Outstanding Yavneh Primary charms inspectors again

Yavneh Primary School in Borehamwood has maintained the standards that led to its being rated outstanding by Ofsted six years ago, according to its latest inspection.

The inspectorate no longer awards headline grades to state schools but made clear its enthusiasm about the education available at the state-aided primary which has grown significantly from 181 to 420 pupils since its last inspection.

Its motto “a world built on kindness” underpinned everything that happened at the school, where pupils behaved “exceptionally well” throoughout the day, Ofsted reported.

Staff “instil in pupils the important values they need to be well prepared for life beyond Yavneh. Staff and pupils live and breathe ‘The Yavneh Way’ in all they do. This creates a close-knit community where pupils thrive.”

The curriculum “inspires pupils to develop new talents such as learning to play the trombone,” Ofsted said. Pupils represent their school with pride as members of the choir or in various local sporting events.

“Carefully chosen trips, to places such as the Royal Albert Hall or Shakespeare’s Globe, teach pupils more about the topics they learn in school. This all helps to spark pupils’ aspirations as future archaeologists, artists, computer programmers and more.”

Older pupils valued the chance to “get stuck into a good book from the well-stocked library”. They often wrote with flair, producing “vibrant and interesting work”.

Avid readers: a Yavneh pupil[Missing Credit]

Children demonstrated “exceptional levels of respect for those who are different to them”.

Headteacher Caroline Field said, “This is a huge moment for our school. Growing a school while protecting what makes it special is no small task. I am immensely proud of our incredible staff, our pupils and our community who have worked so hard to meet this challenge head-on.”

Spencer Lewis, executive head of the Yavneh Multi-Academy Trust, added, “Outstanding once is an honour. Outstanding twice and after doubling in size is a remarkable achievement.”

Yavneh Primary was recently judged outstanding in all areas of Jewish studies by Pikuach, the Board of Deputies’ inspection service.