Jewish schools in UK complain about inspectors
Association of Jewish Orthodox Schools says pupils questioned about sex during unannounced visits; other Jewish educators sound note of caution.
In an angry letter sent last week to Education Secretary Nicky Morgan and Ofsted, NAJOS complained that Jewish schools are being disproportionately targeted for inspections, the Guardian reports.
In addition to the inappropriate questions allegedly directed at female students, Ofsted carried out no-notice inspections at three Orthodox Jewish schools.
"The targeting of Jewish schools is unacceptable and we feel this suggests another agenda which is extremely worrying, particularly in the current climate where anti-Semitism is on the rise and our community is placed under attack,” NAJOS Executive Director Jonathan Rabson stated in the letter.
An Ofsted official confirmed that the inspections had taken place and that the pupils had been asked questions, but denied that there was any anti-Semitic motive involved.
"We are very concerned about the recent spate of unannounced inspections of Jewish schools, which are way out of proportion with no-notice inspections in other faith communities," Rabson told the Jewish Chronicle.
"A disproportionate 30 per cent of Jewish secondary schools have been inspected in this way, which is significantly more than the 'feasibility trial' announced by the Department for Education."
Rabbi Jonathan Guttentag, chairman of NAJOS, added: "Not only does Ofsted appear to be targeting Jewish schools, but in some cases inspectors are coming into our Orthodox schools with a confrontational agenda, asking pupils questions that are culturally inappropriate."
'Students and staff traumatized and ashamed'
According to the reports, Ofsted carried out no-notice inspections at three Orthodox Jewish schools last month, including Beis Yaakov high school, a girls secondary school in Salford, Manchester. Pupils were said by staff to have been questioned about their use of the internet and their views on homosexuality.
Jewish News reported that during one inspection, nine-year old girls in an Orthodox Jewish primary school were asked whether they know how babies are made and whether they know any homosexuals.
NAJOS expressed "grave concerns" following reports from school administrators that Jewish girls "felt bullied into answering inspectors' questions" and that students and staff have been feeling "traumatized and ashamed."
Jeremy Dunford, head of Leeds Jewish Free School, said that Ofsted's policy "implies distrust of the profession and highlights the weakness of the inspection process.
"There seems to have been a turnaround: where faith schools were being promoted, it now feels like they're being targeted. If you target certain types of schools, then you're perpetuating stereotypes."
He added: "Turning up at the door won't solve anything. All it may do is scare people, and lead them to say the wrong thing. There should be professional dialogue, not a punitive stick."
The Guardian reports that the Jewish education community was already unhappy about Ofsted's decision last month to downgrade JFS in London – the largest Jewish school in Europe – from outstanding to "requires improvement," Ofsted’s second-lowest grade.
After another no-notice inspection, Yesodey Hatorah senior girls school, which takes pupils from the ultra-Orthodox community of north London, saw its rating fall from outstanding to good.
The NAJOS letter accused Ofsted of creating a "climate of hostility" during visits by inspectors. Ofsted said its staff were following national guidelines, some of which were introduced in the wake of the Trojan Horse scandal involving Islamic influence in schools in Birmingham.
'Inspectors are not questioning Jewish values'
Despite NAJOS' official stand, some headteachers appeared unconcerned by the current wave of inspections. Robert Leach, head of Sinai Jewish Primary School in Kenton, said he also felt scrutiny, but added: "If you have nothing to hide, then there is nothing to be concerned about."There is no reason to panic. We are operating as a government-maintained school and we adhere to all the Department for Education's policies. If they turn up at our door early, it won't make much difference."
Jonathan Goldstein, chairman of the education agency Partnerships for Jewish Schools (PaJeS) warned that it was "too simplistic to immediately jump to the conclusion of unfair targeting.
"It is best to monitor the situation and review it," he said. "You cannot just isolate incidents of Jewish schools being inspected. You have to see it as a small fraction of a bigger picture.
"We must recognize the importance of the objectivity of Ofsted, which is in everybody's interest: Schools, parents and children."
Rabson's letter did not remain unanswered. According to an Ofsted spokesman, "We have written to NAJOS to respond to their concerns and to assure them that Ofsted has not been disproportionately targeting Jewish schools for unannounced inspections. Nor are we questioning Jewish values and ethos.
"Inspectors must, however, ask questions that probe the extent to which pupils are prepared for the next stage in their education or for employment and for life in modern Britain. Inspectors are asked to use age-appropriate questions to test children’s understanding and tolerance of lifestyles that may be different to their own."
The Guardian notes that similar questions regarding gay marriage directed this year at young pupils in a conservative Muslim primary school in Luton led angry parents to confront inspectors.
According to the Guardian, the use of snap inspections came in the wake of the Trojan Horse affair, alleging Islamic involvement in state schools in Birmingham, along with a government requirement for inspectors to judge attitudes to discrimination and exposure to British values.
