Ofsted raps school which dropped English

A SMALL Chasidic secondary school in Salford which offers only a religious curriculum and dropped the teaching of English and maths has been rated inadequate by Ofsted in all categories.

The independent Yeshivah Ohr Torah was also reported to be in breach of its registered limit of 39 pupils since it had 59 boys from 11 to 16 on its roll.

Ofsted said the school — rated good in its last inspection in 2014 — has not taught English and maths for two years following consultation with parents.

But parents could choose to withdraw children from Jewish studies to have tutoring in English and maths in what inspectors described as a “flexi-schooling” arrangement.

Aspects of secular subjects such as history and geography were introduced only when relevant to religious studies and boys did not achieve any recognised qualifications at school.

Parents were “highly supportive” of the school’s education, Ofsted said, but inspectors were unable to speak with pupils “because their parents had withdrawn consent”. The school’s leaders had not encouraged pupils to respect all people protected under the Equality Act, “such as in relation to their sexual orientation or gender reassignment”, or promoted understanding of other faiths and beliefs.

Meanwhile, another independent Chasidic secondary in Salford, Beis Ruchel Girls, has been downgraded from good in 2015 to a school which “requires improvement”. All pupils achieved a GCSE in citizenship or certificate in “Preparation for Working Life”. Yet while they learned about the origins and history of other religions, the school did not promote certain aspects of understanding equality and diversity in Britain.

But there was good news for the Beis Ruchel primary girls’ school in Manchester, which met independent schools standards in Ofsted’s latest inspection.