Ahavas Torah Boys Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 17 June 2025

Although the school has made some positive changes that impact on pupils' safety, the quality of their education is poor. The school's expectations of pupils' achievement are low. Consequently, most pupils leave the school with very few qualifications. They are not prepared for their next steps into education, employment or training. Pupils feel safe and happy at Ahavas Torah because they know that staff care about them. Pupils are confident to speak to staff about any worries that they may have. They have faith in staff to act on any concerns that are raised. Pupils have responded well to the increased expectations that staff have of their behaviour and conduct. Typically, pupils behave well around the school. However, the legacy of lower expectations in the past persists. Pupils' attitudes to learning are not good enough. They show minimal effort in their studies. This contributes to their weak progress through the curriculum. There are very few opportunities for pupils to learn about how different people live or to develop their talents and interests. Pupils have a weak understanding of the range of ways that people can be different. This includes those people who have characteristics that are protected by law. Although pupils are taught to show respect to others, their understanding of what this means in modern Britain is limited.

What the school should improve

• Pupils do not study a broad or ambitious curriculum. They do not develop the knowledge and skills that they need to achieve well. This leaves them ill-prepared for their next steps in education, employment or training. The school must ensure that the curriculum enables pupils to gain the knowledge that they need, across a broad range of subjects, to be successful at the end of Year 11 in readiness for their future.
• Pupils' misconceptions and gaps in their knowledge are not identified or rectified. Staff do not have the expertise to check that pupils know and remember more. This means that some pupils do not gain a secure foundation for later learning. The school should ensure that teachers use assessment strategies effectively to identify and then address gaps in pupils' learning.
• Most pupils only study English and mathematics within the secular curriculum. In these subjects, the school has not considered what pupils should learn and the order in which this knowledge should be taught. This prevents staff from designing learning that helps pupils to build on what they know. The school must ensure that the curriculum in each subject sets out the key information that pupils must know and the order in which it should be taught.
• The school's provision for careers education is limited. This means that pupils are not able to make informed choices about their next steps in education, employment or training. The school must ensure that pupils have access to a careers programme that enables them to be better prepared for their steps to success.
• The provision for pupils' personal development is weak. Consequently, pupils do not learn enough about diversity in society or fundamental British values. Furthermore, pupils do not learn age-appropriate RSE. The school must ensure that there is an appropriate programme to support pupils' wider development, so that they are well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• Pupils have limited opportunities to contribute to their school and the local community. This means that they do not learn the value or importance of contributing to society, nor do they gain a sense of responsibility. They have few opportunities to foster their interests. The school should extend its provision, so that pupils are able to develop their talents and gain the skills and qualities that they need to become active and positive members of the school community and society.
• Pupils' attitudes to learning are not good enough. They regularly produce work that is of low quality and does not reflect their best efforts. The school should support staff to have consistently high expectations of pupils' attitudes to learning.
• The proprietor has not ensured that the school meets all of the standards and fulfils its statutory responsibilities. This impacts negatively on the quality of education that pupils receive as well as their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The proprietor must ensure that the school consistently and securely meets all of the standards and that all statutory responsibilities are met in full.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)