Family & Education
Doing better: Ofsted finds improvements at two Charedi girls schools
Inspectors report high academic expectations at secondary schools in Salford and London
November 20, 2024 11:03
Inspectors report high academic expectations at secondary schools in Salford and London
November 20, 2024 11:03Ofsted has noted improvements at two Charedi girls’ secondary schools that were previously branded inadequate.
Both the state-aided Beis Yaakov High School in Salford and the independent Shiras Devorah in Golders Green received the lowest inspection grade two years ago.
State schools no longer are awarded an overall grade — but Beis Yaakov was given “requires improvement” ratings in all four areas, which was better than its performance in 2022.
In its latest inspection, it was described i as a “close-knit, caring community” where most pupils “rise to meet the high academic expectations that the school sets and their achievement is improving.”
Beis Yaakov had undertaken "significant work to improve the quality of education,” Ofsted reported. It had “considerably improved the breadth and ambition of the overarching curriculum. Pupils now study a wider range of subjects than they did in the past. Typically, most pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well in the subjects that they study.”
But variation in how well some subjects were taught meant the curriculum did not meet the needs of some pupils as well as it should.
New behaviour rules were “helping most pupils to enjoy a calm and purposeful atmosphere around school and in lessons, where they can learn without disruption,” inspectors said.
“However, a minority of pupils do not attend school often enough and this disrupts their learning.”
Inspectors also felt that the opportunities for pupils “to understand and
participate more widely in the world, beyond their own community, are limited”.
As an independent school, Shiras Devorah still received an overall grade at its most recetnt inspection, being classified as “requires improvement”.
The behaviour and attitudes of pupils who were “enthusiastic about their learning and very attentive in lessons” was marked as outstanding.
“Pupils study a range of secular subjects and complete a broad selection of GCSE and vocational qualifications in these curriculum areas,” Ofsted said. “The school has high expectations for all pupils. It focuses on successfully preparing pupils for their progression to the next stage of their education.”
But while the content of English, maths, geography and science was “broad in scope”, the work on the curriculum was not complete in all subjects, Ofsted said.
Pupils encountered “different faiths and beliefs across the curriculum, including, for example, in texts they read in English and when learning about the Spanish Inquisition in history. Educational visits include trips to the Science Museum.”
But not all aspects of the relationships education curriculum were covered as it did "not fully take into account the required content about different forms of relationships that people may have”.