She said that the 50 per cent rule could be one option for schools “who feel it is consistent with their ethos”, but that there were other ways of achieving community cohesion such as “school-linking programmes”.
While promoting cohesion should be a requirement for all schools, the 50 per cent rule had been “ineffective” in doing this. “Many of the faith-based free schools have only appealed to people of the faith background of the school, meaning that often the quota does not actually deliver a diverse school community in practice,” she pointed out.
The debate comes amid plans which could see anything from one to three applications to open a new secondary Jewish free school in the London area.
The Chief Rabbi has made it clear that he does not support the current free school model and would prefer a “completely immersive Jewish environment”.
The Board is seeking an early meeting with Ms Greening for further discussion.
