Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School Parkside Dollis Hill London NW2 6RJ

Kodesh Studies Inspection

Inspection dates 1-2 Shevat / 21-22 January 2015

Overall effectiveness Good 2

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Quality of teaching Good 2

Achievement Good 2

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSC) Outstanding 1

Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2

Leadership and management Good 2

Early Years Provision Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and students

This is a good school with several outstanding features.

. Pupils attain high standards particularly in kri’oh (reading), chumash (Bible), mishnah and gemoroh (Talmud), and are very well-prepared for the next stage of their education. . The quality of teaching is consistently good, and occasionally outstanding, which enables pupils of all abilities to make excellent progress. . The experienced leadership and management team work tirelessly to ensure that the teaching continues to improve and that the pupils achieve ever higher standards. ______

Inspection report: Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School, London, January 2015, Page 1 of 10

. The SMSC provision is outstanding, with a range of successful middos (character refinement) programmes. A spiritual atmosphere pervades the school. . The Early Years provision is outstanding, as pupils make significant progress from their starting points in a warm and caring environment. . The outstanding kri’oh (reading) and vocabulary curricula create a platform for pupils to gain the skills to succeed at all their kodesh studies. . The unique cross-curricular partnership between all kodesh and chol (regular) staff engenders an holistic approach to all aspects of the school’s prevision, which is of great benefit to the pupils. . Pupils’ attitudes towards learning are positive. Their behaviour is good and they are supportive of each other.

It is not yet an outstanding school because

. In some lessons rebbes (kodesh teachers) have yet to ensure that all pupils take responsibility for their learning and progress. . Pupils’ behaviour around the school is good but not impeccable. . The pupils’ progress and attainment at yedioh klolis (general knowledge) is inconsistent.

Information about this inspection

. All kodesh teachers were observed and samples of pupils’ written work were scrutinised. . Meetings were held with the Principal (Head of kodesh studies), his deputy, the Headteacher, the kodesh SENco, the Head of Early Years, all the rebbes, the Chair of Governors and with pupils of the three oldest classes. . Pupils across the age and ability range were tested on their reading skills and pupils of Years 4-6 across the ability range were tested to assess their knowledge of chumash, talmud, mishna, and yedioh klolis. . The inspector considered the views of 42 parents and carers who responded in December 2014 to a parental survey (concerning the kodesh provision) conducted by the school. . All classes were observed during shacharis (morning prayer), and the inspector participated in the mincha (afternoon) service.

Inspector

Rabbi Nathaniel Lieberman

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Inspection report: Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School, London, January 2015, Page 2 of 10

Full report

Information about this school

. Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah is an orthodox Jewish primary school, catering for 3-11 year old boys. There are 209 students on roll and there is a waiting list of pupils who wish to join the school. . It aims to meet the needs of orthodox Jewish families in the North West London area by providing a dual curriculum - both a high-quality National Curriculum secular tuition and an orthodox Jewish education which imbues pupils with middos tovos (good character) and a love of torah and mitzvos. . Kodesh studies are taught during the first lesson daily and represent more than 50% of lessons. As the school delivers an holistic, cross- curricular education, and pupils are at school for 7-8 hours daily and on Sunday and Bank Holiday mornings, it is able to provide a full National Curriculum alongside its kodesh provision. . The percentage of pupils with an Educational Health & Care Plan and those on School Support is in line with the national average but is above average for an orthodox Jewish primary school. There are 9 EAL pupils listed on the school’s Provision Map/Inclusion Register. . The school employs all its rebbes on a full-time basis, which enables many KS2 classes to be split according to ability, and allows rebbes to give extra support to the most and least able pupils. The school also employs a SENco, a kodesh SENco and a Pupil Support Officer. . The school’s last Section 48 inspection was in November 2011.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

- Improve the quality of teaching from good to outstanding by ensuring that all rebbes encourage their pupils to take some responsibility for their own learning. - Encourage pupils to maintain decorum at all times when moving around the building. - Re-visit the yedioh klolis curriculum and ensure that it progresses from year to year. Assessments should be instituted to ensure that this subject is taught effectively.

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Inspection report: Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School, London, January 2015, Page 3 of 10 Inspection judgements

Leadership and management

. The quality of leadership and management of kodesh studies is good. The Principal and his deputy have a clear vision of what they want pupils to achieve and a strong commitment to ensuring constant improvement in the quality of teaching and achievement of pupils. . The quality of self-evaluation within the kodesh department is outstanding and matches very closely the outcomes of the inspection. This self-evaluation has formed the basis of the school improvement plan which the kodesh team is implementing. . The kodesh leadership has a strong commitment to cross-curricular teaching and the Principal has created a unique curriculum that enables the school to cover the full National Curriculum alongside a full kodesh curriculum. . Last term this curriculum was extended by the teachers of each class meeting to plan cross-curricular work themselves. The leadership is currently analysing the results as it bids to reinforce its commitment to a curriculum that prepares pupils for life as proud Jews in modern Britain. . The school’s new ‘Palm Tree’ behaviour system, which has successfully improved the standards of behaviour during lessons, is also cross- curricular and was sourced and adapted jointly by the Vice-Principal and the Deputy Headteacher. . Both kodesh and chol teachers are full-time employees. This allows all staff to work collaboratively for the benefit of pupils, as the rebbes and teachers of each class meet regularly to assess pupils’ academic and social progress . SMSC provision is also cross-curricular. For example, both kodesh and chol staff promoting the middah of the term, organising extra- curricular activities together and contributing jointly to creating and enforcing the school’s ten golden rules. . The overwhelming majority of parents/carers who responded to a recent questionnaire felt that the kodesh department is well led and managed. Typical comments were: ‘We are extremely pleased with all areas of our son’s learning.’ ‘The rebbes really care about my boys and go out of their way to ensure they are happy.’ Parents who came to collect their sons were also fulsome in their praise for the school. . Middle leaders who have been promoted within the past two years include a support teacher who has become the kodesh SENco, and a class teacher who has assumed responsibility for the school-wide vocabulary curriculum. . The governing body is passionate about the school and assumes responsibility for maintaining its ethos. It has an accurate and intimate knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of teaching at the school,

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Inspection report: Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School, London, January 2015, Page 4 of 10 and places great emphasis on providing high-quality professional development for the kodesh staff. . The governors work together with the Principal in an atmosphere of mutual respect. They discuss school issues regularly, both on a formal and informal basis.

Students’ behaviour and safety is good

. The behaviour of pupils in kodesh lessons is good. However, pupils can be rather boisterous in the corridors between lessons and as they move around the school. . There is minimal low-level disruption during lessons, principally by boys who lose interest when the rebbe concentrates his attention on one section of the class. . A positive and friendly atmosphere permeates the school, and is reflected by the warm family-style relationship between the Principal, the rebbes and the pupils. . Pupils show respect to visiting adults by greeting them in a friendly manner and by ensuring they have a prayer book when they join the school for prayer services. . Pupils’ attendance is well above average with less than 1% of unauthorised absences. . The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is robust. A full-time security guard is employed and he is assisted by the school’s caretaker. In light of recent events, plans are in hand to further increase security as the school is fronted by a large open space. . Pupils are fully aware of how to stay safe and how to lead healthy lifestyles. They are taught that to look after one’s health is an important mitzvah (commandment) of the torah. . Staff, pupils and parents and carers all agree that there is virtually no bullying at school, and that any instances are dealt with swiftly and effectively.

The quality of teaching is good

. The quality of teaching is good overall with a significant number of lessons judged as outstanding. Other Jewish schools sent their rebbes to observe the teaching at this school. . Rebbes have been trained, and receive ongoing monitoring and training from the senior management, to a high standard. In the majority of lessons it was noted that: o The rebbes truly care for their pupils and consequently enjoy a close and friendly relationship with them. o Rebbes spend long hours outside the classroom preparing tailor- made powerpoint presentations for use with the interactive

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Inspection report: Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School, London, January 2015, Page 5 of 10 whiteboards (this was particularly noticeable in a Year 6 lesson), which are a very effective aid for both learning and revision. o Rebbes engender participation by pupils through the use of incentive schemes, encouragement and praise, skilful and probing questioning, and a positive and lively atmosphere within the classroom. o Rebbes teach the pupils skills to enable them to work out for themselves sections of the subject matter, whether it is chumash, mishna or gemoroh. This excites the pupils and they generally participate with enthusiasm. . However, in some lessons the pupils have not been guided to take enough responsibility for their own learning. Consequently, if the rebbe concentrates on a single boy or group for a short period the other pupils can become restless. In a couple of classes this led to low-level disruption. . The rebbes are very secure in their subject knowledge and serve as excellent role-models for the pupils, who look up to them and try to please them. When the rebbe asked his Year One boys, ‘Who can help rebbe work out the translation of this word?’, they responded with great enthusiasm. . The displays in classrooms and around the school, which feature a mixture of educational posters and pupils’ work, enhance the strong learning environment. . Rebbes have a sound knowledge of the standard of their pupils. They set weekly written tests in the core subjects, and use this assessment to track pupils’ progress and to prepare lessons. There is also close cooperation between the kodesh and chol teachers to assist in acquiring an overall picture of every pupil. . The Principal tests all classes orally on a weekly basis, and meets the rebbe and teacher of each class at least once a term to monitor every pupil’s progress. . Plans are at an advanced stage to introduce the ALICE tracking system, which would combine all the assessment data (both academic and social – kodesh and chol) for all pupils on a single programme, which will enable all staff to have an holistic set of data from which to plan their lessons and interventions. . The SENco provides targeted support for pupils with special educational needs, and rebbes utilise their non-contact time to extend support to groups or individuals of both higher and lower-ability pupils throughout the school.

The achievement of pupils is good.

. Students’ achievement in kodesh studies is good overall and sometimes outstanding. High-achievers are given extra lessons in small groups and extension work in class. As the principal of a leading

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Inspection report: Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School, London, January 2015, Page 6 of 10 local Jewish grammar school testifies in a letter to the school, ‘You prepare your pupils well for Grammar School.’ . Year One pupils have already mastered 147 chumash words, once again utilising the interactive whiteboard, as they build up their chumash skills. . Mishna is taught from Year 3, and last year’s cohort were all tested on the entire mesechta (tractate) of brochos, with over 50% of the class going on to master it by heart. . The vocabulary, or ‘word’, curriculum enables pupils to approach all textual work with confidence, and by Year 6 the more able pupils have internalised the skills to read and explain many daffim (pages) of gemoroh with aplomb. . Hebrew reading standards throughout the school are excellent, and, following extensive re-structuring of the teaching methodology, they are now outstanding in the lower end of the school. The tracking system indicates a 28% year-on-year improvement in the already-high standards of blending vowels with letters by Reception pupils. . The standards of yedioh klolis are inconsistent and indicate that this subject is taught in a somewhat haphazard fashion. . Evidence gained from discussions with older pupils indicates that they are confident and articulate. Pupils agreed that they enjoy their kodesh lessons. When asked what they appreciated most about the kodesh at school, the pupils responded that it was the fact that their rebbes helped them make excellent progress. . Pupils with special educational needs receive effective support both within and outside the classroom which enables the vast majority of them to make good progress. . All pupils benefit from the streaming of the older classes for mishna and gemoroh, and from the extra support that is provided to groups of pupils of all abilities in the form of small-group or one-to-one sessions.

Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding

. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. There is a strong spiritual flavour to the school, and pupils are taught British values about democracy, to respect law and order, and to have respect and tolerance for all faiths and cultures primarily through the kodesh curriculum. . The school has developed its own middos programme, which is based on the chumash lessons. Thus the Year 2 pupils were able to identify the middah of zerizus (alacrity) in the verses of chumash that they were studying. They then wrote about that middah and drew a picture to illustrate their work. The more-able pupils were able to find the find five allusions to zerizus in the actual words of the chumash. . There is also a ‘middoh of the Term’, which encompasses both the kodesh and chol departments, and work by pupils on this term’s middoh of ‘correct speech’ is displayed on the dining-room walls. This ______

Inspection report: Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School, London, January 2015, Page 7 of 10 middoh is reinforced daily during lunch by short talks from the Principal. . Arrangements for shacharis and mincha (morning and afternoon prayers), meet the requirements for collective worship. Pupils treat these sessions with respect, and –particularly in Years 4 and 5- they pray loudly and enthusiastically. . Prominent displays in classrooms and around the school, in both Hebrew and English, of the school ten golden rules, highlight the importance of assisting the less fortunate and doing chessed (kindness) to others. . The inspector noticed several instances where older pupils patiently assisted younger boys in a caring manner. This is encouraged via the Huff & Puff programme, via the Friendship Bench in the playground, via Year 6 monitors who are charged with assisting the younger classes, amongst other initiatives. . Within the past six months pupils contributed to the wider community by staging a non-uniform day to raise money for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, and by going on a sponsored walk during the Healthy Eating week to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care. They also performed as a school choir at the local Sage sheltered living complex and at the Holocaust Survivors’ Centre. . The kodesh curriculum is further enhanced by various extra-curricular activities such as the Year Six 3-day walking tour and the annual lag b’omer outing, which are carefully planned by both kodesh and chol staff to provide a host of opportunities for social, moral, cultural and spiritual development.

The Early Years Provision is outstanding

. The cross-curricular and thematic teaching in the Early Years Department is robust, and includes a healthy balance of teacher-led and child-initiated learning. . Achievement in Early Years is outstanding, with some Reception boys demonstrating that they can already read three syllable words with endings. This is due to the innovative way of davvening (prayer) in that class, where the boys follow on the interactive whiteboard as they chant the prayers, which leads to advanced word recognition. . There is a buzz of purposeful activity in the Nursery during free-play. Children behave sensibly as they utilise the excellent resources and busy themselves with a range of well-planned activities. . Activities in EY are cross-curricular and thematic. They are planned around the Jewish calendar. For example, they are currently doing activities concerning trees and fruit, in advance of the minor Jewish festival of tu b’Shevat (new year for trees). These include a discussion of healthy eating, exploring the countries that grow different fruits, the brochos (blessings) recited before eating fruit (which depend on how ______

Inspection report: Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School, London, January 2015, Page 8 of 10 the fruit grows), counting up to 15 because it is customary to eat 15 different fruits on tu b’Shevat, creating speech bubbles with names of fruits, and cutting, painting and hanging fruit on a tree. The children also read Handa’s Surprise with its fruit theme, which is based in Africa, and some Nursery children were busy creating their own Masai necklaces when the inspector visited. Even the PE lesson had a fruit theme, with children stretching to retrieve fruit. . Teachers chart children’s progress carefully and are well aware of their needs and capabilities.

What inspection judgements mean

Grade Judgement Description Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires A school that requires improvement is not yet a improvement good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 3043603

Local authority London Borough of Brent

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 48 of the Education Act 2005

Type of school Voluntary aided

School category Primary

Age range of pupils 3-11

Gender of pupils Boys

Number of pupils on the school roll 209

Appropriate authority The governing body

Chair Mr Uriel Kaplan

Principal Rabbi E Klyne

Date of previous school inspection November 2011

Telephone number 020 8450 4377

Email address [email protected]

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Inspection report: Avigdor Hirsch Torah Temimah Primary School, London, January 2015, Page 10 of 10