in the curriculum remain, a small number of pupils struggle to meet the expectations set for their behaviour. Additionally, the school does not use the information that it gathers about pupils’ behaviour swiftly enough to provide effective additional support for some pupils.

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The school has significantly strengthened its work to improve attendance and this is starting to impact positively. However, too many pupils remain persistently absent from school. This leads to a lack of continuity in some pupils’ learning and hampers how well they achieve.

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Lessons and activities to support pupils’ personal development have been extended to ensure that pupils receive important information that they need. For example, pupils learn about how to keep themselves safe, including online. However, the range of social and cultural experiences that pupils access rarely extend beyond their own local community. Moreover, the school does not ensure that pupils are taught about the full range of protected characteristics. This limits pupils’ understanding of difference and diversity in the wider world.

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Work is underway to develop a more comprehensive careers programme for pupils. For example, visitors from local colleges now talk to pupils about their next steps in education and training. However, some pupils are not as well informed as they should be about their choices when they leave school. For example, pupils’ understanding and experiences of the world of work are limited.

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During a period of rapid change, trustees and the school have maintained a clear vision. They have ensured that staff feel well supported so that they can focus on developing themselves in their roles to benefit pupils.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 8 and 9 October 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the curriculum is underdeveloped or newly introduced. In these subjects, teachers sometimes do not choose the most appropriate tasks and activities when delivering the curriculum. They do not identify misconceptions and gaps in pupils’ learning as well as they should. This hinders how well some pupils develop a depth of subject-specific knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers receive the training that they need to deliver the curriculum well in all subjects so that pupils can embed their knowledge securely.  The school does not ensure that all teachers use the information that they receive about vulnerable pupils as well as they should to inform their teaching. This prevents some pupils, including some with SEND, from learning the curriculum as well as they should. The school should ensure that staff receive appropriate training so that they can support these pupils to access and embed their learning.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school does not have a coherent approach in place to support pupils who have gaps in their reading knowledge. This prevents some pupils from accessing the full curriculum and achieving as well as they should. The school should ensure that they put into place clear strategies that help to fill the gaps in pupils’ reading knowledge so that all pupils can read with accuracy and fluency.  The school does not use the information that it gathers about pupils’ behaviour and attendance as swiftly and effectively as it should to make improvements. Small numbers of pupils do not receive the support that they need to attend school regularly or to meet the improved behaviour expectations in place. The school should use the information that it gathers about behaviour and attendance more swiftly and strategically to inform the support that it provides for these pupils.  The school does not ensure that pupils’ experiences and understanding of the wider

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

world and the world of work are as wide-ranging as they should be. This limits how well pupils are prepared for their next steps when they leave school and more generally for life in modern Britain. The school should provide more opportunities for pupils to gain a wider understanding of difference, diversity and the choices that they can access when they leave school.

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 8 and 9 October 2024

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 8 and 9 October 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 20 and 21 February 2024, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is an orthodox Jewish faith school.  The school is a single academy trust.  The headteacher was appointed in February 2024. A large number of new staff have also been appointed since the previous inspection.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We deemed the inspection a graded (section 5) inspection under the same Act. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form 8 and 9 October 2024

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provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024, will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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In accordance with section 13(4) of the Education Act 2005, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures.

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, other leaders and members of staff. The lead inspector met with the chair of the board of trustees.  The lead inspector held an online meeting with a representative from the local authority. She also reviewed information from several of the school’s other external partners.  Inspectors looked in depth at the following subjects: English, mathematics, science, history and art and design. Inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders and visited a sample of lessons. Inspectors met with teachers and spoke with pupils about their learning. Inspectors also scrutinised samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum, visited lessons and looked at pupils’ work in

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some other subjects.  Inspectors spoke with groups of pupils about their experiences of school life.  Inspectors were requested not to ask pupils questions about some of the protected characteristics or relationships and sex education.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation document, leaders’ improvement plans, minutes of trust board meetings and records of pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single 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 considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. They also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff.  There were no responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.

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 Inspectors spoke with some staff to gather their views of the school, including leaders’ support for their workload and well-being. 8 and 9 October 2024

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Inspection team

Amanda Downing, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Scott Maclean Ofsted Inspector 8 and 9 October 2024

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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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