A strictly Orthodox girls’ school that was ranked outstanding five years ago has been demoted to Ofsted’s lowest grade of inadequate.
Teaching at Beth Jacob Grammar School in Hendon was deemed to be not consistently good enough in all subjects. There was no formal system to check the performance of teachers and the most able pupils were not sufficiently challenged.
Inspectors found a happy and harmonious atmosphere and good pupil behaviour.
But while girls learned what it meant to be a British citizen, they had “very few opportunities to learn about, experience and gain an understanding of other faiths and cultures”.
In addition, pupils were “not taught explicitly about issues such as sexual orientation.
“This restricts pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and does not promote equality of opportunity in ways that take account of differing lifestyles.”
Ofsted also found shortcomings in safeguarding arrangements, reporting that governors had not undertaken statutory training. But staff had been trained in accordance with the latest guidance from the Department for Education.