Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls takes 'brave' steps to improve, says Ofsted

Leaders of a state-aided Charedi secondary school in Stamford Hill have taken some “brave” decisions to improve it since it was ranked inadequate four years ago, Ofsted says.

As a result, inspectors have upgraded Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls School to a school that “requires improvement” after their latest visit.

The quality of education “has turned a corner and is now acceptable,” they said in their report published on Friday.

But while staff have higher expectations, pupils do not benefit from a a good quality of education overall and weaknesses remain in some subjects.

Pupils are exposed to “a limited range of English texts”, which limits their opportunities to deepen their understanding of the curriculum.

While redesign of the key stage 3 curriculum had made it more coherent and ambitious, transition to key stage 4 is still a “work in progress”.

Teachers’ professional development has been stronger in science and geography than in art and history.

Pupils’ behaviour and attitude to learning are “consistently strong”. They have a clear understanding of mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, and bullying is rare.

Relationships education has also improved and includes "discussions about consent in the context of personal relationships”.

In citizenship, “they enjoy discussing live ethical and moral issues in society. However, leaders place some restrictions on what pupils can learn. For example, pupils do not learn about same-sex relationships and gender reassignment.”

Four years ago, Ofsted criticised the school for censoring textbooks.