Talmud Torah D'chassidie Belz

Overview

Pupils attend a “happy, friendly school” where they feel “safe and secure” and develop “strong and positive relationships with staff.” The school sets “high expectations for pupils’ achievement,” resulting in pupils who “typically achieve well,” including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders ensure the school meets independent school standards securely, with premises that are “well maintained, clean and tidy.”

Strengths

• The secular curriculum is “broad and ambitious,” with key concepts “carefully broken down into smaller, well-ordered steps” to build a “solid, secure foundation of knowledge.”
• Staff design learning that is “interesting and engaging,” checking regularly to ensure “misconceptions are identified and addressed before pupils move on.”
• Reading is a priority; staff provide “prompt help” for phonics and use books “matched to the letters and sounds that pupils know.”
• Pupils with special educational needs have their needs “identified quickly” and receive “careful adaptations” to fully access the curriculum.
• Staff combine “kindness with firmness” when managing behaviour, helping pupils develop “positive attitudes to learning.”

Areas to improve

• In a small number of subjects, the curriculum lacks sufficient detail on essential knowledge, limiting teachers’ ability to ensure pupils learn what is required for subsequent learning.
• There are occasional inconsistencies in how staff teach the phonics programme, meaning some pupils do not receive the support needed to remember and apply their phonics knowledge.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”