Independent Jewish faith schools are continuing to defy legal requirements regarding the teaching of relationships and sex education (RSE), recent Ofsted reports reveal.
Pupils at Ahavas Torah Boys Academy in Manchester “do not learn age-appropriate RSE”, and the school continues to operate under its previously stated “intention to not teach pupils about all of the protected characteristics”. Statutory guidance requires schools to teach about the protected characteristics as set out in the Equality Act 2010.
Most pupils study “only” English and maths in the secular curriculum, which was found to have “not considered” what pupils should learn in these subjects or the order in which they are taught.
Ofsted said pupils “do not learn enough” about diversity in society or fundamental British values. It found the quality of education to be “poor”, with “very few opportunities for pupils to learn about how different people live”.
Similarly, at Beis Ruchel D’Satmar London, Ofsted said “historically and currently”, the proprietor and school leaders have “taken the decision not to adhere to some statutory regulations”. This includes excluding statutory content from the curriculum.
Inspectors found that pupils are “not encouraged” to respect all other people who have protected characteristics and acquire an appreciation for the cultures and beliefs of others, as required by statutory guidance.
Ofsted were instructed by the school not to speak to pupils about “protected characteristics, other religious traditions or sex education”. When inspectors met with pupils, the headteacher was “either in the room or standing in the open doorway”.
Although statutory guidance for the RSE curriculum mandates teaching about the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010 – including sexual orientation and religion and belief – orthodox Jewish faith schools frequently refuse to teach about protected characteristics due to religious objections to same-sex relationships.
Despite only being registered to admit pupils up to 11 years old, the school admits pupils up to 16 years old and “has done so for a number of years”, Ofsted said. The school, which has 1042 pupils, therefore “continues to operate in breach of its registration agreement”.
The school has previously been found to not allow pupils to “study certain concepts, read content or complete tasks that are not in line with the school’s religious beliefs” in subjects such as science and geography.
The proprietor of a third school, Keser Torah Boys’, was also found by Ofsted to have not had “due regard for statutory guidance” when developing the programme for Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) and RSE.
The school was also found to be “operating outside its registration agreement with the DfE” due to its accommodation of pupils “above the registered age range”.
NSS: Repeated disregard for legal requirements must be addressed
National Secular Society spokesperson Jack Rivington said: “It is deeply concerning that schools openly inform Ofsted they have no intention of complying with the law – with seemingly little consequence.
“The independent school standards exist to ensure the rights of children are protected – they must be robustly enforced at all schools, no matter what their religious character.
“The Government must address the failings of a system in which schools which consistently and repeatedly disregard legal requirements face little to no consequences.”