A growing Strictly Orthodox boys school in Manchester has been downgraded after inspectors found that pupils did not always behave as well as they should and criticised the absence of music on the curriculum.

 The state-aided Manchester Mesivta lost its good rating from 2015 and was told it “requires improvement”  - the third of Ofsted’s four inspection grades - in all areas. In the past seven years, its roll has risen by around 50 per cent to 204 boys from the age of 11 to 16.

 Pupils felt safe and “know that there is always someone who will help them if they are worried”, Ofsted said. Safeguarding was effective and boys received “high-quality” pastoral care.

 Older boys enjoyed taking on responsibilities and acted as buddies to younger pupils, while the pupils’ charitable efforts were noted by inspectors.

 The kodesh (Jewish studies) curriculum was successfully combined with the secular curriculum and in most subjects, teachers used assessment strategies well to check what pupils knew.

 However, some pupils did not achieve as well as they might in some subjects because of weaknesses in the design of the curriculum. Inspectors said the curriculum was not as ambitious as the national curriculum, citing the lack of music teaching in key stage three.

While most pupils behaved well in lessons, some disrupted others in class - and some exhibited “boisterous behaviour” in corridors, Ofsted reported.

 Learning about other faiths and cultures helped boys to become “respectful and tolerant of others, regardless of difference”.

However, leaders were told that pupils must learn about “all the protected characteristics, without exception” - that is, aspects of identity protected under equality law which include same-sex orientation and gender reassignment.