At last — Ofsted praise for a Charedi school

A GIRLS’ primary school run by one of the most conservative Chasidic groups has been praised by inspectors for teaching about tolerance and respect for others.

Beis Ruchel in Manchester, an independent school for 264 girls aged from three to 11 who are mostly from the Satmar community, has been ranked as good by Ofsted.

Girls enjoyed a broad and balanced curriculum, their behaviour was exemplary and teaching in reading and maths was effective, the report noted.

WhiletheirJewishstudieslessonswere conductedinYiddish,thesecomplemented their secular curriculum as pupils studiedaspectsof music,geographyand history through Jewish teachings.

Year six pupils spoke in an assembly about the pros and cons of Brexit and were encouraged to take an interest in the democratic process.

Beis Ruchel’s philosophy was rooted in the “values of the pursuit of justice for all, the call to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ and to follow ways of peace,” Ofsted said.

Pupils expressed the belief “that everyone is of equal value and deserving of respect. As a consequence, the community does not tolerate discrimination and the school’s work to ensure equality of opportunities is admirable. This makes a significant contribution to pupils’ understanding of the fundamental British values and respect for others.”

The school’s experience is in stark contrast to several other Charedi institutions which have been pulled up by inspectors for not fully implementing the government’s “British values” agenda.

TwoschoolsrunbytheBelzChasidim in Stamford Hill, north London, were recently marked down by Ofsted for not teaching about same-sex orientation.

Meanwhile, another independent Charedi school, Ateres Girls High in Gateshead, has been rated inadequate, the lowest inspection grade.

Ofsted said that teaching was variable, the curriculum too narrow and girls could not fulfil their potential because of “limited access to technological and scientific learning and no access to the internet”.