Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis says he has received personal assurances from the government that the rejection of two Jewish faith school applications will not have an impact on the future of Jewish education in Britain.
Chief Rabbi Mirvis told the JC he had personally lobbied Department for Education officials on the issue.
The government rejected two Jewish free school applications last month, saying the amount of Hebrew and Jewish studies planned for their timetables was “disproportionate”. This led to fears that any future proposal for a Jewish school would be undermined.
But Rabbi Mirvis said: “I have held conversations with the Department for Education… its response to these applications does not spell the end of the road to the possibility of there being new Jewish schools in the future.”
There had been concerns that the government may challenge the proportion of Jewish studies offered at existing educational establishments. Rabbi Mirvis said: “I have heard the DfE say, explicitly, the decision does not affect our current schools.” He hoped the crisis over places would be resolved by existing secondary schools increasing capacity.
