A boys’ school run by one of Stamford Hill’s main Chasidic groups has been rated inadequate for a third successive time after inspectors criticised poor standards of English and its insular curriculum.

Talmud Torah Chaim Meirim Wiznitz received the bottom grade six years ago and again in 2018.

The school, which teaches 263 boys from four to 13, is seeking approval from the Department for Education to expand to 450.

It already has 26 boys more than its current registration limit of 237.

But Ofsted said it was unlikely to meet independent school standards and the renovation of premises would give a capacity of only 400.

The ability of boys to read English fluently was “very limited”, Ofsted said. They struggled with simple books and year six and seven pupils made many mistakes in their reading of words and sentences.

Pupils “only learn Jewish history in depth”, inspectors reported. “They do not have an understanding of British history or that of other countries. Pupils’ geography learning links to themes in the Talmud.”

They did not have an understanding of cultures other than their own and visitors to the school were almost from a “similar faith” to their own.

Plans for personal, health and social education did not take account of the diversity of modern Britain, Ofsted said.

But pupils’ behaviour had improved a lot since the previous inspection and was now rated good. The school had also shown progress in safeguarding and catering for children with special needs.

Inspectors noted that older boys acted as mentors to younger ones when they were ready to start reading the Torah.

Another Chasidic boys’ school in Stamford Hill was criticised by Ofsted a fortnight ago when inspectors found pupils at the Talmud Torah D’Chasidei Gur got confused between English and Yiddish.