Clore Tikva School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Clore Tikva School 115 Fullwell Avenue, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex IG6 2JN

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Inspection dates: 21 and 22 January 2025

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Outcome

Clore Tikva School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Clore Tikva enjoy coming to school. They feel safe and well supported. They appreciate the inclusive and welcoming ethos, where interactions between pupils and staff are warm and respectful. Pupils speak about how they feel part of a strong school community, regardless of their background or faith. They know that if they have any concerns, staff will listen and help them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils’ achievement. Pupils are enthusiastic learners, and they achieve well across the curriculum, particularly in reading and writing. The school has developed a broad and engaging curriculum, enriched by practical experiences, such as scientific investigations and creative opportunities in art and music. Children in Nursery and Reception classes develop strong foundations in English and mathematics through a well-planned, purposeful curriculum that nurtures curiosity, independence and a love of learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour in the school is calm and orderly. Pupils understand the school’s expectations and generally meet them well. Where pupils need additional support to manage their behaviour, staff intervene and provide pupils with ways to manage their feelings. Pupils say that everyone gets on well and that staff act quickly and effectively to resolve any issues, should they arise.

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

Clore Tikva provides a broad, well-structured curriculum. This aims to ensure that pupils develop secure knowledge and skills across subjects. The approach to reading is a clear strength of the school. Pupils receive effective support in phonics and early reading. Staff have received specialist training, which has strengthened their confidence and expertise in 21 and 22 January 2025

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delivering the phonics programme. Pupils who need extra support receive targeted teaching to help them keep up. As a result, pupils develop confidence and fluency in reading, enabling them to access the wider curriculum successfully. The school is committed to fostering a love of reading. Staff read to pupils with enthusiasm, and pupils speak confidently about the books they enjoy. The school also helps pupils to become enthusiastic writers. For example, it supports them to participate in national and local writing competitions.

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Children in the early years get off to a strong start in their learning. They engage well with activities, working and playing together cooperatively. Staff are attentive to children’s individual needs and provide clear guidance to help children learn and practise new knowledge, particularly in early writing and number.

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The school is committed to ongoing refinement of its curriculum. It identifies and acts on aspects that could be stronger. Nevertheless, in a small number of subjects, there are some inconsistencies in how effectively teaching builds on pupils’ prior knowledge. As a result, some pupils do not develop knowledge as securely as they could. To address this, the school is providing targeted training for staff and strengthening approaches to checking what pupils know and remember.

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Staff quickly identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and support them well to access the curriculum. The school is proactive in ensuring that these pupils receive the adaptations that they need to access learning successfully. Teachers make appropriate adjustments to teaching, enabling all pupils to follow the full curriculum.

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Pupils behave well and have positive attitudes to learning. Staff have high expectations, and pupils understand and follow the school’s routines. The school’s nurture provision ensures that pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs are well supported and helped to return to learning alongside their classmates successfully.

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The school is proactive in reducing pupils’ absence. The school tracks attendance carefully, intervening where needed, including for example, through home visits and discussions with families. The school has also initiated a strategy to respond to term-time holidays, which continue to pose a challenge to its work on attendance.

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The school provides a rich and engaging personal development programme. Pupils benefit from initiatives such as peer mentoring, ‘brain buddies’ and leadership roles, which help to develop their confidence and resilience. Computing has a high profile within the school and pupils value the opportunities they have to develop their coding and problem-solving skills. Pupils also learn about different faiths and cultures, and the school ensures that the curriculum promotes mutual respect and understanding.

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The school supports its staff well. It is considerate of teacher workload. For example, the school introduced a new marking policy, which gives teachers more time to focus on classroom activities. Governors provide strong oversight and challenge, ensuring that decisions are made in the best interests of pupils. The school engages positively with 21 and 22 January 2025

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parents and carers and the wider community, strengthening its role as a nurturing and inclusive learning environment.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a small number of subjects, there are some variations in how effectively the curriculum is delivered. Although the school identifies and acts on curriculum areas that need further development, there are instances where the school’s checks on pupils’ learning are not fully effective. Consequently, gaps in pupils’ knowledge or misconceptions still occur. The school should continue to embed and refine curriculum implementation, ensuring that teaching consistently reflects its agreed expectations, and leads to pupils achieving as well as they can.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in February 2020. 21 and 22 January 2025

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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.

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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). 21 and 22 January 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 26 and 27 February 2020, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Clore Tikva is a voluntary-aided Jewish primary school. The school’s most recent section 48 inspection was conducted on 17 and 18 May 2023.  The school runs a breakfast club and an after-school club on the school site.  The school makes use of one registered alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspector carried out this ungraded inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in his evaluation of the school. 21 and 22 January 2025

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 The inspector met with the headteacher and other senior staff. The inspector also held separate meetings with members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector examined a range of documentation provided by the school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: 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.  The inspector also spoke to some parents and considered the responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View. He also reviewed the responses to the Ofsted staff online survey.

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Inspection team

Adam Vincent, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 21 and 22 January 2025

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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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