Ofsted has upgraded a strictly Orthodox grammar school in Edgware it once branded as “dysfunctional”, recognising that changes made since its last full inspection three years ago demonstrates a “capacity to improve”.
The independent Menorah Grammar for boys was judged inadequate in 2020 – when inspectors commented that it was dysfunctional – and in 2022 but after the latest evaluation, it is now rated as “requires improvement”.
Ofsted said the curriculum had been redesigned and pupils largely showed “positive attitudes towards their education”.
Leaders had made “some improvements since the last inspection to meet some of the previously unmet independent school standards”.
Boys begin studying for their GCSEs in year 9 and start A-level courses in year 11, leaving at the end of year 12 to go to yeshivah.
While they studied a broad curriculum, it did not meet the ambition of the national curriculum in some areas, Ofsted reported.
Menorah Grammar had designed personal development programme that “supports pupils to be tolerant of and respect people with different beliefs and values”.
However, they were not taught “an appropriate depth of knowledge” about aspects such as sexual orientation in order to prepare them fully for life in modern Britain, Ofsted said.
The reluctance of Charedi schools to teach about LGBT issues continues to cause problems for them with the inspectorate.
Two Charedi secondary schools in Manchester – Beis Hatalmud for boys and Beis Ruchel for girls – were found not to be meeting independent school standards after recent Ofsted visits.
Pupils were “not taught the important information that they needed about different types of relationships”, inspectors reported at Beis Hatalmud.
At Beis Ruchel, “pupils do not learn about the protected characteristics of sexual orientation and gender reassignment,” Ofsted said. “Neither do they learn about different faiths and religions.”
