Secretary of State for Education meets communal delegation led by Board

The Board of Deputies led a delegation including the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) and Partnerships for Jewish Schools (PaJes) to meet Secretary of State for Education, Nicky Morgan MP.

The meeting, at the Department of Education on January 15, was to discuss areas of concern for the community.

Matters raised included the Government’s continued commitment to faith schools, admissions policies and the need to ensure that the security of Jewish schools remains high up on the agenda.

The scheduled meeting was timely given the tragedy in France and the knock on effect it has had on the Jewish community here and in particular on schools’ security concerns. The Secretary of State was clear on the Department’s commitment to supporting schools and their need for assured protection and support from the Government.

On the Government’s position on faith schools, Nicky Morgan said:

“The Government absolutely has a commitment to faith schools, they are a very important part of the education landscape in this country, they contribute a huge amount and offer a good education. There are no plans to change our position on that.”

Discussing wider issues such as the implementation of British standards, school inspections and new policy implementation, the Secretary of State welcomed our views and feedback with a view to feeding our comments to Sir Michael Wilshaw, Chief Inspector of Schools In England and head of Ofsted.

The Board together with the JLC and PaJes were delighted with the productive nature of the meeting and will continue to work with the Department of Education on all issues relating to faith schools and Jewish education.

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