Aim Habonim

Inspection of Aim Habonim 51 Rigby Street, Salford M7 4NX

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Sixth-form provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Does the school meet the independent school standards?

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, who all have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are excited to come to school and keen to learn. Staff give them a warm and friendly welcome when they arrive in the morning. The school is a calm and well-ordered environment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in school, following the rules and routines steadfastly. Staff consistently manage pupils’ behaviour effectively. This helps pupils to understand their expectations. Pupils are polite and respectful to each other, staff and visitors. This makes the school a harmonious environment for all.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ achievement. It has thought carefully about how best to meet pupils’ needs and ensure that, as much as possible, they are prepared to live independently in the future. Pupils achieve well from their starting points. Sixth-form students are well prepared to move onto further education, employment or training.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the broad and varied opportunities for visitors, trips and life skills work. They relish the roles and responsibilities they can take on, such as classroom monitors. In the sixth form, students learn skills such as how to cook a nutritious meal and sell them locally as part of a school enterprise project.

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better?

The school’s curriculum, including in the early years and sixth form, is rooted in the proprietor’s vision that every pupil gets an education which allows them to achieve their potential. The school identifies carefully any additional needs which pupils may have in addition to those recognised in their education, health and care (EHC) plans. Throughout the curriculum and in additional therapy sessions, the school typically meets pupils’ needs well.

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better?

The school’s curriculum is organised into three distinct ‘pathways’. In each pathway, the school has identified the core knowledge that pupils need to learn. It has thought carefully about the order in which pupils learn this new content. For example, pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), concentrate on developing their communication skills before moving onto learning how to read. Additionally, in the sixth-form pathways, the curriculum focuses primarily on developing students’ independence and vocational interests. For example, some students begin to follow vocational pathways into construction or childcare. This helps these students to be ready for their next steps in education, employment or training.

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better?

Typically, teachers use assessment well. They check with precision how much pupils remember from their previous learning. This means that pupils can draw more on their knowledge when encountering something new. However, from time to time, teachers’ checks do not get to the core of pupils’ understanding. When this happens, 15 to 17 July 2025 pupils move on to new learning before they are ready. This hampers how well some pupils build up a secure body of knowledge over time.

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better?

The school recognises the importance of reading. Staff share books with pupils and pupils read to someone, or are read to, every day. This helps them to experience a variety of different literature. Once pupils are ready, they learn a carefully thought- out phonics programme. Pupils who find reading more difficult receive effective support so that, over time, they learn to read with greater fluency and success.

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better?

The school’s approach to teaching early writing skills is not as well developed. A significant proportion of the pupils find writing difficult. The school has not ensured that it has provided staff with the necessary professional development they need to help pupils to develop valuable writing skills. For example, some of the activities that teachers choose do not support pupils to develop secure letter formation. Overall, this means that some pupils do not acquire the writing skills they need to help them write effectively.

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better?

Strong, warm and positive relationships permeate the school. Pupils and sixth-form students are well cared for. They show high levels of empathy towards each other. Children in the early years learn to manage their feelings and emotions well. As pupils move through the school, they increasingly become more proficient in managing their own behaviour. The school has a sharp focus on ensuring that pupils come to school often. It understands well the varying reasons which may affect pupils’ attendance. Where needed, the school puts in necessary support. As a result, pupils come to school regularly.

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better?

At the correct time in their emotional development, pupils encounter an appropriate personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education curriculum. This teaches pupils how to keep themselves safe and learn about different types of relationships. Pupils also learn how to keep themselves physically healthy. Pupils and sixth-form students receive high-quality careers guidance.

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better?

The proprietor holds the school to account for its performance. It regularly checks how well pupils are achieving with support from an effective governing body. Staff enjoy working at the school. They value the work that the school does to support their workload.

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better?

The systems and processes that the proprietor has in place ensures that the independent school standards (the standards) are consistently met. For example, the school’s premises are kept to a high standard. Additionally, staff have a wealth of expertise in working with pupils with SEND. The school meets the requirements of schedule 10 of the Equality Act 2010.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 15 to 17 July 2025

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(Information for the school and proprietor)

 The school has not ensured that staff have the necessary expertise and understanding of how to develop pupils’ early writing skills or to implement the writing curriculum as effectively as they should. This means that staff do not support pupils effectively to become proficient writers and pupils’ achievement is hindered. The school should ensure that it provides staff with the appropriate support and professional development so that they can implement this area of the curriculum more effectively.  Staff do not consistently make effective checks on pupils’ understanding. This means that, at times, staff have not identified if pupils have the required prior knowledge before moving them on to new content. The school should ensure that teachers use assessment strategies more effectively so that they are assured that pupils understand what they have been taught.

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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. 15 to 17 July 2025

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School details

Unique reference number 135633 DfE registration number 355/6056

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School details

Inspection number 10391746 Type of school Other independent special school

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School details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed

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sixth form

Annual fees (day pupils) £30,677 to £55,000

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sixth form

Date of previous inspection 1 to 3 November 2022 15 to 17 July 2025

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Information about this school

 The school provides full-time education for pupils with various SEND. Most pupils have an EHC plan. The school caters for a range of needs including PMLD, severe learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulties and autism. The school caters for pupils aged from 0 to 25 years.  The school is a Jewish faith school and is registered to admit up to 150 pupils.  The school operates from premises located at 51 Rigby Street, Salford, Manchester M7 4NX. There are two further premises located at The Studio, Bailey Street, Prestwich, Manchester M25 1HQ and 9 Leicester Avenue, Salford, M7 4HA.  The school’s previous standard inspection took place from 1 to 3 November 2022. A material change inspection took place on 2 April 2025.  The school does not currently make any use of 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 evaluation about the quality of a school’s provision.  Inspectors discussed the 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.  The lead inspector met with the proprietor.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, geography and PSHE. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions 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.  Inspectors looked at pupils’ work from other curriculum subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of the school, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and honest

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Information about this inspection

culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  School policies and other documents were examined to check compliance with the standards and to provide other inspection evidence. These included the school’s evaluation of its own performance and its development plan. Behaviour and 15 to 17 July 2025 attendance records and information relating to safeguarding were also scrutinised.  As part of their checks on the school’s compliance with the standards, inspectors made a tour of the school premises accompanied by the headteacher.

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Inspection team

Stuart Perkins, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Phill Walmsley Ofsted Inspector 15 to 17 July 2025 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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