Beis Malka in Stamford Hill judged to ‘require improvement’ despite its good academic education and the outstanding behaviour of its students
March 13, 2025 10:59
A Chasidic independent girls’ school in Stamford Hill, which has been rated good in its previous five inspections since 2007, has been downgraded by Ofsted because it does not teach pupils about LGBT awareness.
Beis Malka, which mainly serves the Belz community and has more than 580 pupils aged from two to 16, has been marked down to “requires improvement” despite its quality of education being rated as good and the behaviour of its pupils outstanding.
While the school taught “the importance of treating everyone equally and with respect”, it did not ensure that secondary-age pupils received “all the required information about respectful relationships.”
Pupils were not taught about “the legal rights of all people” protected under equality law, Ofsted said. “As a result, pupils are not prepared fully for adulthood.”
Schools are required to teach about gender assignment and same-sex orientation as part of relationships and sex education and also in order to comply with independent school standards.
But Charedi schools typically argue that these are matters for parents to discuss, and not for a classroom.
Ofsted was mostly complimentary about Beis Malka, saying it built “professional, supportive bonds with pupils, parents and carers” and care deeply about pupil wellbeing.
“The school provides a wide range of help and support to pupils and families if they struggle,” inspectors reported. “The school treats pupils with a great deal of compassion and respect. This is echoed in the way pupils treat each other. Pupils behave exceptionally well.”
Pupils generally achieved well academically, reflecting the school’s “high ambition”, and reading was given “utmost importance”. They studied a broad range of subjects, meeting the expectations of the national curriculum.
Girls who spoke English as an additional language “become confident, fluent speakers”, Ofsted said.
Beis Malka provided “many opportunities for pupils to explore their talents and interests. For example, pupils share their passion for singing, dancing and set design through regular school performances.”
It also drew on its “strong expertise and recognises the additional needs of pupils with SEND [special educational needs and disabilities] quickly and accurately”.
But inspectors reported that occasionally, subject knowledge in the primary phase was “not sequenced clearly” at the school.
Ten years ago, Ofsted reported that the school’s leaders “prohibit teaching about, or any reference to, certain protected characteristics, for example sexual orientation or preference. The school’s justification for this is that acknowledgement of these characteristics contravenes the school’s ethos. The headteacher commented, ‘If we had to teach that we would have to close as an orthodox school’.”
READ MORE: We’re being victimised by education watchdog, say Charedim