Government plans for all schools to become part of a trust have drawn a mixed response within the Jewish educational world.
It is one of a number of proposals in the newly published White Paper, that also includes reform of SEND provision.
Four years ago the previous Conservative administration set out its ambition that all schools should join a multi-academy trust.
Now the Labour government intends to pursue an adapted version of the scheme, which as well as encouraging schools to form or join trusts would also allow local authorities to establish their own trusts.
“Better collaboration between schools lies at the heart of providing all children with the best our system has to offer,” the White Paper says.
Adam Goldstein, chief executive of the largest Jewish trust, the Jewish Community Academy Trust – a consortium of four Orthodox primaries which is backed by the United Synagogue – welcomed the prospect, which was “very encouraging,” he said.
“In the same way that JCAT supports its own four schools, trusts enable schools to collaborate, generate economies of scale, share resources, access significant capital investment and provide expert support for local governors,” he said.
“We look forward to seeing further details from the government on moving to a trust-led system. At JCAT, we are well-placed and excited to play our part by welcoming more Jewish schools to our family.”
Martin Blain, a co-founder of Alma, a one-form, cross-communal Jewish primary in Whetstone, who is now head of a South London primary that is part of an academy trust, believes Jewish schools should seize the opportunity to enter partnerships.
“We need to take the initiative rather than being pushed into a trust where they may not understand the Jewish ethos,” he said.
There are a number of one-form Jewish entry schools, some of which may have close ties to a particular synagogue that helped to found them. It has been suggested that one-form entry schools can find it particularly hard to make ends meet because of constraints in education funding.
Mr Blain pointed out that small schools were “incredibly vulnerable to variations because of intake”.
But Hannah Martin, headteacher of Etz Chaim in Mill Hill, a one-form Orthodox primary that was part of a new wave of Jewish free schools, expressed caution over the trust plan.
“MATs are a divisive subject,” she said. “As with any sector, some organisations are excellent, others leave plenty to be desired. I have seen examples where schools have joined a MAT and it has transformed them for the better. I know of others that have found it frustrating and constricting.
“In the end it has to be about doing what is right for the future of each individual school and, more importantly, the children they teach and develop. I have seen so many White Papers that have been written to transform the education system, that have all come to nothing, so let’s just wait and see where this goes.”
The headteacher of one primary school told her response to the proposal was “unprintable”.
Other proposals in the White Paper include the introduction of V-levels to promote vocational education and the abolition of the English Baccaulereate, an academic performance measure at GCSE.
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