Concern has been raised among leading figures in Jewish education that faith schools are being unfairly scrutinised, following Ofsted's onslaught of no-notice inspections.
Last week, news of JFS' downgrading was followed by inspectors turning up at three Jewish schools - Yesodey Hatorah, Hackney; Beis Yaakov, Salford; and Bnois Jerusalem, Hackney.
Ofsted said it would be carrying out 40 spot inspections of state schools in the wake of the "Trojan Horse" allegations in Birmingham, but denied it was targeting Jewish schools.
But Jonathan Rabson, chief executive of the National Association of Orthodox Jewish Schools (NAJOS) said: "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.
"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."
If you target certain types of schools, then you're perpetuating stereotypes
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".
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."
While Robert Leach, head of Sinai Jewish Primary School in Kenton, said he too felt scrutiny, he 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."
But Jonathan Goldstein, chairman of the education agency Partnerships for Jewish Schools (PaJeS) warned 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 recognise the importance of the objectivity of Ofsted, which is in everybody's interest: schools, parents and children."
An Ofsted spokesperson said: "We do not target schools simply on the basis of faith. Ofsted has inspected some state-funded and independent Jewish schools recently, but these were selected individually.
"Ofsted chooses when to inspect a school on the basis of past performance, the length of time since the last inspection, and concerns about a school's performance."
