Talmud Torah Yetev Lev

Inspection of Talmud Torah Yetev Lev 393-395 Bury New Road, Salford, Lancashire M7 2BT

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Good 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 enjoy coming to school. They know that a warm welcome awaits them when they arrive each day. Children new to the early years settle in quickly. Older pupils look forward to playing with their friends at breaktimes. Pupils of all ages feel happy, safe and secure in school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school expects pupils to work hard and to achieve well. Children in the early years make a strong start to their education. However, some pupils in key stages 1 to 3 do not achieve as well as they should. This is because there are weaknesses in the design and the delivery of the curriculum in some subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the trips and visits that the school provides for their wider development. For example, pupils learn about local history when they visit a museum. They learn how to eat healthily and to keep fit. However, pupils’ understanding of difference among people and communities is rather limited. This hinders pupils’ readiness for life in British society.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils try their best to follow the school rules. For instance, children in the early years tidy away their books and toys when they have used them. Older pupils move sensibly around the school. Pupils speak respectfully to their teachers and typically treat each other with kindness.

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better?

Since the last inspection, the school has made some improvements to its broad, secular curriculum. The curriculum now sets out the steps of knowledge that pupils should learn, from the early years to Year 6, in each subject. However, the most important knowledge for pupils in Year 7 is far less clearly defined. This lack of clarity prevents staff from ensuring that pupils learn the new knowledge that they need to learn. Consequently, pupils in Year 7 do not learn as well as they should in a range of subjects.

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better?

Staff typically have secure subject knowledge. However, they have not had sufficient training to ensure that they deliver the curriculum consistently well. At times, the teaching that some pupils receive in key stages 1 to 3 does not enable them to practise and consolidate their knowledge sufficiently. Where this happens, pupils’ learning is less secure and they struggle to remember it over time.

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better?

English is an additional language for almost all pupils at this school. Children usually join the early years having experienced only their home language. The school is mindful of the challenges for the youngest children learning English and Hebrew in parallel. Nonetheless, the school is ambitious for pupils to succeed in reading and has made it a priority in the curriculum. Children in the Reception class begin learning phonics straight away. Their reading books are carefully matched to the letters and sounds that they have learned. This helps children to read with confidence. Older pupils enjoy a widening range of texts and read with growing 5 to 7 November 2024 fluency. Pupils who need extra help with reading receive it quickly and effectively. By the time that they leave the school, most pupils read well.

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better?

In lessons, teachers typically check that pupils understand their learning. They provide extra help for pupils who need it, for example by explaining things in a pupil’s home language. From the early years onwards, the curriculum supports all pupils to improve their communication in English.

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better?

The school ensures that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified quickly. Where appropriate, activities are adapted to enable these pupils to access the curriculum. The school communicates effectively with parents and carers and with other professionals to secure expert help for pupils with SEND if they need it. However, their achievement is sometimes hampered by the same curriculum weaknesses as other pupils in school.

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better?

The strong pastoral care that pupils receive contributes effectively to their sense of well-being in school. Pupils are typically attentive in lessons. They know that this is what their teachers expect. They usually settle quickly to work when lessons begin. This sensible behaviour helps all pupils to get on with their learning.

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better?

Through both the Kodesh and secular curriculums, pupils learn about fundamental British values, such as democracy and the rule of law. However, pupils have only a superficial understanding of difference, especially in relation to faith, culture and the protected characteristics. They have a limited understanding of the potential risks posed by the internet.

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better?

Pupils receive age-appropriate relationships education. Although a suitable policy for sex education is in place, parents of pupils in Year 7 have told the school that they do not want their children to receive sex education.

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better?

The proprietor and governors understand their responsibility to set direction for the school. For example, they have made improvements to the premises to enhance pupils’ health, safety and welfare. They have developed an accessibility plan in compliance with Schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010. The school is well maintained, bright and spacious for pupils. All of the independent school standards (‘the standards’) are met consistently.

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better?

Staff said that they enjoy working at the school. They appreciate the concern that leaders show for their well-being and workload.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 5 to 7 November 2024

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 On occasion, in some subjects, the curriculum is not taught as well as the school intends. When this happens, pupils do not learn important knowledge as completely or as securely as they should. The school should ensure that staff are provided with the guidance that they need to deliver the curriculum consistently and effectively in these subjects.  The school has not ensured that the curriculum for pupils in Year 7 identifies the knowledge that pupils need to learn. This makes it difficult for staff to ensure that pupils build sufficient new knowledge in readiness for the next stage in their education. The school should ensure that the knowledge that pupils in Year 7 should learn by the time that they leave the school is identified and understood by staff.  Some aspects of the school’s programme for pupils’ personal development are underdeveloped, especially in relation to other faiths and cultures. This means

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

that pupils are not as well prepared for life in modern Britain as they should be. The school should ensure that it offers a coherent programme for personal development that deepens pupils’ knowledge and understanding.

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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. 5 to 7 November 2024

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) Voluntary contributions

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 15 to 17 November 2022 5 to 7 November 2024

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Information about this school

 The school is a Jewish boys’ school operated by members of the Satmar Chassidic Jewish community.  The school operates over two sites. The main site is located at 393-395 Bury New Road, Salford M7 2BT. The second site, a few doors down from the main premises, is located at 405 Bury New Road, Salford M7 2BT. This second site is the location of the school’s early years department.  The previous standard inspection took place from 15 to 17 November 2022. A material change inspection, commissioned by the Department for Education, took place on 9 November 2023.  The number of pupils currently recorded on roll on the government’s Get Information about Schools website (GIAS) is 462. This is incorrect. The headteacher confirmed that this was a school administrative error and will correct the information recorded.  Leaders do not use 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

 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.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and other senior leaders of the school. The lead inspector also met with the proprietor.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history, science and personal, social and health education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions with leaders 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. The lead inspector also listened to some pupils reading to a familiar adult.  The inspectors also looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about pupils’

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Information about this inspection

learning in some other subjects. 5 to 7 November 2024  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation, including that relating to the standards and the curriculum.  The lead inspector made a tour of the school premises to check the suitability of the premises and accommodation against the relevant standards.  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.

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Inspection team

Mavis Smith, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lindy Griffiths Ofsted Inspector 5 to 7 November 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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