Stamford Hill’s large Jewish population is a central part of the community, but are Orthodox schools helping or harming education? Molly Fleming and Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff investigate.
For many young people, the sixth-form prom is a rite of passage, the culmination of secondary school education and a chance to celebrate seven years spent with their closest friends.
But for Benjamin* this wasn’t an option; he went to one of London’s largest Orthodox Jewish secondary schools, and teachers would leave the room at any mention of a mixed-gender dance.
Benjamin’s school “made you devote your life to what they thought was the traditional Jewish way of life”. Classes in Hebrew were compulsory, genders were always segregated and homosexuality was compared to robbery.
Fears over sexism and a lack of diversity in Orthodox Jewish schools have been building for some time. Perhaps the most famous concentration of these schools is in Hackney’s Stamford Hill, which is home to the largest Orthodox Jewish community in Europe.
For years the tight-knit neighbourhood has been left alone by those surrounding it. But increasing scrutiny of its educational institutions means such isolation is now under threat.
In November last year, a Freedom of Information request from Hackney Council revealed a total of 23 schools in the area were unregistered, and the Jewish Chronicle described such schools in 2014 as operating “without the most basic health, safety and child welfare checks”.
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Cultural insularity
The closure of Charedi Talmud Torah Tashbar school by the Department for Education on 12 February has thrust the issue of Orthodox education into the headlines. The school taught 200 boys between the ages of three and 13, but was failing to meet “minimum standards,” and was accused of encouraging “cultural and ethnic insularity” by a series of Ofsted reports.
Since December, Ofsted has deemed six schools in the area “inadequate”, with three critical reports published in a single week. Attention in both the local and national press has focused on the “robust steps” the government and Ofsted are taking against faith schools.
Jay Harman, campaigns officer for faith and education at the British Humanist Association, says that while Ofsted’s actions are “far too late”, he is glad something is being done.
“The schools in question have historically exhibited an unwillingness to make meaningful improvements,” he says. “Both Ofsted and the Department for Education will have to keep up the pressure on these schools if the children are to receive the broad and balanced education they deserve.”
Some members of the community are resisting this growing intervention. This extends to local government officials, who have consistently supported faith schools in the area.
Councillor Abraham Jacobson, who represents Cazenove ward, says he believes that these schools are suffering as a result of Ofsted conflating a religious education with extremism: “Ofsted are using the Jewish schools as collateral damage for extremism,” says Cllr Jacobson.
“A lot of of this criticism is rubbish. For example, why would we have a policy against cyber-bullying in our schools when no-one has phones or goes online?”
Ofsted criticism
Jewish schools have sometimes been accused of holding sexist attitudes. A fortnight ago, Ofsted found that images of women were obscured or altered in books given to pupils at two Orthodox Jewish schools in Stamford Hill. “Good on them if they’re scantily clad women,” Cllr Jacobson responds, “everything is too sexualised nowadays.”
He says, “We don’t have to start learning all about other beliefs, we can agree to disagree. Ofsted are off their rocker and they are trying to cause trouble in the Jewish community.”
Nevertheless, his view isn’t held by all in the Jewish community. Rabbis have spoken out about the problems with Orthodox Jewish schools in the past, and one parent whose child currently attends a north London Orthodox Jewish school describes the divisive tactics the school employs.
“Sometimes the school tries to manipulate the students with religion, by bribing them with rewards for participating in the school’s Jewish life,” says the parent, who wished to remain anonymous.
Benjamin ultimately credits university as broadening his education. He met people from all religions and walks of life. “I do think being in the ‘Jewish bubble’ is damaging in the real world. A lot of my friends hadn’t even been outside the bubble and for me that’s kind of terrifying.”
*(Some names were changed for anonymity)
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