Yesoiday HaTorah School Manchester

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Yesoiday HaTorah School Manchester's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Yesoiday HaTorah School Manchester is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

www.yhs.org.uk

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

44 | YESOIDAY HATORAH SCHOOL MANCHESTER

Headteacher

Dr Jonathan Yodaiken

Our warm and nurturing

nursery setting

Yesoiday HaTorah Academy School in Prestwich, Greater

Manchester, opened in 1945 as an independent school,

achieving state aid 52 years ago and academy status in

April 2011. From small beginnings, the school is now one of the

largest and most successful schools in Manchester, with over

900 pupils on roll and a five-form entry. Over the last decade,

the school’s results and Ofsted outcomes have been strong, but

this has not come without difficulties. Headteacher Dr Jonathan

Yodaiken has been responsible for turning the school around

and tells the

Review

more about this journey.

Helping others to succeed in education, be it schools or parents, is my passion,

which is why I am a local leader of education, the author of two books on

parenting and a valued consultant, sharing good practice and strategies with

colleagues across the country. I’ve also been a member of the Primary Headteachers

Reference Group for over eight years, which meets regularly in the DfE, reviewing

and discussing, with a group of successful headteachers, education, legislation and

issues pertaining to schools throughout the country.

My philosophy for success can best be described by way of a metaphor of travelling

on a journey. The very experience of travelling and overcoming challenges is

formative. I remember well the comments of a pupil about the redrafting process

within creative writing: “I learnt that mistaking is succeeding.”

Adapting and improving

The challenges we have faced include a quadrupling of the number of pupils on roll

over the last 30 years. We have handled major changes in the Ofsted framework,

REPORT CARD

YESOIDAY HATORAH SCHOOL

MANCHESTER

»Headteacher:

Dr Jonathan Yodaiken

»Founded in 1945

»Established as an academy in

2011

»Based in Prestwich, Greater

Manchester

»Type of school: Primary for

ages 3 to 11

»No. of pupils: 903

»No. of staff: 278

»www.yhs.org.uk

Yesoiday HaTorah

School Manchester

45YESOIDAY HATORAH SCHOOL MANCHESTER |

PRIMARY EDUCATION

»OFSTED QUOTES

“ You have created an

environment of care and

nurture that radiates

throughout the whole

school community. Pupils’

achievements at the expected

and higher standard are well

above that of pupils nationally.”

“ You have high expectations

and lead by example, ably

assisted by the assured,

enthusiastic leadership team.

Parents are amazed at how you

individually care about every

single child. This is impressive

in such a large school.”

the national curriculum and assessment

standards. We have never lost sight of

the raison d’être of our school: raising

aspirations and meeting the needs

of every child. In order to manage

change effectively, we have established

the vision, shared this vision with our

stakeholders and carefully constructed

teams to deliver the new initiative. We

have introduced change by setting mini

targets with reasonable timescales,

which has helped reduce resistance

and encourage engagement.

We have our own coaching champion,

who is highly trained as a coach

and counsellor. In addition, we have

trained the senior leadership team

in basic coaching skills, empowering

staff to be resilient and aspirational

and to engage in school life in a

vibrant and positive way. I believe that

this is the main reason why we have

been so successful in growing our

senior leadership team from our own

teaching staff. An additional benefit is

that staff turnover is very low.

Collaboration within school

and beyond

When I first became headteacher,

we had few links with other schools.

This changed drastically in 2007,

when I took a lead role in the Greater

Manchester Challenge programme.

Professor Mel Ainscow of Manchester

University described our work with a

predominantly Muslim school as “a

partnership which organically watered

the flowers, a gentle process and

crucially a thrifty one”.

Recently, we have collaborated with

schools in delivering assessments

without levels, Singapore maths, maths

mastery and writing moderation,

as well as several leadership and

management initiatives within the

alliance for learning at our strategic

partners, Altrincham Grammar School

for Girls. This collaboration has been

good for our school and has given us

the opportunity to help others.

We have also established teams in key

areas. These include literacy, numeracy,

personal development, cross curricular,

learning environment, several Jewish

studies subjects and British values. Each

team is set up with team leaders who

encourage group review and reflection

and have facilitated an incredible level

of staff engagement and enthusiasm.

Child-centred ethos and

practice

In order to meet the needs of pupils, we

have invested in many experts. These

include three speech therapists, a social

skills lead, two therapeutic play experts,

two dyslexia specialists and a Numicon

champion, all of whom work under

theguidance of our superb SENCO.

Our SEND intervention Chavazelet

programme enables pupils with high

needs to be part of our school. This

provision, housed within a special

classroom, is targeted at integrating

pupils with significant needs. Pupils are

engaged in educational activities, with

added focus on sensory integration and

social skills, in tandem with designated

literacy and numeracy lessons.

One of our therapists has set up a

state-of-the-art therapy room, in

which she uses her skills to provide

beautiful music and dance activities,

in tandem with supporting children’s Our pupils engrossed in

reading in our state-of-

the-art library

Our SEND

intervention

Chavazelet

programme

enables pupils

with high needs

to be part of our

school

“

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

44 | YESOIDAY HATORAH SCHOOL MANCHESTER

Headteacher

Dr Jonathan Yodaiken

Our warm and nurturing

nursery setting

Yesoiday HaTorah Academy School in Prestwich, Greater

Manchester, opened in 1945 as an independent school,

achieving state aid 52 years ago and academy status in

April 2011. From small beginnings, the school is now one of the

largest and most successful schools in Manchester, with over

900 pupils on roll and a five-form entry. Over the last decade,

the school’s results and Ofsted outcomes have been strong, but

this has not come without difficulties. Headteacher Dr Jonathan

Yodaiken has been responsible for turning the school around

and tells the

Review

more about this journey.

Helping others to succeed in education, be it schools or parents, is my passion,

which is why I am a local leader of education, the author of two books on

parenting and a valued consultant, sharing good practice and strategies with

colleagues across the country. I’ve also been a member of the Primary Headteachers

Reference Group for over eight years, which meets regularly in the DfE, reviewing

and discussing, with a group of successful headteachers, education, legislation and

issues pertaining to schools throughout the country.

My philosophy for success can best be described by way of a metaphor of travelling

on a journey. The very experience of travelling and overcoming challenges is

formative. I remember well the comments of a pupil about the redrafting process

within creative writing: “I learnt that mistaking is succeeding.”

Adapting and improving

The challenges we have faced include a quadrupling of the number of pupils on roll

over the last 30 years. We have handled major changes in the Ofsted framework,

REPORT CARD

YESOIDAY HATORAH SCHOOL

MANCHESTER

»Headteacher:

Dr Jonathan Yodaiken

»Founded in 1945

»Established as an academy in

2011

»Based in Prestwich, Greater

Manchester

»Type of school: Primary for

ages 3 to 11

»No. of pupils: 903

»No. of staff: 278

»www.yhs.org.uk

Yesoiday HaTorah

School Manchester

45YESOIDAY HATORAH SCHOOL MANCHESTER |

PRIMARY EDUCATION

»OFSTED QUOTES

“ You have created an

environment of care and

nurture that radiates

throughout the whole

school community. Pupils’

achievements at the expected

and higher standard are well

above that of pupils nationally.”

“ You have high expectations

and lead by example, ably

assisted by the assured,

enthusiastic leadership team.

Parents are amazed at how you

individually care about every

single child. This is impressive

in such a large school.”

the national curriculum and assessment

standards. We have never lost sight of

the raison d’être of our school: raising

aspirations and meeting the needs

of every child. In order to manage

change effectively, we have established

the vision, shared this vision with our

stakeholders and carefully constructed

teams to deliver the new initiative. We

have introduced change by setting mini

targets with reasonable timescales,

which has helped reduce resistance

and encourage engagement.

We have our own coaching champion,

who is highly trained as a coach

and counsellor. In addition, we have

trained the senior leadership team

in basic coaching skills, empowering

staff to be resilient and aspirational

and to engage in school life in a

vibrant and positive way. I believe that

this is the main reason why we have

been so successful in growing our

senior leadership team from our own

teaching staff. An additional benefit is

that staff turnover is very low.

Collaboration within school

and beyond

When I first became headteacher,

we had few links with other schools.

This changed drastically in 2007,

when I took a lead role in the Greater

Manchester Challenge programme.

Professor Mel Ainscow of Manchester

University described our work with a

predominantly Muslim school as “a

partnership which organically watered

the flowers, a gentle process and

crucially a thrifty one”.

Recently, we have collaborated with

schools in delivering assessments

without levels, Singapore maths, maths

mastery and writing moderation,

as well as several leadership and

management initiatives within the

alliance for learning at our strategic

partners, Altrincham Grammar School

for Girls. This collaboration has been

good for our school and has given us

the opportunity to help others.

We have also established teams in key

areas. These include literacy, numeracy,

personal development, cross curricular,

learning environment, several Jewish

studies subjects and British values. Each

team is set up with team leaders who

encourage group review and reflection

and have facilitated an incredible level

of staff engagement and enthusiasm.

Child-centred ethos and

practice

In order to meet the needs of pupils, we

have invested in many experts. These

include three speech therapists, a social

skills lead, two therapeutic play experts,

two dyslexia specialists and a Numicon

champion, all of whom work under

theguidance of our superb SENCO.

Our SEND intervention Chavazelet

programme enables pupils with high

needs to be part of our school. This

provision, housed within a special

classroom, is targeted at integrating

pupils with significant needs. Pupils are

engaged in educational activities, with

added focus on sensory integration and

social skills, in tandem with designated

literacy and numeracy lessons.

One of our therapists has set up a

state-of-the-art therapy room, in

which she uses her skills to provide

beautiful music and dance activities,

in tandem with supporting children’s Our pupils engrossed in

reading in our state-of-

the-art library

Our SEND

intervention

Chavazelet

programme

enables pupils

with high needs

to be part of our

school

“

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

46 | YESOIDAY HATORAH SCHOOL MANCHESTER

needs by way of therapeutic play.

These Shir V’zemer (Hebrew for song

and music) sessions culminate in an

end-of-year show attended by parents.

Every child can shine through singing,

dancing, delivering a speech, playing an

instrument or helping out with stage

and costume design. These sessions

have had a strong impact on children

emotionally, academically and socially,

as well as having a powerful effect on

executive functioning.

Curriculum enrichment

In all curriculum development,

we have identified our curriculum

targets and considered how best to

integrate these targets ubiquitously

throughout the school week. For

example, in writing, our pupils are on

a writing journey. This begins with an

overarching question, which is referred

to throughout the process of drafting

and redrafting. Pupils totally immerse

themselves in the topic. Each piece of

writing is moderated very carefully,

and outcomes are shared with pupils

as targets for further progress.

We have established our school library

as the epicentre of the school. It is a

state-of-the-art provision, with so many

choices for reading for enjoyment.

Pupils are further excited by the

reading clubs we hold in the library

and soon develop a love for reading.

In numeracy, we have embedded the

Singapore maths no-problem strategy.

This approach, coupled with our maths

mission work, has generated much

excitement and interest in problem-

solving. We are preparing the way for

the new generation of mathematicians

through our pupils embracing the

rigour of choosing several different

strategies to solve any one problem

and then identifying the most efficient

one. Our sensational science days

involve complete immersion in all

manner of science investigations over

three full days per term and generate

muchexcitement.

Character building

Albert Einstein described education

as “what remains after all else is

forgotten”. The values, good character

traits, respect and empathy that we

imbue in our pupils are arguably the

most important part of our educational

provision. This is why I have written

two books on the topic of engendering

good character traits in our children,

and it is also why we have regular

parenting workshops in school. One

of the character-building programmes

we use is called the Treasure Hunt

and focuses on the treasure within us,

which is just waiting to be unleashed.

We place a big emphasis on developing

the talents of our pupils through

talent shows, poetry competitions,

musical song and dance performances,

sports, and speaking opportunities.

As we strive for ever-greater success,

we will continue to promote unity

within diversity, respecting everyone,

including those who may be different.

We will

continue to

promote unity

within diversity,

respecting

everyone,

including those

who may be

different

“

»KODESH CURRICULUM

“Educate the child according to his way so that when he grows up, he will

not turn away from it.” These famous words of King Solomon serve as a

backdrop for the pioneering work that we are doing within our school.

There are a number of subjects in our Kodesh curriculum: Jewish history,

Jewish law (Dinim), Kodesh reading and Kodesh writing, Talmudical

studies, Jewish general knowledge, prayer, art and music, Bible stories,

and good-character-building (Middos) programmes. We have worked very

hard to deliver our Kodesh curriculum in a cross-curricular way, with many

attainment targets that appear in the national curriculum being met directly

within the Kodesh curriculum. Additionally, many targets that are not

directly covered – such as phonic awareness – are reinforced.

Our SLT: sharing a vision

for excellence

47ST JAMES CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL |

PRIMARY EDUCATION

Academically, we are one of the

highest-performing schools in

the North West

We have a reputation for our

outstanding commitment to

pupil development

Situated in the suburb of Orrell, Wigan, St James’ Catholic

Primary School has, under the leadership of Headteacher

Gary Hayes, adapted to the changing educational landscape

in order to further develop its reputation within the local area

and wider afield. Having just completed a journey to become a

full two-form entry school through major expansion works, Gary

tells

The Parliamentary Review

that the school is now equipped

with both buildings and an environment that is fit for purpose.

Despite being one of the most poorly-funded schools per pupil in the local

authority, we have an outstanding reputation for not only our academic standards

but also our commitment to the wider development of pupils. This is something

that we’re especially proud of.

Academically, the school is one of the highest-performing primary schools in not only

the local area but also the North West. While all attainment and progress measures

are positive, maths progress is a particular jewel in our crown – by that measure,

we have consistently ranked in the top two to three per cent of schools nationally.

Teaching and learning

Key to our success are effective teaching and learning strategies that allow all

pupils to make consistent progress as they move through the school.

Senior leaders set the tone by ensuring that we are focused on key strategies.

We work on the principle of undertaking central targets well and adopting them

consistently across the school, rather than automatically taking on every new

initiative that comes along.

REPORT CARD

ST JAMES CATHOLIC PRIMARY

SCHOOL

»Headteacher: Gary Hayes

»Founded in 1848

»Based in Orrell, Wigan,

Greater Manchester

»Type of school: Voluntary-

aided primary

»No. of students: 420

»The school is near the border

with West Lancashire

»www.osjschool.uk

St James Catholic

Primary School

www.yhs.org.uk

This article was sponsored by Yesoiday HaTorah School Manchester. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss.

Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss

Even by the standards of the day –this has been one of the most exciting and unpredictable years in British politics.

The leadership election we’ve just seen marks a huge moment in our country’s history. This government is taking a decisive new direction, embracing the opportunities of Brexit and preparing our country to flourish outside the EU.

As international trade secretary, I’ll be driving forward work on the free trade agreements that are going to be a priority for the government. Free trade isn’t just an abstract concept bandied around by technocrats. It is crucial for a strong economy and for the ability of families to make ends meet. Free trade benefits people in every part of our country, as British firms export to new markets and people doing the weekly shop have access to a wider choice of goods at lower prices.

The essence of free trade is in the title: freedom. It’s about giving people the power to exchange their goods without heavy government taxation or interference. Commerce and free exchange are the engine room of prosperity and social mobility. I’m determined to tackle the forces who want to hold that back.

One of my priorities is agreeing an exciting new free trade deal with the US, building on the great relationship between our two countries and the Prime Minister and US President. But I’ll also be talking to other partners including New Zealand, Australia and fast-growing Asian markets.

And with the EU too, we want a friendly and constructive relationship, as constitutional equals, and as friends and partners in facing the challenges that lie ahead – a relationship based on a deep free trade agreement. Our country produces some of the world’s most successful exports, and the opportunity to bring these to the rest of the world should make us all excited about the future. It is this excitement, optimism and ambition which I believe will come to define this government.

For too long now, we have been told Britain isn’t big or important enough to survive outside the EU – that we have to accept a deal that reflects our reduced circumstances. I say that’s rubbish. With the right policies in place, we can be the most competitive, free-thinking, prosperous nation on Earth exporting to the world and leading in new developments like AI. To do that, we’ll give the brilliant next generation of entrepreneurs the tools they need to succeed. Since 2015, there has been a staggering 85 per cent rise in the number of businesses set up by 18 to 24 year olds – twice the level set up by the same age group in France and Germany. We’ll help them flourish by championing enterprise, cutting taxes and making regulation flexible and responsive to their needs.

As we do that, we’ll level up and unite all parts of the UK with great transport links, fibre broadband in every home and proper school funding, so everyone shares in our country’s success.

2019 has been the year of brewing economic and political revolution. 2020 will be the year when a revitalised Conservative government turbo charges the economy, boosts prospects for people across the country, and catapults Britain back to the forefront of the world stage.

Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss
Secretary of State for International Development