Bnei Zion Community School

Inspection of Bnei Zion Community School 49 - 51 Ravensdale Road, London N16 6TJ

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Inspection dates: 12 to 14 November 2024

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

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

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and enjoy coming to this school. They are attentive in lessons and demonstrate very positive attitudes to their learning. The school encourages pupils to be kind and considerate of others. This helps pupils to develop as community- minded citizens. Pupils enjoy getting involved with local charities and entertaining residents in a nursing home.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school does not have high-enough expectations for pupils’ secular education. Although the school has started to address this, pupils still study a curriculum that covers a narrow range of subjects outside of pupils’ religious studies. The school dedicates too little time to the teaching of these subjects. This means that pupils are not able to develop a coherent understanding of key knowledge within the secular curriculum. Although there is regular time for phonics lessons, pupils move through the phonics curriculum too slowly. As a result, they do not gain a good standard of reading in readiness for their next steps.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children in the early years do not benefit from a coherent curriculum. The activities on offer to children do not promote learning. Children do not acquire a wide vocabulary. Their communication and social skills develop slowly. Consequently, children in the early years are ill-prepared for learning in Year 1 and beyond.

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better?

The school places great importance on teaching the Jewish faith. However, this limits the time available to teach secular subjects. Pupils have lessons in mathematics and complete reading comprehension tasks each day. From Year 3 onwards, pupils also study science, geography and physical education (PE). However, the curriculum does not enable pupils to build their knowledge within technological and creative subjects, such as art and design or music.

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better?

The curriculum for the secular subjects lacks ambition. The school has not given enough consideration to how knowledge in these subjects builds in complexity over time. The programmes of work that the school uses to teach the curriculum have not been adapted to match the knowledge and needs of pupils in the school. The limited time that pupils have to study the secular curriculum means that pupils develop a disjointed understanding of these subjects. They remember little of their prior learning. They struggle to connect new concepts to what has gone before.

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better?

Teachers have a sound understanding of the subjects that they teach. However, teachers’ understanding of the most effective ways to help pupils learn is limited. This means that pupils complete activities that do not develop their knowledge of key concepts. Teachers do not ensure that pupils have a secure understanding of subject vocabulary. They do not routinely check what pupils know and can remember. This hinders pupils from securing new knowledge in their long-term memory. 12 to 14 November 2024 The school has clear procedures to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In the early years, adults are alert to the signs that children may be struggling to learn. The school provides pupils with SEND with effective support so that these pupils access the curriculum that is on offer. However, due to the deficiencies in the secular curriculum, the achievement of pupils with

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better?

Pupils do not gain a secure grasp of written and spoken English. All pupils in the school learn English as an additional language. The school uses a phonics scheme to teach pupils to read in English. This curriculum starts in the spring term in the Reception class, once children have secured the phonics in their home language. Staff deliver the phonics scheme well. They model sounds accurately and use the routines of the scheme to help pupils to secure new sounds. However, the school introduces pupils to new sounds too slowly. Staff do not check sufficiently that all pupils have secured the taught sounds. This means that pupils who are struggling to keep pace with the phonics programme are not identified quickly enough. These pupils do not have enough opportunity to develop their fluency with books that match the sounds that they know. As a result, these pupils fall even further behind.

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better?

The school is in the process of introducing a new curriculum in the early years. This curriculum includes more learning opportunities to help children to develop an understanding of the world around them. Staff have begun to make appropriate checks to assess children’s starting points and consider how well children are learning. Children in the Nursery class have new resources to support their learning as they play. However, the new early years curriculum is in its infancy. It is too soon to see any difference to the learning of those children who are currently in the early years.

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better?

Children in the Reception class continue to study a limited curriculum. They gain a basic knowledge of counting and shape. They develop a limited vocabulary and learn about different emotions. However, the curriculum does not ensure that children in the Reception class develop a broad foundation across all of the seven areas of learning, in readiness for Year 1. Adults do not develop children’s language and communication skills well enough. In addition, adults do not give children enough support to develop their social skills so that they learn to share and take turns.

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better?

Pupils are polite and courteous. They are curious learners, who listen with rapt attention to their teachers. Pupils value their schooling. They attend regularly. The school integrates its provision for personal, social, health and economic education into pupils’ religious studies. This curriculum encourages pupils to develop a keen sense of right from wrong. They are taught the importance of staying healthy, including the benefits of rest and exercise. Pupils gain an age-appropriate understanding of how to stay safe, including the risks associated with being online.

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better?

Pupils attend educational trips to local parks and landmarks. They hear about different careers from a range of visitors to the school. The school encourages pupils to show respect for all people, including those who have views and beliefs different 12 to 14 November 2024 to their own. However, pupils do not gain an appreciation of the diversity within modern Britain. Pupils learn little about cultures and religions outside of their own. This restricts how well prepared pupils are for life beyond their own community.

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better?

Staff appreciate the school’s efforts to support their well-being and the help that they receive to manage their workload. Parents and carers are very positive about the education provided by the school. The school builds positive relationships with the families in its community.

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better?

The school has recently engaged with external support to start to address the areas for development identified during its last inspection. Nevertheless, the much-needed improvements to secular education are not being addressed with sufficient robustness or urgency. The school has been too slow to tackle the weaknesses in pupils’ quality of education. The proprietor and the school remain reluctant to increase the breadth of the secular curriculum, and the time allocated to teach these subjects. The school does not meet the requirements of the independent school standards (‘the standards’). It does not comply with the statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage.

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better?

The school continues to admit pupils who are above the maximum age of its registration.

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better?

The proprietor has ensured that the school complies with schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The secular curriculum lacks ambition and breadth. It does not identify what pupils should learn over time nor is it adapted to pupils’ needs. Some subjects are not taught, and insufficient time is allocated to teaching the secular curriculum. As a result, in these subjects, pupils do not gain the knowledge and skills that they need to succeed. The school must increase the breadth and ambition of the secular curriculum so that pupils gain a secure and deep understanding of the subjects that they should study.  Teachers have a limited understanding of the most effective ways to help pupils learn. This means that the activities that teachers design do not enable pupils to develop their subject knowledge over time. Teachers’ checks on pupils’ learning do not help to identify what pupils have understood. As a result, pupils do not recall their prior learning. The school must ensure that staff are suitably equipped

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

to help pupils remember their learning and build their knowledge.  The phonics programme does not enable pupils to learn to read in English quickly enough. This is because sounds are introduced too slowly, books are not well 12 to 14 November 2024 matched to the sounds that pupils know, and teachers do not check for gaps in pupils’ phonics knowledge. The school must ensure that the teaching of the phonics programme enables pupils to gain reading fluency so that they able to succeed in the next stage of their education.  The school provides limited education about cultures and religions outside of pupils’ own religious upbringing. As a result, pupils are not as well prepared for life in diverse British society as they should be. The school must ensure that pupils gain an appreciation of cultures and religions that are different to their own.  The current early years curriculum lacks ambition and structure. The school has

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

not considered how children in the early years will develop their knowledge across the seven areas of learning. In addition, staff miss crucial opportunities to develop children’s communication and social skills. As a result, children do not have the necessary foundations for subsequent learning. The school must ensure that the early years curriculum enables children to learn all that they should in readiness for Year 1.  The proprietor and the school have been too slow to tackle the weaknesses in the quality of pupils’ education. They have not made the necessary changes in order to meet the standards. The school must ensure that it takes urgent action to improve the quality of education for all pupils in the school.

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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. 12 to 14 November 2024

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School details

Unique reference number 137318 DfE registration number 204/6001

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School details

Inspection number 10322587 Type of school Other independent school

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School details

Annual fees (day pupils) Voluntary contributions

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School details

Date of previous inspection 13 to 15 September 2022 12 to 14 November 2024

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Information about this school

 The school is a primary day school for boys of Orthodox Jewish faith.  The school operates from one premises located at 49-51 Ravensdale Road, London N16 6TJ.  The school’s previous standard inspection was in September 2022 when the school was judged inadequate. Since then, the school has received two additional inspections to monitor its progress, in June 2023 and February 2024 respectively.  The school’s registration with the Department for Education (DfE) allows it to admit up to 200 pupils between the ages of three and five. The school currently has 165 pupils on roll between the ages of three and eleven. This means that the school continues to be in breach of its registration agreement.  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 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 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 met with the headteacher and other senior leaders. They also met with the school’s proprietor.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, science and PE. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors reviewed a range of school policies and documents. This included documents relating to health and safety, admissions records and records of behaviour and attendance. Inspectors also considered the condition of the premises and the school’s fire safety checks.  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. 12 to 14 November 2024  Inspectors met with a group of parents to learn about their views of the school. Inspectors spoke to members of staff.

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Inspection team

Annabel Davies, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jonathan Newby Ofsted Inspector 12 to 14 November 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(1)(b) the written policy, plans and schemes of work- – 2(1)(b)(i) take into account the ages, aptitudes and needs of all pupils, including those pupils with an EHC plan.  2(2) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(1)(a), the matters are- – 2(2)(a) full-time supervised education for pupils of compulsory school age (construed in accordance with section 8 of the Education Act 1996), which gives pupils experience in linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical and aesthetic and creative education; – 2(2)(d) personal, social, health and economic education which- – 2(2)(d)(ii) encourages respect for other people, paying particular regard to the

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Part 1. Quality of education provided

protected characteristics set out in the 2010 Act[9]; – 2(2)(f) where the school has pupils below compulsory school age, a programme of activities which is appropriate to their educational needs in relation to personal, social, emotional and physical development and communication and language skills; – 2(2)(i) effective preparation of pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life in British society.  3 The standard in this paragraph is met if the proprietor ensures that the teaching at the school- – 3(a) enables pupils to acquire new knowledge and make good progress according to their ability so that they increase their understanding and develop their skills in the subjects taught; – 3(c) involves well planned lessons and effective teaching methods, activities and management of class time; – 3(d) shows a good understanding of the aptitudes, needs and prior attainments of the pupils, and ensures that these are taken into account in the planning of

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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- 12 to 14 November 2024 – 5(a) actively promotes the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs; – 5(b) ensures that principles are actively promoted which- – 5(b)(v) further tolerance and harmony between different cultural traditions by enabling pupils to acquire an appreciation of and respect for their own and other cultures; – 5(b)(vi) encourage respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the 2010 Act.

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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.

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Early years learning and development requirements

1.15 The provider must ensure children have sufficient opportunities to learn and reach a good standard in English language during the early years foundation stage, ensuring children are ready to benefit from the opportunities available to them when they begin Year 1. 12 to 14 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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Early years learning and development requirements

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Early years learning and development requirements

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Early years learning and development requirements

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Early years learning and development requirements

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