Days of unregulated yeshivot could be over as new powers to inspect unregistered schools

The DfE has been under increasing pressure from Ofsted and local authorities such as Hackney, home to the country’s largest Strictly Orthodox Jewish population, to take steps to tackle unregistered institutions.

It says there has been a problem because the current definition of a school excludes institutions where only a single discipline is taught or which is “very narrow in nature”.

In some local authority areas, the DfE consultation document says, “hundreds of children (mostly boys, and mostly aged 13-16) attend such settings”.

Figures recently extracted from DfE data by the JC revealed that there were 1,735 girls in registered Jewish schools in Hackney aged from 11 to 15,  compared with  just 256 boys.

Another proposal from the DfE is to define full-time education as 18 or more hours’ weekly attendance a at an institution during school hours, where the current legislation specifies 18 hours’ tuition. The change would cover time where children may be studying but not actually be in class.

The DfE said it was “aware of some settings that provide only religious instruction and that do operate in this way”.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has also pledged an extra £400,000 for Ofsted to clamp down on illegal schools.

“Unregistered schools present a serious risk to children,” he said.

“They often do not offer the kind of balanced, informative curriculum all schools should, and can expose pupils to dangerous and extreme influences.”

From January 2016  to August 2019, 72 unregistered settings were stopped from operating illegally and a further 11 received warning notices.

Three proprietors of illegal settings have been successfully prosecuted, although none involving a Jewish institution.

Mr Williamson said anyone running one should “face the full force of the law. This extra investment in Ofsted will build on the £3 million we have already committed – and send a very strong message to illegal schools which continue to operate.”

As far as the JC is aware, one unregistered Strictly Orthodox school in Hackney has been ordered to close during this period.

The DfE is also planning to make it harder for registered independent schools that fail to meet the required standards to appeal against sanctions, such as closure or restrictions on the number of pupils they can admit.

But there is one proposed new measure likely to be reviewed with relief within parts of the Charedi community, particularly as its numbers continue to grow.

At present, an independent school which changes its registration terms without DfE approval, such as admitting more pupils than its agreed maximum, can be struck off the education register. But the department wants more flexibility.