Sex education gets a cautious welcome

Jewish education leaders have given a guarded welcome to the government’s announcement of its plans for sex education in schools.

Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, unveiled plans to make personal, social, health and economic education compulsory in schools from 2011.

Faith schools will have to teach the new curriculum, but “within the tenets of their faith”, said Mr Balls.

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Ed Balls: Holocaust education is best investment

Schools Secretary Ed Balls has said the money put into Holocaust education is the “best investment” his department has made.

Mr Balls and his wife Yvette Cooper, the Work and Pensions Secretary, were among the 300 guests at the Holocaust Educational Trust dinner in central London.

Stressing the enduring importance of Holocaust education, he said young Britons were learning about the Shoah in a “relevant and sophisticated” way.

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Rabbis in New Faith School Challenge

LEADING Jewish education figures have reacted with outrage on learning that two Progressive rabbis are to lobby the government to prevent state-funded faith schools using a child's or parent's religion in determining admission.

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Ban Kabbalah access to schools, Balls told

An Orthodox rabbi who has campaigned against a children's organisation run by the Kabbalah Centre has called on the government department responsible for education to "pull the plug" on its access to schools.

Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet, minister of Mill Hill United Synagogue, wrote privately to Children, Schools and Families secretary Ed Balls after it was revealed in June that Spirituality For Kids (SFK) - an offshoot of the Kabbalah Centre - had been holding lessons in six schools in the London boroughs of Westminster and Tower Hamlets.

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Balls pledges fresh look at school safety

Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, has promised to revisit the question of how to help Jewish schools meet security costs amid frustration at the lack of tangible support.

Last autumn, the government announced that local councils would be allowed to help with capital expenditure on security, but some councils have said there is no money available.

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Israel rally set to raise the roof

Thousands of people are expected to turn out for the first UK “Salute to Israel” parades in London and Manchester on June 29.

The London parade, which will start at midday on the corner of Berkeley Street and Piccadilly, will culminate in a Trafalgar Square rally at 2pm. Supporters can expect a visual spectacle as they watch marching bands and floats sponsored by companies, including the JC, and communal organisations. 

The rally will be compered by LBC radio host Nick Ferrari, with guests including Knesset member Isaac Herzog and Ed Balls MP.

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Balls backs primary age Shoah education

A Holocaust survivor has told Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls of the importance of educating primary pupils against antisemitism.

Joanna Millan met Mr Balls at the UK Holocaust Centre in Nottinghamshire last Friday where the minister was supporting a forthcoming Holocaust exhibition, The Journey, aimed at primary-age children.

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Brown praises head

Tributes from Gordon Brown and Ed Balls to Wolfson Hillel Primary head Sharon Margolis were read out at a retirement lunch for Mrs Margolis, who has left the Southgate school after 15 years.

Praising the commitment and vision of Mrs Margolis, Mr Brown wrote that “at Wolfson-Hillel, you have built up a great school”. In his message, Mr Balls, the Education Secretary, noted that “the excellent facilities and reputation the school now enjoys is due to your leadership skills”.

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Schools hit back at Balls

Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, has defended the exposure of schools in breach of the government’s admissions code despite anger among Jewish schools at his decision to name them.

Writing in today’s JC, Mr Balls says: “I do not think that keeping all this information a secret would have been possible or the right thing to do in the public interest.”

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Why I exposed school entry flaws

Faith schools can ask for voluntary donations, but they must not be a condition of admission

Jewish schools play a vital role in delivering excellent education for young people in this country. The Jewish community’s commitment to enriching and empowering young minds — shown by the high priority education is given in Jewish homes and its central role in Jewish life — is a model we can all learn from.

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Schools break rules over entry demands

State-aided Jewish schools have been found to be in breach of the Government’s admissions code by asking parents for inappropriate personal information or requesting donations when their children apply.

Several Jewish schools have fallen foul of the code by asking parents on entry forms for details such as their marital status or occupation.

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