Beis Yaakov Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Beis Yaakov Primary School 373 Edgware Road, London NW9 6NQ

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Inspection dates: 11 and 12 February 2025

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Outcome

Beis Yaakov Primary 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 flourish in this vibrant and ambitious school community. They are happy, safe, and supported by staff who have high expectations for both their academic achievement and personal development. The school’s strong safeguarding culture ensures that pupils feel confident in speaking to trusted adults if they have any concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils rise to the high expectations set for them. They are enthusiastic learners and demonstrate resilience and perseverance in tackling challenges. The school focuses on developing high-quality teaching. This ensures that pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make strong progress through the curriculum and achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour around the school is typically positive. The school’s proactive approach to behaviour management, including comprehensive mental health and pastoral support, ensures that any low-level disruption is addressed swiftly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a rich school life beyond the classroom, engaging in extracurricular clubs, leadership opportunities and educational visits. The curriculum promotes fundamental British values and effectively fosters an inclusive ethos. This is a school where pupils feel valued, challenged, and well-prepared for their next steps.

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

The school delivers an ambitious curriculum that has been carefully designed to meet the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND. Reading is central to learning, with phonics embedded from the start. Children in the Nursery develop early listening and sound recognition skills to prepare them for phonics lessons in the Reception Year. Targeted 11 and 12 February 2025

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interventions, including daily one-to-one sessions, help those who need additional support to close learning gaps. Pupils achieve highly in phonics screening checks as a result. Carefully chosen books expand pupils’ understanding of the wider world, and they engage in thoughtful discussions on themes such as fairness and justice.

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The early years provides a nurturing and well-organised environment where children practise the essential early skills across all areas of learning. A well-sequenced curriculum in the Nursery brings together both secular and Jewish studies, offering pupils meaningful and diverse learning opportunities. Activities such as mark-making promote fine motor skills, with additional occupational therapy support where needed. This prepares children in the Nursery very well for writing. Classroom routines help develop children’s listening, communication, and independence. Early mathematical concepts are introduced through well-considered activities, such as pattern recognition and shape sorting. Children’s progress through the curriculum is checked, ensuring they are ready for Year 1.

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Teachers generally demonstrate strong subject knowledge. For example, in English, pupils are taught the skills to write with fluency and clarity. By the time they leave the school, many pupils develop a unique writing style. The new approach to handwriting is helping some pupils improve the accuracy of their letter formation. Typically, pupils with SEND benefit from well-planned adaptations. This enables them to access the curriculum alongside their peers.

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Some subjects are at an earlier stage of development. In these instances, assessment practices are being developed. There are times where pupils’ misconceptions are not identified or addressed in a timely way. Similarly, some teaching activities are not closely linked to the intended curriculum. This means that some pupils do not build on and deepen their understanding as well as they could.

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The school has maintained high standards for pupils’ attendance. This is because they have put a range of successful systems in place to help remove barriers that may prevent pupils from attending regularly. They prioritise cultivating close relationships with the community to ensure attendance remains strong.

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Peer mediation and behaviour interventions contribute to the school’s culture where pupils feel safe. Classrooms and transitions are mostly calm. Pupils are taught what it means to show respect for their teachers and peers. Bullying is rare and dealt with effectively when it occurs.

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Pupils’ personal development is a real strength of the school. The curriculum helps pupils develop an understanding of personal safety, online awareness, and healthy relationships. The curriculum has been expertly designed to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain. Leadership opportunities, such as peer mediators and school council roles, foster confidence, and responsibility. Enrichment activities, including clubs in science, sewing and games, alongside visits to museums and historical sites, provide valuable learning experiences beyond the classroom. British values are actively promoted, and the school provides many opportunities for discussions, debates and role play to build on pupils’ communication skills. 11 and 12 February 2025

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The school benefits from strong, strategic leadership with a clear vision for sustained improvement. Staff feel well supported and workload is carefully managed. Professional development and initiatives, such as on-site childcare, are in place to support staff’s well- being.

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Parental engagement is a strength. The school organises a range of events to ensure families are actively involved in their children’s learning. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly supportive of the school. Governance is effective, with governors providing an effective balance of challenge and support to leaders. They understand the school’s priorities and work closely with leaders to ensure all statutory duties are met.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some subjects are at an earlier stage of design and new assessment strategies are not fully embedded. In these instances, some tasks and activities do not build well on pupils’ prior knowledge. Similarly, misconceptions are not consistently identified and addressed. As a result, some pupils develop gaps in their understanding and do not secure the depth of knowledge they should. The school should ensure that activity choices consistently reflect the ambition of the curriculum, and that assessment is used effectively to provide pupils with the best chance of building their knowledge securely over time.

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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, 11 and 12 February 2025

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behaviour, or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in May 2019.

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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). 11 and 12 February 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 15 May 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school has an orthodox Jewish character.  Pupils study the subjects of the national curriculum as well as Jewish studies.  The school does not make use of any alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s educational provision.  This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher and other senior leaders. The inspector also held discussions with a representative of the local authority and members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. 11 and 12 February 2025

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 The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  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 spoke to pupils during lesson visits and observed their behaviour in lessons and at transition times.  The inspector considered responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. She also took into consideration the online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Sabrina Edwards, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 11 and 12 February 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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